Can providing tablets reduce the demand for contraband cellphones? Results from a quasi-experimental evaluation

• In Event: Latest Research on Institutional Corrections and Contraband Management

Abstract

Cellphones in prison can be used to facilitate underground economies, participate in criminal activities, and otherwise jeopardize institutional security. However, many people also use these devices as a convenient and private way of communicating with their loved ones outside the facility – something that is difficult and expensive to do through the legitimate prison phone system. It is therefore possible that providing low-cost alternatives for communication, such as tablets, can reduce the demand for contraband cellphones. On their own, tablets also hold potential for improving institutional adjustment and rehabilitation. Through funding from the National Institute of Justice, we partnered with a medium-sized prison system that implemented a statewide tablet program to examine this hypothesis. We use panel analyses to determine whether tablets impacted the number of cellphone-related violations, contraband drug incidents, and other infractions over time in 12 prisons.

Authors

• Bryce E. Peterson, CNA Corporation

• KiDeuk Kim, Urban Institute