Include UK Journey project
At present criminal justice agencies both in the UK and internationally do not fully realise the opportunities that digital technologies offer to improve service delivery and the lives of service users. As a result, there has been little digital innovation within the realms of offender rehabilitation. The Ministry of Justice (2019) estimate that the economic and social cost of reoffending is £18.1 billion per annum. For these reasons, this project seeks to develop digital technologies to support desistance from crime and improve the lives of people who have offended and their wider communities.
Dr Gemma Morgan has a long-standing research collaboration with Include UK (http://include-uk.com) - a third sector organisation who provide support for a range of offending populations. Through this collaboration, the aim is to implement digital technologies that can support desistance. It is envisaged that these technologies can be used across the sector in a local, national and global context.
Supporting people to desist from crime is a global issue. On a national level, this is evidenced by high percentages of re-offending rates and high prison populations. Supporting pro-social change in offenders is a challenge for statutory, private and third sector criminal justice organisations.
The development and implementation of digital technologies in the area of offender rehabilitation are cutting edge. Currently, there is little to no innovation in this area. As such, a range of technology can be developed to support organisations and their service users. For example:
• The development of service user feedback apps or webpages to inform and improve service delivery
• Software to track the individual's journey to desistance, which can also be used to identify risk factors for offending to tailor support & interventions. This can be used by the service user to track their own journey & wellbeing and by criminal justice professionals to effectively support people.
This directly relates to the Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion Cross-Cutting Theme by aiding offenders’ reintegration in society and helping them access the support they require, so that their chances of suffering poverty and social exclusion are reduced.