Pia Puolakka, current consultant in Prison Digitalization, Digital Rehabilitation and Artificial Intelligence for Corrections and Forensic Psychology, and former Project Manager and Senior specialist for the for the Prison and Probation Service of Finland, talks to Dr Helen Wakeling of KTA Research and Consulting, about the future of prison digitalisation and technologies. Pia describes her previous involvement in the Smart Prison project in Finland, which introduced personal terminals to prisoners in their rooms in three prisons. She talks about the feedback, benefits, challenges and risks associated with this development. Pia also shares her views on how technology can and will be used to modernise the criminal justice system, the future potential uses of artificial intelligence and other technologies across prison and probation, and its role in creating safer custodial environments, addressing global prison challenges, and improving prison cultures. The increasing use of digital devices and services across prisons is inevitable and Pia suggests it will be transformative. But she is also clear to state that technology should support, and not replace face to face interactions. Technology should assist staff with tasks which enable them more time to have such interactions and greater engagement in rehabilitation.
Interview with Pia Puolakka, former Team Leader and Project Manager for Smart Prison project at the Prison and Probation Service of Finland.
