UK Ministers Consider High-Tech Solutions to Ease Prison Crisis

UK Ministers Consider High-Tech Solutions to Ease Prison Crisis
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UK ministers have held talks with major tech firms about using advanced technologies to tackle overcrowding in prisons and ease pressure on probation services,The Guardian reported..At a London meeting chaired by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, companies including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM and Serco proposed measures such as subcutaneous tracking devices, AI rehabilitation tools, real-time behaviour monitoring, and robots to manage prisoners and transport them in driverless vehicles.

Mahmood said she wants “deeper collaboration” with tech companies to address prison capacity issues and reduce reoffending. The Ministry of Justice is exploring how wearable technology, geolocation and AI could create a “prison outside prison” and improve public safety. However, civil liberties groups have warned the ideas are “alarmingly dystopian”. Donald Campbell of the non-profit Foxglove said it was “chilling” that officials were considering implants and behaviour prediction tools.

A government spokesperson stressed these ideas are hypothetical and aim to spark debate about a future “digital, data and technology-enabled justice system”. The meeting follows a broader push by the Labour government to use technology and AI to reform overstretched public services. Another round of pitches from tech firms is expected this week.