The Digital Technologies of Rehabilitation and Reentry

The period immediately following prison release is challenging, as returning citizens need to obtain housing, find employment, secure health care, and reconnect with families. In addition to having a criminal record, returning citizens encounter a technologically savvy and hyper-secured society that requires use of touchscreens, mobile phones, computers, and the Internet, and relies heavily on dataveillance and big data analysis for predictive policing and crime-prevention. Most returning citizens do not have the digital access and skills needed for employment, access to online human and social services, enrollment in education, connecting with family and community, protecting their privacy online, and adapting to cultural changes. This chapter examines the kinds of technologies returning citizens encounter during reentry and reentry programs that focus on integrating digital technologies and digital literacy into their curriculum. We discuss the implications of the lack of such programs and the potential benefits of digital literacy training during reentry.