In order to more effectively plan the information communication technology solutions for the Latvian Prison Administration information systems, new Training centre, existing prisons, as well as the new Liepaja Prison, Dmitrijs Kalins, Director General of Latvian Prison Administration, and colleagues from Latvian Prison Administration Central Office went on a visit to Norway to get acquainted with the practices of Norwegian partners in information communication technology issues.
Colleagues of the Norwegian Correctional Service presented the specifics of their daily work, the digitalization situation of Norwegian prisons, current projects, as well as development plans.
The information system used in Norwegian prisons is planned to be modernized. It is expected that the new centralized ICT system for the Norwegian Correctional Service (KODA) (hereinafter – KODA) will provide an opportunity to unify and standardize business processes in all prisons by connecting them centrally, as well as introduce an automatic data exchange with courts, prosecutor's office and other institutions.
Norwegian colleagues emphasized that the biggest challenge is the process of introducing KODA – a change of thinking by transferring "paper work" to the digital environment. It is important to constantly inform employees about changes and provide a stable, accessible technical support. It is necessary to achieve a situation where it is clear to the employees why the new IS are necessary and employees are provided with appropriate training so that the IS are easy to use. A significant attention is paid to the intuitiveness of the user interface of the KODA, in addition maximally reducing the number of actions required for the implementation of tasks.
Currently, the restructuring of the IT department of the Norwegian Correctional Services (KDI) Central Office is underway, during which it is planned to organize the KDI activities in such a way that it operates more strategically, considering the need to develop and modernize both the common security approach and the decision-making and planning processes. During the visit, the IT solutions developed in the department were demonstrated.
Intensive work is takingplace on providing a digital learning environment for prisoners. At the moment, "MS TEAMS for education" is used for lessons, and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there were no face-to-face meetings, a video call solution was introduced for prisoners.
During the visit to Agder prison, the IT solutions were presented: digitalization and security solutions for prison communications, as well as self-service kiosks for prisoners.
The delegation visit was organized within the framework of Latvian Prison Administration and the European Social Fund project No.9.1.3.0/16/I/001 “Raising the Efficiency of Resocialisation System” and the Norwegian Grants programme “Correctional Services”.