Are robotic guards the answer to controlling prison costs?

With roughly ten million people incarcerated worldwide, the amount of money that is being poured into keeping them confined is mind-boggling. At last estimate, $200 billion a year is being funneled through the world’s prison facilities to maintain their operations, money that could be used elsewhere. With governments around the globe looking to cut costs, often by either privatizing their prisons or by taking drastic actions like reducing the amount of meals they feed inmates each day, South Korea has decided to apply technology to the problem. Depicted in the video below is one of the world’s first robotic prison guards that is starting its one month trial to see how effective non-human “screws” can be inside a dangerous penitentiary.
Developed by the Asian Forum of Corrections (AFC), the robot is designed to cut down on the amount of human help that’s needed in prisons. Armed with 3D technology, as well as pattern recognition algorithms, its able to detect when trouble might erupt or if an inmate is displaying behavior that’s out of his or her normal routine. By analyzing past interactions with a prisoner, the robotic guard can alert its human controllers to potential trouble like a riot or a suicide attempt. This allows a prepared team to respond quickly to intervene.
The hope of the AFC is that by spending a large amount of money up front to develop these advanced machines the cost over the long term will decrease as prisons reduce the number of guards needed for each facility. The organization’s argument is that the robots are immune to many of the dangers their human counterparts are; bribes, injury, sickness and death. Most importantly, they don’t draw a weekly paycheck to keep them happy.
Of course, anyone who has ever seen The Terminator is going to begin the Skynet comparisons, but it’s obvious that this is the most logical direction to take the world’s prison systems (at least until we can invent carbon freezing in the real world). There are large hurdles to overcome since any kind of computer driven technology can be hacked and modified to gain access. But just like the auto industry did several years ago, the penal market will need to begin to move over to automated systems of care for the incarcerated. With more countries exploring privatization as an option to unburden their economies from the cost of keeping those people locked up, you can bet the different companies that are placing bids to take over are looking on this development with interest.
My prediction, based on what I’ve seen, is that within ten-years or so we’ll begin to see this become commonplace around the globe in countries that can afford to invest in it. South Korea also plans on creating a robot that is capable of searching prisoners, although there is no word on whether or not they will be tasked with conducting the body cavity checks when an inmate is processed into the system.