Corrections_Today_Summer_2025_Vol.87_No.2

from the archives

and track an escaping inmate and escalate the response until the inmate stops. First, a warning to stop would be issued to an inmate detected by the laser system to be approaching a restricted area; then a laser burst would be directed at the inmate’s eyes to cause momentary blindness; that would be followed by a laser blast that would physically stun the inmate, and if the inmate kept advancing, a fatal laser blast would be issued. All would occur automatically, without the need for an officer to operate the laser. Escaping inmates who somehow manage to beat these various systems of the next century and make it safely to a getaway vehicle would still face some daunting chal lenges. Microwaves directed at a fleeing car could disable its electronics and bring it to a halt. A similar technology would involve placing wires on roadways along principal escape routes; when activated to halt an escaping inmate, they would radiate a high-energy pulse that would dis able the car. Many other new technologies likely will be avail able for use in correctional facilities: wrist radios, videocameras mounted in headgear and eyeglasses, and electronic towers and fences. Voice analysis technol ogy or “voice printing,” even if improvements fail to render it a completely reliable identification system, undoubtedly will prove valuable in telephone surveil lance operations and as a tool in hostile situations. Video conferencing will reduce the number of times inmates will have to be escorted out of an institution for arraignments, parole hearings, and so forth. Tele medicine technology will drastically reduce the need for transporting inmates to community medical facilities. Automated systems capable of translating the written word or the spoken word will make it easier to manage the increasing number of non-English speaking inmates in American prisons. And virtual reality technology will be used to train correctional officers and other per sonnel, enabling them to respond to escapes, medical emergencies, and disturbances from the relative com fort of the classroom. Like Glafcke’s water-pipe grilles — which, if they had been installed, probably would have been doomed

by rust, sediment and a predictable propensity of inmates to cause leaks simply to set off alarms and antagonize staff — future technology likely will be beset by a few bugs. Nonetheless, iris scanning, enhanced X-ray technology, electromagnetic locking devices and stun belts will be welcomed by prison admin istrators in the beginning of the 21 st century as much as prison administrators at the beginning of the 20 th century welcomed the Bertillon sys tem, cell shakedown methods, tool-resistant bars and Colt revolvers. In 2000, as in 1900, new technologies will emerge to help staff stay one step ahead of inmates. CT REFERENCES “Class 4” Files, Records of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Record Group 129, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md. Federal Bureau of Prisons. 1949. Handbook of correctional institution design and construction. Washington, D.C.: Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal Bureau of Prisons. 1962. 1300 Metropolitan Avenue: A history of Leavenworth. Leavenworth, Kan.: USP Leavenworth. “Glafcke’s improvement in prison construction.” 1893. Scientific American (April 8). Johnston, Norman, et al. 1994. Eastern State Penitentiary: Crucible of good intentions. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art. Keve, Paul W. 1986. The history of corrections in Virginia. Charlot tesville: University Press of Virginia. McKelvey, Blake. 1977. American prisons: A history of good intentions. Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith. National Prison Association. 1888, 1889, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905. Proceedings. USP Leavenworth. 1914. “Rules and regulations.” Leavenworth, Kan.: USP Leavenworth. John W. Roberts, Ph.D., is chief of Communications and Archives for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

John W. Roberts Ph.D was chief of Communications and Archives for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Summer 2025 | Corrections Today

43