The prison guard robot prototype is set to go on trial in March

Robot wardens are about to join the ranks of South Korea’s prison service.

A jail in the eastern city of Pohang plans to run a month-long trial with three of the automatons in March. Report by the BBC News.

The machines will monitor inmates for abnormal behaviour. Researchers say they will help reduce the workload for other guards.

South Korea aims to be a world leaders in robotics. Business leaders believe the field has the potential to become a major export industry.

The three 5ft-high (1.5m) robots involved in the prison trial have been developed by the Asian Forum for Corrections, a South Korean group of researchers who specialise in criminality and prison policies.

It said the robots move on four wheels and are equipped with cameras and other sensors that allow them to detect risky behaviour such as violence and suicide.

Prof Lee Baik-Chu, of Kyonggi University, who led the design process, said the robots would alert human guards if they discovered a problem.

“As we’re almost done with creating its key operating system, we are now working on refining its details to make it look more friendly to inmates,” the professor told the Yonhap news agency.

The one-month trial will cost 1bn won (£554,000) and is being sponsored by the South Korean government.

It is the latest in a series of investments made by the state to develop its robotics industry.

The country’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in January that it had spent the equivalent of £415m on research in the sector between 2002 and 2010.

It said the aim was to compete with other countries, such as Japan, which are also exploring the industry’s potential.

In October the ministry said the Korean robot market had recorded 75% growth over the past two years and was now worth about £1bn.

Robots everywhere

Success stories reported by the Korean media include Samsung Techwin’s sale of a robotic surveillance system to Algeria and shipments of the humanoid Hubo robot to six universities in the US.

The South Korean defence company DoDAAM is also developing robotic gun turrets for export which can be programmed to open fire automatically.

Within the country English-speaking robotic teaching assistants are already being deployed in some schools to help children to practise their pronunciation.

The Joongang Daily newspaper reported in August that a company called Showbo had begun mass producing a robot that bowed to shop customers and told them about promotions on offer.

Other firms say they hope to start selling robots to help care for the elderly before the end of the decade, and personal assistant robots further down the line.

The government is also building a Robot Land theme park in the north-west city of Incheon to help highlight the country’s success. Planners say they hope 2.8 million people will visit each year.

Tammy Personnel Issues, South Korea, Technology

China says it is to tighten control of its prisons after cases of suspicious deaths in detention came to light.  Report from the BBC.

About 15 people have died while in police detention this year, according to widespread media reports.  Senior judges and prosecutors will now inspect some of China’s nearly 3,000 detention centres, where criminal suspects are held.  The aim of the campaign is to prevent what officials call “unnatural deaths” in the country’s jails.  It comes in addition to a campaign to improve the work of prison officers that was announced earlier this month.

The authorities were reporting just five deaths a few weeks ago. The new figure is an unusually frank admission: The Chinese government does not often admit that its prisoners are not treated properly by the authorities, says the BBC’s Michael Bristow in Beijing.  The attempts to reform detention centres suggest China is serious about improving the country’s criminal justice system, says our correspondent.

State media reported that on Friday, five prisons in the south-western state of Sichuan were opened to the public, allowing more than 1,000 local residents to see the conditions inside the jails for themselves. The move, the first in Sichuan, aims to promote more civilized management and fair law enforcement and to prevent and reduce crimes, said.  “The basic human rights of inmates should not be ignored but rather respected and protected fully,” Xinhua quoted Liu Zuoming, head of the provincial department of justice, as saying.

vericatrajkova China, INTERNATIONAL

The ongoing boycott of courts by advocates in Tamil Nadu has resulted in prisons and juvenile homes getting overcrowded.  This story from The Hindu.

While the number of inmates lodged in prisons across Tamil Nadu has increased by at least 10 per cent, police are sending accused persons to remand only when it is imperative.  A few juvenile offenders lodged in the Saidapet sub-jail here complained of inordinate delay in getting bail on Wednesday and threatened to commit suicide by jumping from trees. The incident occurred around noon.  They alleged congestion in the sub-jail due to overcrowding.  After prolonged negotiations, jail authorities agreed to shift some of them to the Puzhal central prison …

The process of releasing remand prisoners on bail has come to a standstill due to the boycott of courts by advocates.  The number of inmates in juvenile homes was also steadily on the rise, the sources said.

“Since there is no release (on bail or on completion of sentence) in the last few days, there is overcrowding in some prisons. While the capacity of the Saidapet sub-jail is 80, we have now lodged 160 juvenile offenders there. About 30 of them were shifted to the Puzhal central prison on Wednesday evening,” Director-General of Prisons R. Natraj told The Hindu.   He said a majority of prisoners were either remand prisoners or undertrials.

vericatrajkova Asia, INTERNATIONAL, India

The Cambodian Kingdom’s prison population has increased in the last year, causing authorities to strengthen prison security, officials said Tuesday.  This report from Phnom Penh Post.

Heng Hak, director of the Ministry of Interior’s Prison Department, said that the number of prisoners increased by seven percent over 2008.   “This year there are 11,688 prisoners, an increase of 786 compared to 10,902 prisoners at the start of last year,” he said, adding that authorities were “worried” by the increase.  “We’re afraid some prisoners will attempt to escape, and it’s extremely difficult for us to control them,” he said. “We have to take strict measures to ensure their security.”  According to an annual report released by the ministry Thursday, 22 prisoners, two of them women, escaped from prison facilities in 2008. Of these, three were re-arrested and detained.   “While the number of prisoners has increased, we are renovating old buildings and will establish another prison facility in Pursat province,” he said.

He added that to resolve problems of overcrowding, the department had transferred prisoners between facilities and had written a proposal to the Ministry of Economy and Finance requesting an increase in funding per prisoner from 1,500 to 2,800 riels (US$0.36 to $0.67) per day.  Chheav Hourlay, a prison researcher for local rights group Licadho, said that the increasing numbers will impact prisoner health and, in particular, disease transmission.  “Now, the biggest problem for prisoners is food,” he said.  “They are allocated only 1,500 riels per day, which is inadequate with respect to market prices.”

Kuy Bun Sorn, deputy director of the Prison Department, said that prisons had also “altered their sleeping arrangements” due to overcrowding, and that each 1.6 metre by 0.8 metre cell, which once held four people, was now accommodating eight.  “The main health problems facing prisoners are skin and gastrointestinal illness, and vitamin deficiency due to inadequate food,” he said.   “Now, we are allowing them to come out of their cells in the morning to exercise and to grow crops and vegetables.

Heng Hak added that authorities have also increased guard-to-prisoner ratios, for both security and humanitarian reasons, as well as taking more action to reform the local prison system.  “We are also taking measures to educate guards about prisoner health, enhancing their professional and interpersonal skills, and reforming the prison industry,” he said.

vericatrajkova Asia, Cambodia, INTERNATIONAL, Juvenile Justice

Hong Kong Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee has urged the business sector to offer rehabilitated offenders equal opportunities and support their reintegration into society so they can lead self-reliant lives.  Report from news.gov.hk.

Mr Lee made the remarks today when launching the Society of Rehabilitation & Crime Prevention’s Rice Dumpling Production Project – which combines the efforts of the private sector, non-governmental organisations and the Government to help rehabilitated offenders reintegrate in their communities. “Helping offenders rehabilitate and return to society as law-abiding citizens is an indispensable part of correctional services, and fittingly a key service of the Correctional Services Department in recent years,” Mr Lee said.   Through education, technical training and counselling services, the department helps rehabilitated offenders boost their confidence, brush up their skills, and develop values to overcome the pressure and challenges they face when they leave prison …

More than 60 NGOs and religious groups have joined with the department to provide services for rehabilitated offenders to help with their reintegration into society.   Stressing the importance of community acceptance and support for rehabilitated offenders, Mr Lee hoped more employers will accept them and offer them equal job opportunities, allowing them to return to the job market by virtue of their academic qualifications, work experience, individual ability and performance.

vericatrajkova Asia, Hong Kong, INTERNATIONAL, Re-Entry

A comprehensive plan to enhance security inside jail premises across West Bengal has been approved by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, as reported by Express India.

The Rs 10 crore-modernisation plan [approx US$2.1m] will pave way for installation of radio scanners, metal detectors, more surveillance cameras in all the six central jails and sensitive district jails of the state by the end of April this year.  The decision to enhance surveillance and checking of inmates, as well as jail employees, has been taken following the seizure of cellphones, DVDS, marijuana and other incriminating materials from inmates and employees of Alipore and Dum Dum jails. In all, six mobile sets had been recovered from Alipore central jail during surprise raids on January 25 which was conducted jointly by Kolkata police and jail authorities …

He also said that out of the Rs 10 crore sanctioned about Rs 3 to 4 crore [US$620,000-700,000] will be spent on computerisation of records. Incidentally, during the clash between inmates and guards at Howrah jail in the last week of December, several important papers were burnt and that led to a delay in the release of several prisoners.

vericatrajkova Asia, Electronic Monitoring, INTERNATIONAL, India, Offender Information, RFID

More than 200 participants have attended a seminar in Hong Kong to explore strategies in the management of sex offenders.  This report by a government website:

Held in Hong Kong from February 9 to 11, the seminar attracted more than 200 representatives from Singapore, Malaysia, Beijing, Guangdong, Guizhou, Macau and Hong Kong.    Guest speaker Robert McGrath, Clinical Director of the Vermont Treatment Programme for Sexual Abusers in the US, gave an overview of international practices guiding rehabilitation and management of sex offenders.

Assistant Commissioner of Correctional Services (Rehabilitation) Lee Sheung today said the seminar provided a platform for professionals in Hong Kong and neighbouring regions to exchange experience and gave fresh impetus to the rehabilitation of sex offenders.  “With such multi-disciplinary and interactive participants sharing experience, the seminar bears fruit on the development of sex offender management and generates useful insights into the rehabilitation of offenders as a whole,” Mr Lee said.

Chinese University Department of Psychology Prof Fanny Cheung said she was pleased to see the remarkable achievement in the rehabilitative services for offenders in the past decade.  “While more public attention has been placed on the legal framework, the quality custodial and rehabilitative services for the treatment of sex offenders in correctional institutions as well as the enhancement of support and services for sex offenders in the community are of paramount importance in building a safer and more inclusive society,” she said.

vericatrajkova Asia, Hong Kong, INTERNATIONAL, Sex Offenders

Hong Kong Commissioner of Correctional Services Kwok Leung-ming says his department has initiated an organisational change to the Correctional Services Industries to improve the effectiveness of its rehabilitative services.

Reviewing the work of the department today, Mr Kwok said the section has changed its name to Industries & Vocational Training Section since February 2. The changes will strengthen its role and enrich its functions which can facilitate better integration and co-ordination between industrial operations and vocational training activities.  “This new section is now detached from the Operations Division and put under the Rehabilitation Division. The Assistant Commissioner (Rehabilitation) will play a leading role in policy formulation and development planning for the section, while the General Manager will be responsible for the overall management of operations,” Mr Kwok said …

In line with the implementation of a new phase in the department’s Risks & Needs Assessment and Management Protocol for Offenders, Mr Kwok said further work has been done to lower the risk of repeat offences and to better meet the rehabilitative needs of offenders. “Assessment has been extended to all local prisoners with a sentence of two years or above, and programmes for offenders both during incarceration and after their release have been enhanced.”

On the prison development plan Mr Kwok said work has been underway on developing a number of institutions throughout Hong Kong. Lai King Correctional Institution, formerly the Lai King Training Centre for young male offenders, began to receive young female offenders in May after renovation … The Lo Wu Correctional Institution is undergoing redevelopment and will provide 1,400 penal places by early 2010. The department is also planning to redevelop two female institutions in Chi Ma Wan in the coming years to provide 800 penal places.

vericatrajkova Asia, Hong Kong, INTERNATIONAL, Re-Entry

The economic downturn is affecting workers not only in industrial sectors in Japan but also in an unexpected quarter — prisons.  The Japan Times reports:

Although it rarely gets public attention, many prisons have contracts with manufacturers and let prisoners do factory work in jail, such as assembling auto parts, for much lower pay compared with similar contracts “outside prison walls.”  For manufacturers, subcontracting such work to prisons saves production and shipping costs compared with outsourcing the work to factories in China.  But the economic downturn is affecting even those arrangements.

In November alone, jobs for some 200 prisoners vanished nationwide after manufacturers decided to cut production, and another 500 jobs disappeared the following month, according to sources. In the April-December period, 86 contracts were axed between prisons and manufacturers, eliminating jobs for 1,262 inmates, the sources said.

Given the fewer manufacturing jobs, prisons are assigning other work to inmates, they said. The Justice Ministry said some 65,000 prisoners were engaged in such work as of last March as part of penalties for their offenses and also as preparation for their return to society. Nearly 80 percent of prison jobs involve assembling parts for manufacturers and sewing for the apparel industry, the ministry said.

vericatrajkova Asia, Economic Issues, INTERNATIONAL, Inmate Labor, Japan

• South Korea will begin electronic monitoring of some sex offenders.
• Construction funding in Nevada hitting bonding limits and beyond.
• Reformers in England condemn the new “Titan” prisons.  Proposals to build three huge new jails would “squander” public money, they say.

vericatrajkova Asia, Electronic Monitoring, England & Wales, Europe, INTERNATIONAL, Nevada, Sex Offenders, South Korea