It’s actually not very easy to find articles concerning correctional facilities using biometrics to effectively manage or improve inmate health. There are articles about tracking inmate location within prisons using facial identification (Miles & Cohn, 2006) and a patent to use pulse oximeters similar to an offender-tracking ankle bracelet to prevent suicide completion in the incarcerated setting(U.S. Patent No.2011/0260870, 2001), and software to analyze voice and moods of inmate while they are making telephone calls (U.S. Patent No.US20130044867A1, 2011).
The article most fitting to using health-applied biometrics was a self-reported personality assessment inventory (PAI) to screen for malingering, suicide risk and aggression in male inmates (Wang et al., 1998). Malingering is the art of faking mental disorders in order to serve “easy time” in the comparative comfort of inpatient facilities (Wang et al., 1998). But the primary concerns in a correctional setting are inmates and prisoners who are aggressive or suicidal. While the results of the PAI were only moderately correlated with inmates who were assessed with malingering and aggression, the PAI was most helpful in identifying inmates who were at risk of suicide and in need of additional treatment and monitoring (Wang et al., 1998).
It appears that more research and investigation could be done using biometrics in the correctional facility setting in regards to improving physical and mental healthcare. Potential interventions for inmates deemed high-risk for recidivism could receive interventions such as improved post-incarceration support from social workers, physicians and specialty providers such as psychiatrists and pain clinic services based on their self-reported information and criminal background (Vigilante, Flynn, Affleck, & Stunkle, 2009).
But there is data out there that could be easily created mined and used for improving inmate health. A comparison of admission and release health in 1991 showed that inmate health worsened for a small percentage of inmates, but that most inmates’ health remained the same (Wallace, Klein-Safran, Gaes, & Moritsugu, 1991). Measures could be taken based on inmate data with the goal of improving mental and physical health and thus reducing the likelihood of inmates returning to prison (Link, Ward, & Stansfield, 2019). Incarceration with the goal of successful reentry into society seems the best win-win for society that would certainly involve the constructive use of data to target and implement effective interventions for each inmate.
References
Bailey, M. (2001). U.S. Patent No. 2011/0260870. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
