Incarcerated people’s challenges for digital inclusion in Finnish prisons

Abstract

The digitization of society creates both challenges and opportunities for prisons. Previous studies show that prisons' digitization affects interaction between incarcerated people, prison culture and reduces recidivism, however it also poses security risks. In this study, we ask how do barriers to digital inclusion appear among incarcerated people in the prison context, and how do they perceive whether face-to-face interactions with employees can be replaced by digital services. The analytical starting points of the study are rhetorical analysis and Goffman´s micro-sociological analysis. The research material consists of 26 incarcerated people's interviews from different parts of Finland. The results show that gaps in digital skills and access to the internet are key barriers to digital inclusion in prisons. The question of whether digital services can replace face-to-face encounters raised conflicting comments. Interviewees emphasized the importance of social interaction in their desistance, but also the benefits of digitization such as the possibility of anonymity. In addition, the research highlights the tense nature of prison culture, as well as the different aspirations of prisoners. The pursuit of digital agency can also manifest itself in various secondary adjustments. The digitization of prisons means a change in the prison employee's role and work approach.

Prisoners as Users of Digital Health Care and Social Welfare Services: A Finnish Attitude Survey

“…Several studies have also shown the central importance of age from the perspective of digital inclusion [ 49 , 50 ]. The significance of age has also been observed in studies of prisoners’ digital skills [ 27 , 30 ]. Thus, this study also examines the effect of prisoners’ age on the intention to use digital health care and social welfare services.…”

“…According to Jewkes and Reisdorf [ 27 ], older prisoners, as well as long-term prisoners, are a group whose use of technology is associated with specific challenges, or even resistance, due to their incompetence. On the other hand, millennials are often accustomed to navigating digital society and, due to their young age, are very smooth users of digital services [ 30 ]. However, in this survey, age does not appear to be a relevant factor in terms of use intention, although it does have a significant effect on the sense of control.…”

“…Reisdorf and Jewkes [ 29 ] stated that prisoners have a massive interest in the use of technology, but also have fears and reservations about it. Younger ‘millennials’ have significantly better skills and a desire to use digital services than older, long-term prisoners [ 27 , 30 ].…”

“…The inadequate skills of prisoners underline the importance of support from staff in the use of digital services [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. This also highlights the importance of prison staff’s attitudes and skills towards digital services.…”

“…This means that a person may prefer digital services rather than face-to-face encounters. On the other hand, previous studies suggest that, in a prison context, digital services cannot replace face-to-face interaction [ 30 ].…”