By Chad Esplin
Inmate populations at correctional facilities in the United States have been on the upswing since 2020, following a steep drop during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts estimate that the country’s prison system now holds over 2 million people.
This growth has exacerbated operational challenges in the criminal justice system — few more serious than the increasing likelihood of an incident occurring inside a correctional facility.
A 2025 report highlighted incident growth over the past few years, revealing that the death rate in surveyed prison systems nearly doubled, while assaults against staff reached record highs. Staff shortages have compounded the issue, alarming facility administrators who cite lack of personnel as a contributing factor to an unsafe environment.
Other public safety agencies, such as law enforcement, contend with similar resource limitations. Their leaders have turned to data-driven solutions. Correction facilities can take a similar approach, using technology to automate incident reports and reviews to help prevent future occurrences.
Limitations of the review process
Processing incident reports and reviews in correctional facilities demands a high degree of accuracy. However, the method for accomplishing these tasks remains largely paper-based or manual. Given the deteriorating threat picture, manual processes run up against three key challenges:
- Time: detailed, handwritten reports consume hours of officer time.
- Accuracy: Manual reporting introduces the risk of human error and memory fade.
- Resource constraints: The personnel needed to document and process incidents are often diverted to immediate security needs.
These challenges create data gaps that prevent administrators from understanding the true state of the facility. Inaccurate or late data stops leadership from identifying the insights they need to improve infrastructure and stop incidents before they start. Addressing the hurdles that frustrate seamless reporting serves as the necessary first step toward driving more effective reviews.
Integrating incident reporting
Precise detail in incident reporting is not just a best practice — it is a legal mandate. State laws, such as Title 15-1044 of the California Code of Regulations, require correctional facilities to develop thorough written policies for incidents involving threats or physical harm. These records must include names of all persons involved, detailed incident descriptions, actions taken and precise timelines.
Providing this level of detail for every event places an immense burden on resource-strapped personnel. While administrators have hardware like video cameras and smart sensors, many have yet to leverage software that integrates these systems. Where sensors alert to unusual activity, integrated software can automatically capture and process that data to streamline the reporting processing.
Emergency response agencies provide a useful blueprint. Facing similar staffing shortages, these agencies rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to augment their capabilities. Correctional facilities can follow suit by leveraging AI-assisted analytics platforms to ingest data from various security streams, such as video cameras and sound sensors, to create unified incident logs. These applications save time, enhance accuracy and reduce human error, providing the factual backbone for more effective incident reviews.
Shifting review procedures
Improved reporting allows administrative personnel to move from a reactive stance to a proactive, data-driven strategy. Reviewing an incident transitions from an exercise in assigning blame to an analysis of systemic anomalies and broader trends.
These deeper insights help administrators isolate the specific environmental issues that prompted an event. For example, if an inmate is found engaging in self-harm with a sharpened utensil in the cell, an AI-assisted platform can process video data to identify the exact moments the contraband was obtained. Instead of relying on a subjective narrative, the review panel can use verified data to identify security gaps, such as a blind spot in a specific block or a failure in a contraband check procedure.
Once new safety measures are implemented, the same security data provides a feedback loop to verify if those measures are working, helping to ensure a continuous improvement loop.
Technological solutions to build trust and communication
AI-assisted technologies provide the data foundation for modern corrections, helping facilities overcome resource limitations through robust, automated review processes. By shifting toward integrated analytics, administrators remove the guesswork from facility oversight.
When review procedures are backed by objective, real-time reports rather than fragmented manual entries, the system gains a new level of internal and external trust. This data-driven approach allows leadership to justify infrastructure improvements and training programs with high-fidelity evidence. Ultimately, rethinking incident reviews through technology empowers facilities to meet administrative goals, comply with evolving regulations and maintain a transparent, secure environment for both staff and the populations they serve.
About the author
Chad Esplin is a Product Manager with over 30 years of combined experience in law enforcement and software development. Following a distinguished 20-year career in law enforcement, spanning patrol, investigations, communications and administration, he transitioned into tech, leveraging a B.S. in Computer Science to build mission-critical public safety tools. For the past 11 years, he has served as the Product Manager for Motorola Solutions’ Flex RMS and Flex Jail, specializing in the delivery of scalable on-premises and cloud-based solutions. A champion for intuitive user experience, Esplin is dedicated to solving complex technical problems through cross-functional collaboration.