Yahoo has news and a picture of a new prison being opened this week in Lelystad.
Electronic monitoring is nothing new, nor is closed circuit television. What caught my eye though was the idea of monitoring the cells via microphone, and having a software programme analyze the sounds to determine what is going on.
Cells are equipped with microphones that relay information to the prison’s control center, where software analyzes sound volume and rhythm to alert guards when a violent confrontation between inmates may be taking place.
This means that the cells are not totally monitored via television, and that fewer guards need to be hired to monitor the cell blocks. An interesting approach to cost-cutting to be sure.
I just think that technology is never applied so cleanly to a problem, particularly when people are involved. I wonder how many glitches and issues will be found in the system within the first month. Inmates will no doubt come up with some very non-technical ways to trounce this electronic monitoring system.