Digital Rehabilitation in Prisons: Reflections on Collaboration and Learning
Dr Victoria Knight is an internationally recognised criminologist whose work focuses on digital rehabilitation, prisons, and the ethical use of technology in criminal justice. In this guest blog for the International Network for Criminal Justice (IN-CJ), she draws on extensive research, international collaboration, and practice-based experience to reflect on how digital change can support inclusion, learning, and rehabilitation across different justice systems. Her contribution situates digital rehabilitation within wider debates about human rights, public value, and cross-sector learning in contemporary criminal justice practice.
Much of my recent work has focused on digital rehabilitation in prisons—how technology can be used to support inclusion, learning, and reintegration, while remaining grounded in human rights and real-world practice. I work in this space through research, advisory roles, and programme development, including ongoing international collaboration.
What has become increasingly clear to me is that this is not work that can—or should—be done in isolation. The evidence base around digital rehabilitation in justice settings remains limited, fragmented, and uneven across jurisdictions. As a result, collaboration and knowledge-sharing have become central to how I approach this field.
My current and active research spans a range of projects, from a study on the use of SMS text messaging in prisons with Professor Emma Short (London Metropolitan University) and colleagues at De Montfort University, to the co-editing of a Special Issue on Digital Inclusion During and After Incarceration: A Global Perspective for the Journal of Social Inclusion with Dr Bianca Reisdorf (University of North Carolina Charlotte). That special Issue brings together fourteen papers from across the globe, including contributions from low-income countries and the Global South—perspectives that are too often missing from debates about digital justice (expected publication Autumn 2026).
Alongside this, I’ve been fortunate to work with colleagues such as Dr Malin Nordström (Örebro University) on reflecting on Sweden’s digital strategy for corrections. Also with Professor Stuart Ross on a publication entitled, Beyond Efficiency: Public Value Maximisation and the Ethics of Digital Rehabilitation for an anniversary edition Advancing Corrections Journal reflecting on our work with UNICRI. These collaborations have reinforced the value of looking beyond a single system or national context when thinking about digital change.
For me, some of the most influential learning has come from witnessing different contexts in practice. Working with justice colleagues in Thailand and Namibia on digital rehabilitation has challenged my assumptions and prompted me to reflect critically on what I know—and how I know it. These experiences have highlighted that answers to complex digital questions in justice do not always sit within the justice sector itself. Sometimes, the most useful insights come from looking sideways—to education, health, community services, information systems or international practice. We can’t always find the answers close to home.
Bridging research and practice remains a key priority for me. Through a funded HEIF project with Dr Alex Beaumont at the University of Law, we are developing a CPD programme to support practitioners in building digital skills, awareness, and inclusion. I am continually reminded that practitioners’ needs are crucial for healthy digital inclusion. In February 2026 I will be chairing an INCJ webinar on digital rehabilitation, bringing together global contributors and culminating in a policy paper aimed at translating shared learning into practical guidance. In July 2026, I have been invited to deliver to keynote address to the British Society of Criminology Conference at Nottingham Trent University. I’ve been challenged to reflect on digital in light of hope and resilience. Alongside this work, I continue to act as an advisor and consultant to national and international organisations on digital transformation in justice.
What continues to motivate me is the sense that this field is evolving through collective effort. However, I remain vigilant to the pressing need for quick solutions to the challenges and crises that our justice services face. Dr Mark Wood’s wonderful new book, How Technologies Harm: A Relational Approach, offers us a powerful warning about assuming that digital tools alone can deliver justice or rehabilitation. Wood shows that technologies are neither neutral nor innately good or bad — instead, their impacts depend on the relationships, contexts and practices through which they are embedded.
Digital rehabilitation is not about technology alone — it is about people, practice, and learning across boundaries. As we look ahead (something I have always been asked to do!), extending knowledge, questioning assumptions, and learning from diverse contexts will be essential if digital change in prisons and probation is to be meaningful, inclusive, and effective. Looking forward, 2026 brings new opportunities and the emergence of new knowledge and collaborations.
Dr Victoria Knight
vknight@dmu.ac.uk
