United Nations Office on Drugs and Labor

Handbook on the Use of Technology in Prison Settings

This Handbook was developed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to support prison administrations which have, or are considering, using technology in their prisons. It is designed for use as a reference document to ensure that technology is deployed to support continued compliance with the United Nations standards for prison management and the treatment of prisoners. In particular the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules). It is also intended to raise awareness about both the potential opportunities and risks when implementing technology in prisons. Technology can bring benefits for staff and prisoners. In contexts where digital tools are thoughtfully aligned with both correctional objectives and relevant standards and norms, they can support normalization, strengthen digital literacy, and help ensure that prisoners are not excluded from the digital evolution shaping everyday life in the community. Technology can also make necessary changes to improve current operations. Prison administrations are therefore increasingly implementing technology strategies or adopting technology on a piece-meal basis. Where this is the case, this Handbook can be used as a benchmark against which the use of technology can be assessed to ensure that it does not reduce-and ideally enhances-compliance with the Nelson Mandela Rules. However, it is not the intention of this Handbook to endorse the use of any specific type of technology in prison nor to advocate that technology should necessarily be adopted in prisons.