Tony Babicz, Director of Sales – The Americas at Commend Americas, tells SJA Editor Victoria Hanscomb why unified systems are key to mitigating threats in correctional facilities.

What security threats exist in correctional facilities?

In correctional facilities, threats exist from an internal and external perspective. Internally, there is always a risk of violence.

This might be between inmates or against staff and be initiated for any number of reasons such as contraband, the arrival of new inmates, escape attempts from current inmates or another kind of disturbance, as mental health issues play a huge role in this environment.

However, there are also a number of external threats present in correctional facilities.

These might be from visitors, who sneak in said contraband, or who share sensitive information with inmates.

There is also a third kind of threat, which is in the cyber space.

The reality is that correctional facilities are becoming more connected to the outside world than ever before.

It’s therefore critical to address any cyber-threats that might seek to take advantage of the data correctional facilities have stored.

Additionally, as more correctional facilities are considering moving systems to the cloud, it means that any vulnerabilities that could be targeted on this basis must be addressed.  

In the US, many correctional facilities and prisons are also overcrowded, making the deployment of solutions that can improve security and safety essential.

On top of this, staffing shortages mean that any way to automate systems can alleviate the pressure points felt by security teams.

While these may not be foolproof, technology can be employed to surveil situations to develop an effective response plan to an incident or audio might be used to communicate to staff and inmates throughout the facility remotely.

What solutions can enhance security in correctional facilities?

Starting with cybersecurity, correctional facilities need to be vetting any technology that they are putting in place to ensure that they are secure.

Another aspect is to look at the manufacturers of the products, to check that they are compliant with standards and guidelines such as IEC 62443 and ISO 27001.

Thinking about the physical security aspect of correctional facilities, the critical infrastructure nature of this environment becomes more apparent.

There are many different technologies that are highly useful in a correctional facility, which of course encompass access control and surveillance, but new innovations are increasing the ways that these can be used.

AI and analytics at the edge can be deployed internally to help personnel identify any potential issues as they happen or to prevent situations from escalating, allowing them to become more proactive in their approach to security.

Using this in conjunction with audio lets prisoners know that they’re being surveilled, which is vital in deescalating volatile situations.

One advancement that is specific to the correctional facilities sector is the advancement of mobile arraignment, which is a formal reading of criminal charges in the presence of the defendant.

Having this held remotely means that the prisoner can be present at the reading virtually, without having to physically be transported to the courthouse.

This eliminates the threats to security that may arise when an inmate leaves the facility and also frees up the time of officers who would be assigned as a detail.

A further technology that we’re seeing an increasing use of is audio surveillance.

This allows officers to gather intelligence on what inmates are discussing and turns speech into text that can be analyzed to look for certain patterns.

AI is essential for this, as predictive analytics can be employed to understand if there is a potential threat from inside the facility.

How can unified systems benefit a correctional facility?

Correctional facilities not only need unified communication, but a completely unified infrastructure.

This unified system should include communication to video surveillance to lighting.

The more you can automate, the better off facilities will be.

For example, in an emergency, security personnel may want to communicate alerts or instructions to the entire facility using both intercoms and radios.

An integrated, unified system will provide teams with the option to broadcast their message across both platforms at once.

When combined with other aspects like video analytics, a unified system gives security personnel a channel to react efficiently to real time events.

What are some of the challenges relating to correctional facility deployments?

Many correctional facilities have been established for a long time, so there is a strong focus on working with the existing cabling infrastructure.

It’s very difficult to re-cable an entire facility, not only from a cost perspective but also because inmates have to be moved from certain areas and placed elsewhere temporarily.

It’s a logistical and budgetary challenge so that’s why many facilities choose to work with the cabling they already have.

The second biggest challenge is to understand how legacy systems work.

As we move toward modernizing systems, we’ve seen that newer application programming interfaces (APIs) are allowing integrators to create a system that is highly functional but a lot easier to program than in the past.

Therefore, being able to work with old systems during this transition is one of the major challenges for security that needs to be addressed.

This is where flexibility of integration possibilities must be robust. 

Lastly, when we introduce technology into a space, we also introduce new processes and governance.

That means that staff and personnel using the systems need to be trained in a way that makes them willing to use it.

We need to change the mindsets of people behind the desk to help them embrace new, unified systems.

What are some of the misconceptions you’d like to correct?

One of the main misconceptions is that a lot of inmates aren’t locked in their own solitary spaces, many are non-violent and spend a large portion of their time in community spaces which is advantageous for their mental health.

That means often, the security systems deployed in a correctional facility are as much for keeping the inmates safe as the staff.

Another misconception is that correctional facilities will not utilize the cloud, but we’ve already seen this happen.

There’s an idea that correctional facilities are all very insular but certain states in the US have actually given permission at the county and state level for correctional facilities to open themselves up to cloud applications.

It’s critical that as an industry, we get used to this concept.

To use some of the highly specialized analytic tools, you need to access the cloud as it’s not possible on-premise.

As such, it’s vital to also consider the cybersecurity side.

How will security for correctional facilities change in the future?

We’re going to see security systems in correctional facilities become much smarter and become unified systems.

The use of computer vision in particular will change everything.

If you tie computer vision to a rules-based engine, you can detect individuals and be alerted if they are in an area they are not meant to be in or if they are near someone that they have had a conflict with previously.

Once this has been flagged, then audio systems can be used to communicate with those inmates to let them know what they need to do.

This can act as a deterrent, because they know they are being watched closely.

Overall, this will support the move towards a unified system in a correctional facility.

Another key trend that we have seen but that will continue to grow is the open platform nature of correctional facility systems.

We are seeing a move to more local and regional integrators who can easily service their local facilities but as mentioned previously, modern APIs are allowing facilities to more easily build an integrated, cohesive, unified system that provides them with the flexibility and scalability that they need.

This article was originally published in the August edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.