My Journey app launch event
The My Journey App launch event, held on the 28th of Feb 2023, was jointly organised by the Legal Innovation Lab Wales and the non-profit organisation Include. This event discussed a very important but often overlooked topic of the digital exclusion of offenders and celebrated the creation of an application that helps prison leavers to rehabilitate into society.
Digital exclusion is a real concern for offenders as they do not have any access to technology when in prison. Some have lived their entire lives not knowing how to use a phone or the meaning of the internet. But when they finally step outside into the real world, it becomes difficult for them to perform basic tasks like claiming benefits or finding housing. This exclusion creates a dependency on their friends and family members and social workers to support them at every step. If proper support and inclusion are not provided, there is a high risk of them re-offending. However, there seems to be very little work done on the digital inclusion of offenders. For these reasons, Dr. Gemma Morgan, a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Swansea University, worked with the software developers at the Legal Innovation Lab Wales and members from Include to create an app to help offenders on their rehabilitation journey.
The event began with an opening address by Dr. Gemma Morgan addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by digital technology in helping to prevent reoffending. This was followed by a presentation from Emma Jones, the Managing Director of Include, discussing the impact and potential benefits of digital technology in the Third Sector. Tobias Sheer-Hardwick, the Lead Software Developer on this project, then provided a demo of the application. He discussed the unique features of the app that act as a record-keeping tool for both the users (prison leavers) and the social workers (team members) who are supporting them in their rehabilitation journey. The app provides team members with a complete account of the user history and an easy way to keep a record of all appointments and conversations. For the users, the app provides a unique feature of journal recording to help them write down their progress, feelings, or hardships. He also discussed the security features of the app and highlighted that the app was designed in an easy-to-understand and accessible manner, keeping in mind that the users might feel daunted by the idea of using technology.
The last talk of the event was given by Charlotte Walker, a Research Assistant on the project and a former Parole Officer. She conducted research on digital exclusion and spoke to prison leavers about their interaction with technology, which provided quite heart-breaking and shocking insights into their lives. The reason given for preventing prisoners from accessing technology is that they may use technology to commit further crimes. This is a reasonable concern, however, Charlotte’s research showed that there is no academic literature or empirical evidence to show that crimes are committed through these means. Instead, the research generally shows that offenders use these tools merely for keeping in touch with friends and family or knowing about the world. Charlotte concluded that this research showed the need for conducting further studies to find the right balance between keeping prisoners from re-offending and ensuring that restricting access to technology does not result in digital and social exclusion.
The event was attended by a wide range of interested parties, from Welsh Government, academics, Third Sector and others. The reception was exceptionally positive and we look forward to seeing how this revolutionary app improves the lives of prison leavers and those who support them.