GTL Emphasizes The Importance Of Educating Inmates By Providing Tablets To Correctional Facilities

Correctional areas are allotting funds toward the advancement of their facilities. One thing they are working on is providing inmates access to technology, so they can communicate with their loved ones and use online resources for learning.

GTL invested on providing tablets to these facilities for reducing the risk of recidivism, which is the tendency of former inmates to get arrested again because of a relapse into criminal behavior, and to help these people adjust to the latest technological breakthroughs once they get released from jail.

The National Institute of Justice studied that the police rearrested 67.8 percent of former criminals within three years of release. Because of the prevalence of recidivism, the issue became one of the core concerns of every police force.

St. Louis University in Missouri established the first on-site higher education program in 2008. It targeted those incarcerated in and the staff of the Bonne Terre prison.

In the past, other tech companies such as the American Prison Data Systems, Edovo, and Jpay distributed tablets which have educational and entertainment content. They say that such materials reduce recidivism.

For Jpay, they handed out tabs with clear cases so prisoners cannot hide any contraband items inside. These also contain apps and skills tutorials.

Having access to this kind of technology also helps inmates relate to the world while they are inside the jail and enables them to adjust when they get out.

However, some correctional institutions deny this privilege to their inmates because they might use the Internet to harass or threaten witnesses and commit online crimes.

Some groups contend, however, that the prohibition is contrary to the May 2011 declaration of the United Nations, labeling internet access as one of the fundamental human rights.

Other criminals get locked up for extensive periods based on the offense they committed and its gravity. When they get released, they get overwhelmed with the changes around them, especially for technology.

Therefore, it is hard for them to adjust because their incarceration deprived them of such during their sentence. Nowadays, employers need applicants to know how to use computers.

Such background gives former inmates an edge in their potential job. Therefore, GTL’s initiative helps inmates regarding new technological skills for them to participate better in society.