“Prisons: The Last Resort” discusses best practices and innovations across the corrections spectrum in pursuit of improved offender outcomes.

London, October 23, 2017 – Abilis Solutions is featured in a powerful new documentary entitled “Prisons: The Last Resort,” which debuted today at the annual conference of the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA). The 60-minute documentary, commissioned by the ICPA and produced by London’s ITN Productions, brings together corrections leaders and industry professionals to highlight numerous innovations and best practices aimed at improving treatment of offenders in custody and positioning them for greater success during community re-entry.

“The persistent, high rates of recidivism represent a real challenge for corrections agencies right around the world,” said Peter van der Sande, ICPA President and former General Director of the Custodial Institutions Agency of The Netherlands. “Our goal in commissioning this important film is to highlight the many positive efforts underway to rehabilitate offenders while in custody, and demonstrate evidence-based approaches to reducing recidivism. By gathering senior agency leaders, researchers, and industry professionals to share their experiences and insights, we believe we are making an important contribution to this issue on an international scale.”

Rates and definitions of recidivism vary from country to country, but the challenge in many jurisdictions is that the rate of reoffending persists, often as high as 50%. This means that nearly one of every two offenders will return to prison within a short period of time from release. It is a challenge that adds tremendous cost to corrections agencies and fosters a perception among many offenders that a life of incarceration is inevitable. Fortunately, proactive agencies across the globe have rededicated themselves to understanding and addressing this challenge head-on, and the ICPA documentary represents one of the first attempts to share best practices across the international corrections landscape.

“It is an honor for us to participate in the making of this documentary,” said Eric Le Goff, President and CEO of Abilis Solutions. “We are actively engaged with corrections agencies in many jurisdictions in multiple countries, and we see firsthand the business and operational challenges they face. Our information-driven approach to management and sharing of corrections data is designed to help agencies gain new insight on such structural challenges as recidivism, safety and security, and share information efficiently with other key stakeholders. We strongly believe in the importance of successful community re-entry for offenders, and are confident a documentary such as this will provide ideas that will spark discussion and enable agencies everywhere to deliver improved outcomes.”

Effective today, “Prisons: The Last Resort” is available for free streaming at https://goo.gl/uZ6eNn . Additionally, over the coming weeks, the film will be distributed to corrections services, NGOs, the volunteer sector, and policy and decision-makers in the global prison and probation sector.

About Abilis Solutions

Abilis is a leading company in the design and delivery of systems to meet the complex information needs of corrections agencies around the world. The CORIS^® platform is a modular and configurable, integrated offender management system that automates business processes across prisons and community corrections operations. Collectively CORIS^® manages more than 250,000 offenders, probationers, and parolees. As well, nearly 27,500 corrections professionals use CORIS^® in 324 secure facilities and community corrections offices. Abilis Solutions is headquartered in Montreal, Canada with operations in Portland, Maine; Nashville, Tennessee; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Canberra, Australia.

About International Corrections and Prisons Association

The International Corrections and Prisons Association is a recognized leader in the global corrections profession, with an emphasis on the advancement of professional and humane corrections and prisons worldwide. The non-profit organization is committed to the promotion and sharing of ethical and effective correctional practices to enhance public safety and promote healthier communities worldwide. The annual ICPA conference regularly attracts more than 600 senior corrections leaders and practitioners, researchers, and private sector professionals from more than 70 countries.

Media Relations: 
Ken McGovern
Vice President, CORIS^® Business Development
Abilis Solutions
+1-207-210-5137