Corrections Telecommunication and Technology
F. Warren Benton, Ph.D.
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In May of 1997, I devoted this column to a virtual tour of corrections in other nations. During the past three years, additional prison systems around the world have posted web sites on the Internet, and therefore I am devoting this column to updating the international tour.
It is practically always stimulating and enlightening to visit other correctional agencies, even if only the jail in the next county, or the prison in a nearby state. A visit to a correctional facility or program in another nation and culture would be especially interesting, but, for most correctional professionals, the opportunity to attend a national convention is an infrequent opportunity, and the prospect of an international tour is inconceivable. An obvious alternative is to visit other correctional programs and services over the Internet. There are some practical problems, but these are gradually being overcome.
A major challenge is language, but it is now possible to obtain simple translations of web sites in other languages, and if you read languages other than English, you can set your browser to display the foreign character sets. A second problem involves the limitations in Internet deployment in many countries. In many parts of the world, the there is limited capacity to invest in developing the telecommunications infrastructure to support widespread Internet implementation.
Finally, there are differences in how correctional programs and services are perceived both by people working in corrections and by the general public. In many western countries, but particularly in the United States, we are self-assured about correctional programs and services. We understand that appropriate correctional sanctions and controls, as imposed by courts, are necessary to a civil society. We also understand the importance of implementing the sanctions and controls in ways that a consistent with basic human dignity and civil rights. We recognize the importance of openness and access to information about correctional services, and therefore we find it appropriate to explain about corrections on the Internet, with enthusiasm and pride. In the most extreme instances, in other nations, correctional sanctions and controls are undertaken in secrecy. If authorities do not admit whether they are incarcerating certain person, they are highly unlikely to authorize web pages extolling the virtues of the programs, services, and facilities involved. However, even in countries where correctional services are governed by enlightened rule of law, sometimes there is little inclination to broadcast the details of correctional operations over the world wide web.
Even though there are barriers of language, technology, policy, and attitude to be overcome, there are ways to explore the Internet for an international tour of correctional agencies.
The best way to start is to take in the big picture -- worldwide statistics and reports about
corrections from international agencies. The World Fact Book of Criminal Justice, which was developed in 1993 with funding from the U.S
Department of Justice, includes descriptive information on many nations, as well as links to
Internet sites if they existed at the time the index was created.
The United Nations Crime and Justice Information Network maintains an index of a wide range of international and national organizations and documents related to corrections.
Another excellent general site is The International Corrections and Prison Association based on Canada. At Related Links, they maintain a page of links to governmental correctional organizations.
The Library of Congress used to provide an index of laws of other nations, but they have discontinued this service. However, the United States Federal Courts maintains an excellent index to laws of other nation, including general information, treaties and international agreements, as well as the full texts of basic laws such as constitutions.
The Law-related Internet Project of Saarbrucken provides an english-language index to many legal documents and Internet sites from around the world.
Mark Leech's Prison Handbook provides an updated summary of prison links and other resources from a British perspective. The Penal Lexicon provides a good general presentation of British Correctional sources. It used to be a free service, but now charges a subscription fee for the service.
To directly examine web sites related to law and legal issues in a particular
country, Alta Vista, the search engine, has a special site devoted to these issues, called the Internet Legal Resource Guide. Their search engine for specific nations is called LawRunner . You select a country, and enter a term or set of terms for your search. You can limit your search to certain domains, such as sites with the last name "gov" for government sites, or "edu" for academic sites. If your term is in English, you get sites that include that word, which might include English-language newspaper articles. If you know the local language, you can search using the local term and get responses in the local language.
There is a growing number of web sites for international correctional agencies, including many that are accessible in English. However, I could find not comprehensive and routinely-updated source of the addresses for these sites. However, these are the ones that I have located.
As the use of the Internet grows in other countries, there will be more information about
international corrections on the web. A cyberspace tour of international corrections probably
replicates many of the challenges that we would face if we attempted a physical tour -- problems of access, language, culture, and political system. However, the experience provides insights and
perspectives that make the effort worthwhile.
Corrections on the Internet -- Revisiting An International Tour
by F. Warren Benton,
Ph.D.
Copyright Corrections
Managers' Report, October/November 1999
Within the library you can download the latest version of the Prison Rules pertaining to offenders and visitors. If you are interested in an inside perspective of British Corrections, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons includes actual inspection reports and studies. Another agency with a similar site is The Board of Visitors, and ThePrison Ombudsman, which provides similar information and actual reports. If you are a connoisseur of correctional facilities, at The Royal Commission on National Historical Monuments provides a brief survey of some historically notable British prison facilities.