Data and prison management: tools for rehabilitation?

Abstract

Although the Chilean prison system seems to be in better shape when compared to other countries in the region, it is precarious when compared to developed countries where rehabilitation is better managed. Although this precariousness is usually seen in terms of overcrowding, there are other, more invisible problems being one of them the data with which the institution works. Based on a review of the fields contained in one of the computer systems most used by the Chilean prison service (the so-called “Inmate System”), this article analyzes its variables, arguing that this data tool reflects and perpetuates a way of naming people. imprisoned solely on the basis of their deficits, and individually-determined “risks.” Likewise, the data contained in this registry system is extremely insufficient to design and monitor advances in the reintegration of incarcerated persons, according to international, specialized literature.