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 A Peek Behind The Of Public Safety Theatre (Sept. 18, 2023) |
Transcription
Harszewski
Blog 1660
Comment Reply (MsAmnesia)
Reply ID: 7rt9
9-17-24
(received 9-8 mailing today, of post from about 8-25?)
Hi Ms.A :) First, sorry for the extra scribbly appearance of this entire reply. I really don't know why my writing is SO kindergarten-y today. It's weird... possibly a touch of exhaustion? I'm trying to get it under control, lol. But unlike my regular posts, I just write out a reply one time and that's that, so there's always a bit more raw, in appearance and content, too.
Glad the parenthetical addition to the "Comment Reply" title helped you notice the one meant for you. If there's something else I should do, please let me know! I'd like this to be as accessible as possible, and whenever I do get a friend or family member to go to this site for me, every single time they say the same thing: "It's not very easy to navigate." Probably one just has to be familiar with it and it's fine. Still, if there's a way I can hack it for people's convenience, I definitely want to know.
I'll look into that transcript exerptation/annotation idea a bit more. I have access to, oh, maybe 5 or 6 hearing transcripts right now. It would be some work, and I worry that it might take so much contextualizing to make sense of the things that are being said (and my critiques of them), it could become overwhelming.
Interesting you brought up tablet monitoring. A rumour was spreading awhile back that someone was denied parole after he claimed to spend a lot of time using some learning app, then the parole board zombies called him out, saying they saw he just played video games all day. I dug into that as much as I could, including asking a guard who is usually assigned to those hearing, just to see if she had seen any sort of uptick in that sort of gotcha game... she didn't know what I was talking about. Seems it was just fiction. I know that besides that one rumour, I've never heard a peep from anyone I know who's actually had a hearing, no one saying their activities were brough up in any way. I suspect it could have an impact, but probably only in extremely narrow circumstances, like when someone actually gets in trouble and is investigated for something tablet-related.
What you said about "social contracts/investments" is chilling. I agree, so far these systems don't seem to set up or used for any particularly insidious surveillance, but that people are talking about it at all... god, those punishment systems just keep finding ways to expand their sphere of control. As a kid, I recall adults saying things like "What is the world coming to?", but it was always a bit tongue-in-cheek. Now I'm seriously asking, though... What IS the world coming to? It feels like, not anything very good, at the moment.
:/
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Replies (3)
You're absolutely right, the web interface looks and feels like those from the early '00s, so it's not easy to navigate at first. But, once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad, it's functional and does what it needs to do without distractions. That's becoming a rarity these days.
Scribbly writing is fine, don't worry about it, it doesn't have to be polished for me. :)
Please don't overwhelm yourself for the sake of discussing a hearing, most of your topics are interesting, it was just my curiosity.
Tablet monitoring is a very likely thing, even we on the outside are monitored by big tech. The app named Digital Wellbeing (on Android) gives you a breakdown of how you used your device and I'm pretty sure that's sent to Google. Apple likely has something alike. I suspect that since this "digital wellbeing" app is open-source, Securus/JPay/Aventiv/GTL/others might have a modified version of it that sends the data to their servers whenever there is a synchronisation. Unfortunately I don't know and it's really hard to get any information on what goes on inside those tablets. The dystopian part was the social contract/investment.
A few days ago I was talking to my friend in Michigan and he told me that on inmate.com there is a rumour about upcoming GPS trackers with geofencing in the form of bracelets/watches. This was soft announced in 2022 on the Michigan Public website (part of NPR) with the following statement:
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Governor Whitmer’s proposed budget includes $40 million in funding for a live inmate tracking system as well as a secure Wi-Fi network throughout the prisons.
The Wi-Fi and tracking bracelets are an attempt to streamline the record-keeping system in Michigan prisons, officials say.
The bracelets, which they say will resemble fitness trackers, will replace paper passes that are currently used to track inmates movements.
During a February 16 House subcommittee meeting, Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington said the network will keep real-time updates on prisoners, their activities and their locations as well as provide educational opportunities to inmates.
Washington says the current strategies for record-keeping are staff intensive.
"This isn’t about escapes or that we can’t determine when somebody is missing. It’s a way to modernize the system so that we can be assured that people are checking in and be sure people are in the right place at the right time," Washington said.
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I don't know how they see these as providing "educational opportunities for inmates", maybe I'm not thinking creatively enough.
And here we are, just over 2 and a half years later and I'm hearing news about them coming to prison there.
I really would like to know how voluntary this is and if it's a 24/7 thing. I know they have severe staff shortages, so they're urgently looking for options to do more with less staff.
Chilling stuff!
Hi! This is Dymitri, writing on the gtl and through a friend. =) Just wanted to let u know I heard from ya. Thanks so much, and expect a reply soon. =)
Take care. --D.