The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) announced in 2017 that trials were to be started to test out technology that can soon replace the need for guards.

Well, it seems some of that technology is finally here and on trial at Changi Prison.

Technology that recognises faces

A muster check is when prison officers account for inmates in the cell. This is usually done three times a day, and take up to half an hour of an officer's time to complete each round.

The automated muster checking system, however, uses a camera located in cells to scan the faces of inmates and match them to records in the prison database.

If the system flags up discrepancies, it alerts an officer to conduct a manual check.

This reduces the time taken for muster checks to 10 minutes.

Technology that detects fights

The Avatar is a human behaviour detection system that can detect abnormal activities in a cell, like fights.

The system makes use of an algorithm that looks for high intensity, erratic movements between individuals.

There have been some false positives, like when inmates are exercising, but according to Chan Kai Yuen, the senior assistant director at SPS' transformation and technology division, the results are "promising" at the men's cluster cell where Avatar is tested.

This replaces the need for prison guards to watch cameras to ensure that there are no incidents in the cells.

Wrist tags for buying stuff

Inmates are also fitted with a wrist tag with near-field communication.

This firstly serves as a digital wallet for the inmates to purchase food and daily needs items at self-service kiosks.

The digital wallet stores their weekly allowance. Each time they can the tag to make a purchase, the amount is deducted from their digital wallet.

As a result, prison officers don't have to manually take down orders, update inmates' weekly allowances and distribute the items.

The tag also serves as a way to track inmates' attendance whenever they attend counselling or rehabilitation sessions, replacing the need for officers to manually record their attendances and update in Microsoft Excel sheets.

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A prison without guards

Singapore's manpower shortage demands that SPS innovate with better technology to help replace certain guard functions.

It then allows officers to focus on the real work, which is helping inmates rehabilitate, or what Chan calls "higher order work".

It is unclear how long the trials will run.

Top image courtesy of Singapore Prison Service