US company with NZ prison contract advocates for AI use behind bars

An American conglomerate with a major New Zealand prison contract has been advocating the use of AI to monitor inmates talking to each other.

Honeywell has a $32m-a-year, $236m-overall contract for nationwide IT security systems with Corrections, and is in charge of electronic security at a 600-bed prison being built at Waikeria.

In a 2021 white paper on “key technologies” for future prisons – focused on artificial intelligence and “assets with embedded intelligence” – the company said: “AI deployment can be used to monitor CCTV footage or, alternately, can be used to monitor prisoner conversations within the facility or via telephone/online communications.”

Corrections said AI was not being used currently in any way in prisons, but that it was always looking at new technologies.

“While we are generally aware of developments, further investigation is needed to form a view on the use of this technology.”

It did not monitor inmates’ conversations with each other, but did monitor phonecalls, it said.

Honeywell said in its paper that facial recognition and “virtually tagging” inmates could boost efficiency and security, and that “having autonomous monitoring of prisoner health can help to increase overall levels of health and safety”. Prisons in Hong Kong are introducing sensors under hospital-bed mattresses to monitor an inmate’s heart beat.

Honeywell has refused to comment on the issue and has not put out a subsequent white paper.

Who is Honeywell?

Honeywell is part of the Cornerstone Infrastructure Partners consortium, which is delivering a $750m-plus public-private partnership prison build at Waikeria. The consortium claimed an extra $430m from the government for Covid-related costs in 2022, then did a $225m deal under which it must finish the long-delayed build by this November, RNZ revealed earlier this month.

Honeywell’s Prison of the Future report featured a page of stats about Australasian prisons near the front.

In it, the $200-billion company said AI was an easy and cheap upgrade option for existing prisons.

It “requires little in the way of additional equipment other than suitable computer hardware within the control room in order to run the AI software package”.

“Applying facial recognition and virtually tagging prisoners for ease of identification can enable more efficient authorised secure movement, ease identification during conflicts and overall risk management,” it said.

“Having autonomous monitoring of prisoner health can help to increase overall levels of health and safety vigilance throughout the facility while reducing the burden on security staff to monitor the wellbeing of prisoners through individual cell inspections.”

A “smart prisons” industry has developed globally, partly fuelled by a spike during Covid of self-harm among inmates and assaults on guards.

Many US prisons already use AI to listen to inmates’ phonecalls. Honeywell also uses autonomous vehicles to patrol the perimeter of a Western Australia prison.

Honeywell had characterised its offerings as “key technologies which can unlock benefits for justice and corrections facilities”, promoting rehabilitation and reduction in offending. Prisoners benefited from “less intrusive environmental and behavioural controls”, and guards from relief from work pressures, its report said.

“In advanced applications, the system is able to learn the typical behaviours of the prisoners within the facility and bring to the attention of staff any unusual deviations from these typical behaviours.”

AI in NZ prisons?

Corrections said it was not aware if Honeywell had raised AI monitoring with the department in regards to its nationwide electronic security systems, as officials had not had time to review all the communications

Corrections said it had not ben raised as part of the new Waikeira prison.

“Corrections is generally aware of developments and capabilities of its major vendor partners including Honeywell.”

Honeywell was “our electronic security systems provider for prisons. We do not use AI anywhere across our electronic security systems”, it said in a statement late on Monday.

Cornerstone said it would not use AI at Waikeria.

The government aims to add another 800 beds at Waikeria in four to six years.

The latest “smart prison” in the UK provides devices in cells that inmates can learn on and is run by Serco, which has a billion-dollar contract to run Kohuora prison in south Auckland. Finland began devices-in-cells in 2021.

Honeywell has held major security contracts with Corrections since 2004. It also holds big defence contracts with the Pentagon.

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