Policy, practice and regulatory issues in mobile technology treatment for forensic clients

Abstract

This article examines developments in mobile technologies that target the treatment and support needs of offenders in the community, and sets out three challenges that must be addressed if these interventions are to become part of the correctional programs environment. These are: how to identify good quality mobile applications that will yield genuine benefits for practitioners and service users; how to adapt forensic treatment approaches to work effectively in a mobile application environment, and how to make mobile applications available to forensic clients and motivate people to use them. Until these challenges are addressed the potential value of mobile technologies in providing greater access to forensic treatment will not be realised.