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What happens when you give laptops to prisoners?
Such programmes have led to a reduction in violence and helped ex-prisoners find work, claims a new report. It also claims laptop-in-prison projects return £16 in value for every £1 spent.
Education-technology company Coracle has doled out 2,500 non-networked Chromebooks to prisoners across 96 institutions, covering nine in ten public prisons in England and Wales. The laptops are preloaded with a virtual learning environment that comes with educational and vocational tools from partners including The Open University. Learning is tracked via a bespoke tool that prisoners can access even after departing prison.
James Tweed, Founder and CEO of Coracle, said: “We always believed we were making an impact but even I was astounded by the amount of value to taxpayers.”
Taking part in Coracle’s programme led to a reduction in assaults of about 10% within six months of deployment, with notable reductions in self-harm incidents too. That adds up to avoiding nearly 2,000 incidents in prisons annually, though the research noted a clear difference between men’s and women’s facilities.
“Violence in prisons can be appalling both for staff and prisoners,” said Tweed. “It also prevents anything meaningful or worthwhile taking place and is very expensive in terms of medical treatment and time off work. So the fact that we are doing something that reduces this particular issue is very welcome news.”
Beyond avoiding violence, the aim is that by completing training while in prison, offenders will have better chances at getting work upon their release. Coracle’s research suggests it has helped 1,200 ex-prisoners into work within six months of release.
“Investing in education is proven to be the best way to cut reoffending and we have never needed this more than we do now,” said Tweed.
“Our prisons are in total crisis and we desperately need a long term solution that reduces crime and lowers the prison population,” he added. “Endlessly building more prisons is not the answer.”
Such benefits quickly pay for themselves. Though it’s difficult to calculate the financial impact of emotional or physical harm of assault, Coracle used pre-existing figures from the government to avoid “over claiming the value of the benefits”. Still, the company came up with £16 of benefits for every £1 spent deploying Coracle in prisons.
It’s easy to see such projects as handing over little luxuries to offenders or even a security risk: indeed, back in 2015, prisoners in Wandsworth managed to turn in-cell laptops and a corrupt guard into a drug smuggling ring.
However, it’s long been clear that prison-based education could offer a chance at rehabilitation. One meta analysis suggests it can reduce reoffending by 43%.
We’ve long accepted the merit of having laptops, tablets and Chromebooks in schools, and celebrate projects seeking to bridge the digital skills gap.
But prison could have an even bigger impact: this isn’t just about helping senior citizens get up to speed with digital banking or offering reading apps to children, but rebooting someone’s life.
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