Correctional Services of Canada (CSC): preparing for the future of corrections

Simon Bonk, CSC’s CIO speaks to Technology Magazine to discuss how he is utilising modern technology to prepare for the future of corrections

Responsible for administering sentences of two years or more as imposed by the courts, the Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) is a federal government agency that actively encourages and assists offenders in their rehabilitation and reintegration journey of becoming law-abiding citizens.

“At the core of it, CSC is about ensuring the safety and protection of Canadians, by equipping offenders with the tools they need to successfully return to our communities” explained its CIO, Simon Bonk.?

“Our business line is unique compared to other government departments. We're not a policy department. We deal with folks that have made bad choices in their life. We need to provide them with the support and tools to be able to make better choices. The vast majority of the people that come to our institutions return to society, so they're going to be your neighbour or in your neighbourhood. We have a duty of care to create a safe and secure environment that allows offenders of various backgrounds to focus on the correctional programs that have been tailored to them.?This makes for a really dynamic environment,” he added.

In his role, Bonk looks at the ways technology can both enable and inspire transformation to support CSC in meeting the demands of its complex offender population.?In doing so, he has assisted the organisation in reimaging how corrections can operate differently, through the support of technology, to modernise.

“A modernised correctional service has the ability to drive greater effectiveness of rehabilitation during program delivery, greater offerings in services such as education, addictions management and mental health, and be adaptable to the diversity of offenders, in particular, addressing the diversity amongst Indigenous offenders rather than managing them as one population,” Bonk noted.

Within the last two years, CSC has introduced new technologies such as wifi, in contained areas of the institution, mobile devices for officers’ specified use, and; RFID tags to increase the effective management of offenders. It has also made substantial investments in its network and infrastructure, to ready CSC for the future of corrections.?

“The innovation opportunities in corrections are endless, and the industry has lots of room for evolution,” said Bonk.

Read the full article here .