How ViaPath Technology Breaks the Cycle of Incarceration

When the opportunity to lead ViaPath Technologies came my way, I was immediately interested because this role bridged my professional experience and my personal passion.

Professionally, everything I do is aimed at executing a meaningful mission. ViaPath provided this opportunity. Additionally, on a personal level, when my nephew fell victim to the opioid epidemic and was incarcerated due to his drug problems, I learned firsthand how vital connections are to rehabilitation. successful after his release. Today, our mission at ViaPath is to use technology to support rehabilitation and create opportunities for success.

For many years, the correctional community, including the U.S. Department of Justice, has recognized that the most effective way to support the reintegration of justice-involved individuals and reduce recidivism is a holistic method that integrates community care. health, education and communication to look beyond the correctional system. walls of the installations.

However, putting these principles into practice remains a challenge. The technology offers an innovative solution that allows correctional facilities to transform old, disconnected models and adopt this integrated, supportive and results-driven approach at scale.

From phones and tablets to VR and AI, ViaPath’s products are designed to foster productive and meaningful connections for all of our stakeholders: correctional staff, incarcerated people, and their friends and family members. family.

For staff and correctional facilities, our technology’s connections provide increased security, transparency, accountability, compliance and process efficiency, meaning they can reduce costs and keep staff safe. Innovations like our cutting-edge intelligence solutions use AI to extract data from disparate sources and analyze it, revealing illicit activities, uncovering suspicious patterns, and uncovering hidden networks.

Combined with deep expertise in correctional and policing investigative practices, we have helped stop more than 25,000 incidents in recent years, ranging from human trafficking to drug rings.

For incarcerated people, technology provides a real-time lifeline to family, friends and the community through videos, audio files, e-cards and short-form texts. We introduced revolutionary wireless devices to connect them to more communication and entertainment opportunities and essential supports that will prepare them for success once released, like healthcare, mental health support and second chance employment.

We also constantly strive to innovate new ways to expand educational opportunities in correctional facilities through technology. Research shows that incarcerated people who participated in correctional education programs were 43% less likely to reoffend than those who did not participate and that the chances of obtaining employment after release were 13% more likely. higher than those who did not participate.

Using our tablets, ViaPath has provided more than 25 million hours of online learning courses to incarcerated people during and up to a year after their release. These range from life skills training such as anger management, parenting skills, substance use management and financial literacy to basic and career education like high school diplomas, automotive technology and culinary arts.

Our courses incorporate new tools like virtual reality for kinesthetic, hands-on training for learners with tangible, real-world applications in workplaces like electricians and plumbers.

For our third stakeholder – friends and families – consistent and accessible opportunities to connect with their incarcerated loved ones allow them to remain in each other’s lives, take part in important milestones, and maintain the sense of belonging necessary to break the cycles of incarceration in justice. has touched communities for generations to come.

Through technology, we can provide access to a comprehensive ecosystem of support that puts justice-affected people on the path to a better future. Looking ahead, I’m excited to expand these connections through future technological advancements – and to advance ViaPath’s mission to reduce recidivism and prioritize safety, security, profitability, responsibility and opportunities for all our stakeholders.