Blog

September 20, 2022 by

This September 20 is recognized as the 2^nd annual National Crime and Intelligence Analyst Appreciation Day, encouraging us all to show appreciation to intelligence analysts throughout the nation, honoring their dedication and commitment to the work that they do every single day.

“We cannot say enough about the more than 150 analysts employed with ViaPath Technologies,” said Mitch Volkart, Vice President of Intelligence. “Due to the sensitive nature of this work, these dedicated professionals often operate under the radar and without recognition…but not today. Today we all pause and say ‘thank you.’”

The ViaPath Technologies FUSION team provides security services to government agencies across the United States through the development of actionable intelligence and digital forensic services. Leveraging technology and data, experienced analysts operate tenaciously to ensure safe and secure communities.

Intelligence analysts work to make sense of all the data points and transform them into intelligence that can be acted upon to help prevent crimes, solve cases, slow the influx of contraband and keep people safe. Here are a few examples of our Fusion analysts in action:

After conducting a mobile forensic extraction on a contraband cell phone, a contraband smuggling scheme was uncovered, packaged drugs were confiscated, the conveyor was apprehended, and several individuals were successfully prosecuted
Analysts identified a threat and effectively shared the intel, leading to hundreds of suboxone strips being seized from a civilian with multiple weapons, and a contraband phone being retrieved from a unit in a facility
Intelligence analysts utilizing multiple systems helped to determine an escaped inmate’s whereabouts, leading to his apprehension within a few hours of escape

ViaPath’s team of intelligence analysts are at the core of the Fusion Services team. Trained and fully certified, our analysts:

Work on-site at correctional facilities or remotely from our National Intelligence Center (NIC) or National Computer Forensic Laboratory (NCFL)
Act as a force multiplier to support cases, run reports, and analyze complex data sets
Provide a wide range of intelligence support to investigators to help prevent crimes before they occur and solve them after they happen
Analyze data to help shut down in-facility crime and create environments more conducive to offender incarceration and rehabilitation

The critical role that analysts play at ViaPath Technologies does not go unnoticed. We are extremely proud of the role our analysts play in bringing safety to correctional facilities and their surrounding communities.

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for previously incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com.

July 6, 2022 by

ViaPath Technologies’ Digital Forensic Florida Team, led by Shannon Black (Forensic Intelligence Supervisor), recently competed in the Annual “Capture the Flag” contest, hosted by Cellebrite.

Capture the Flag is a global cybersecurity, knowledge-based competition that tests one’s knowledge and skills in targeted cyber-attacks with the sole purpose of creating a safer digital world.

The contest involves extracting and analyzing multiple digital devices and includes a series of knowledge-based test questions. The team was able to complete a total of four digital extractions that included one Android, two iPhones, one PC, while also successfully completing the testing process.

Digital competency is at the core of any successful forensic team, and the ViaPath Forensic Team successfully completed the multi-day event placing in the Top 5% of over 2,000 entry participants.

This is a major accomplishment for the ViaPath Forensic Team and demonstrates their hard work and dedication. We are proud to congratulate them for their performance in the 2022 Capture the Flag competition and appreciate all their contributions here at ViaPath Technologies.

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for 1.6 million incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit www.viapath.com.

June 19, 2022 by

This Father’s Day, millions of children from coast to coast will make plans to travel, visit, or call their father or the father figure in their lives. Tragically, more than 18 million U.S. children, 1 in 4, are without a biological, step, or adoptive father in their lives.

Fathers are critical to the developmental success of their children. On aggregate, those without a father figure in their lives fall short of their peers who come from two-parent families. Children without a father at home account for over 60% of youth suicides, 90% of homeless and runaway youths, and more than 70% of all high school dropouts. These children experience higher levels of juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and aggression as compared to their peers.

For many of these children, it may also be the case that their fathers have been or are incarcerated. Among parents who are incarcerated, 92% are fathers. The number has grown fourfold over the last 40 years. The impact on the families left behind is immeasurable and often difficult to repair as family members grieve the temporary or permanent loss of an incarcerated person.

For the betterment of children at home, staying connected is key to limiting the negative effects of an incarcerated parent.

Distance, time, and access to a means of communication all play a role in keeping families connected with their loved ones serving prison sentences. A 2015 Prison Policy Initiative report found that more than 60% of inmates in state prisons are serving out their time more than 100 miles from friends and family. And among those who are less than 50 miles from home, only half receive a monthly visit. It takes time and effort to travel long distances to visit loved ones, and despite the barriers to in-person visits, research clearly shows that family engagement provides positive effects for both children and incarcerated people.

Thankfully, a technological revolution in corrections facilities has occurred today, in large part due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lockdowns of federal and state prisons shut off incarcerated people from family visits and critical social support services, making the need to establish communication with loved ones all the more urgent. While friends and family members used FaceTime or Skype during the pandemic to stay in touch, incarcerated people were left behind without equal access. Now, after the implementation of computerlike tablets within prisons, those people have a wide array of online communication tools to stay in touch with loved ones, pandemic or not.

Family engagement when a loved one is incarcerated serves a dual purpose. Connection allows families and children of incarcerated people to feel the presence of their parents and stay updated on their children’s lives. It also allows incarcerated people to reintegrate into society more easily. A 2011 study by the Minnesota Department of Corrections showed a 13% lower risk of recidivism in inmates who received prison visits versus those who did not receive them. The study also found that the risk of re-conviction dropped by 3% with each additional visitor received by the inmate.

Staying in touch with loved ones is key to the success of reintegration. While there is no replacement for in-person visits with loved ones, technology has enabled corrections facilities to travel light-years from where we started. For Father’s Day, let us all remember those without father figures in their lives and encourage those who may have fallen out of touch, for any number of reasons, to connect with their loved ones.

Tony Lowden, former White House executive director of the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry, is vice president of reintegration and community engagement for ViaPath Technologies. He is also the pastor and spiritual adviser to former President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter.

About ViaPath Technologies

May 27, 2022 by

May has been recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month for over 70 years and is a time to raise awareness about mental and behavioral health issues. There are resources and tools available to you and your incarcerated loved ones all year round; the support doesn’t need to stop at the end of the month.

In 2022, the National Alliance on Mental Illness reported that 2 in 5 people who are incarcerated have a history of mental illness (37% in state and federal prisons and 44% held in local jails). Nearly 66% of women in prison reported having a history of mental illness, almost twice the percentage of men in prison. However, less than a quarter of these individuals receive treatment during incarceration. As a loved one of an incarcerated individual, it’s important to talk about the challenges, stigmas, and needed solutions around mental illness. 

ViaPath Technologies offers several resources to help address the emotional and mental health of your incarcerated loved ones. These resources can also support successful reintegration when it is time for their release.

Dr. Christian Conte – ViaPath partners with one of the country’s most accomplished mental health experts in the field of anger and emotional management to provide exclusive content for incarcerated individuals and correctional institutions.
Breaking Free Group – since 2020, ViaPath offers the “Breaking Free from Substance Abuse” digital program on tablets to assist in achieving and maintaining recovery from dependence on over 70 different substances.
Free Mental Health Resources – available through ViaPath tablets, incarcerated individuals living with mental health concerns can access a variety of free resources that include cognitive behavioral health therapy, parenting while incarcerated, mindfulness-based substance abuse treatment, anger management, and more.

For the family and friends on the outside, there are many national organizations focused on getting help for individuals suffering from mental illness, ensuring their safety and well-being: 

NAMI Stepping Up Initiative – Brings together mental health organizations, substance abuse organizations, and law enforcement associations to divert people with mental illness from incarceration into treatment. 
Mental Health Channel – A free online network of inspiring documentary videos on various mental health topics.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – Provides a location-based list of substance abuse and mental health treatment. 
Give an Hour – Offers free and confidential mental health care to all populations through a network of professional volunteers.

Additionally, ViaPath recognizes the importance of maintaining connections when addressing mental health and continues to offer our free weekly communications program allowing incarcerated individuals consistent contact with their loved ones to receive support and aid in maintaining a positive outlook.

“Just because no one else can heal or do your inner work for you, doesn’t mean you can, should, or need to do it alone.” – Lisa Olivera

Prioritizing mental health is essential to overall wellbeing. ViaPath Technologies encourages everyone to reach out to your loved ones to give and/or receive support.

The information provided in this post is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions or diseases. Please consult your healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have if you are experiencing depression or any other medical condition. ViaPath Technologies does not control or take responsibility for the content or information on any external website not managed by ViaPath.

About ViaPath Technologies

May 11, 2022 by

It is not enough to just talk about ViaPath Technologies’ commitment to transforming the incarceration experience into a rehabilitative journey — we must cultivate partnerships and offer resources that actually do so. With a focus on Mental Health Awareness Month, we recognize that incarcerated individuals are often left behind.

For this reason, we have continued to invest in our exclusive partnership with Dr. Christian Conte, a mental health specialist in the field of anger and emotional management, to provide unique content on ViaPath Technologies tablets. With 18 years of experience working with the justice-impacted, Dr. Conte empowers individuals to understand and manage their emotions in a productive non-violent manner to facilitate successful reintegration.

This is about life and how every one of us, incarcerated or not, gets better from this moment forward.

As the creator of “Yield Theory,” Dr. Conte advocates for meeting people where they are without judgment. Connecting with others leads to understanding—understanding the person and the choices they have made but also understanding ourselves. Yield Theory has seven main components: Acceptance, Authenticity, Compassion, Conscious Education, Creativity, Mindfulness, and Non-Attachment. As of 2021, all new individuals incarcerated in Pennsylvania must go through Yield Theory training.

“The path to rehabilitation comes with challenges, but the reward is well worth the effort. By partnering with Dr. Conte, we can provide incarcerated individuals access to tools and resources to improve their mental and spiritual wellbeing,” said Deb Alderson, ViaPath Technologies’ President and CEO.

“At ViaPath Technologies, we believe a healthy life starts with a healthy mind,” Alderson added. “Our tablets and content allow correctional facilities to transform into more rehabilitative environments, placing incarcerated individuals on the best possible path forward to reintegration upon their release.”

As part of this partnership, Dr. Conte’s programs are available for free on ViaPath’s tablets with new content added regularly. Currently, topics cover anger management, domestic violence, parenting from behind bars, co-parenting, mindfulness, healthy relationships, and boundary setting. Any individual with access to a ViaPath tablet can access Dr. Conte’s content to help turn their lives from one of incarceration to one of successful reintegration and personal fulfillment.

“This is about life and how every one of us, incarcerated or not, gets better from this moment forward,” concluded Dr. Conte. “That is the reason why I am so grateful and ecstatic about the partnership with ViaPath—we can get these ideas out to so many more institutions, so the programs and videos I have created can lead to making prison a place of personal growth, setting individuals up for a better life and for success. That is a huge part of why I do what I do and why I partnered with ViaPath Technologies.”

Next time you connect with your incarcerated friend / loved one, be sure to ask them about Dr. Conte’s programs. In addition, individuals outside of the correctional environment can also access several of his videos, programs, discussions, and more at the links below:

Website: www.DrChristianConte.com 
Twitter: @Dr_Conte 
Facebook and Instagram: @drchristianconte 
YouTube channel: www.YouTube.com/drchristianconte 
Podcasts – iTunes 
- Emotional Management (also played on over 400 radio stations daily, including on some Sirius XM radio stations) 
- Tackling Life 
Books

About ViaPath Technologies

May 5, 2022 by

At ViaPath Technologies, we continue to emphasize the importance of diversity, inclusion, and belonging. We want to take the opportunity to recognize another group of people who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success.  

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month – recognizing and celebrating the achievements of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. The annual recognition began in 1992, and the month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese individual to the U.S. on May 7, 1843.  

It’s a great time to explore the history, traditions, and culture of Asian and Pacific Islander citizens in the U.S. Following is a list of resources that can provide additional information on the importance of this month: 

To celebrate Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, we’ve highlighted a few leaders whose contributions still make an impact today.

Jaden Kim – Marine Corps Pilot

The first time that Marine Corps Captain Jaden Kim rode in a military aircraft, she nearly fell out of it in her excitement. Her passion for aviation led her to train as a “backseater” – a weapons system officer who coordinated target locations. During her first deployment in 2002, she took part in Operation Enduring Freedom, flying missions over Afghanistan for six months; and deployed again in 2003 to assist in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In her interview, she discusses her sense of profound obligation and dedication to the ground troops she was supporting.

Learn more.

Derald and Stanley Sue – Brothers and Founders of Asian American Psychological Association

The two Chinese American brothers were influential figures in ethnic minority psychology, a subfield of psychology concerned with the science and practice of psychology with racial and ethnic minority individuals and groups. In 1972, the Sue brothers founded the Asian American Psychological Association. Dr. Derald Sue is best known for his work on multicultural counseling and racial microaggression, and Dr. Stanley Sue is best known for his work on cultural competence in psychotherapy with Asian Americans and ethnic minorities.

Learn more.

Dalip Singh Saund – First Asian American Congressman

In 1954, Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian American elected to the U.S. Congress. He was born in India in 1899, and he came to the United States to study math in 1920, eventually earning his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. Saund moved to Southern California during the Depression, where he worked as a farmer for more than 20 years before starting his own fertilizer business in the early 1950s. Though he became politically and socially active, Saund was unable to run for office because federal law prevented him from becoming a U.S. citizen. After working to overturn that policy, he became a citizen in 1949 and soon ran for office as a local judge. He served four years as a judge before being elected to Congress in 1954.

Learn more.

Victoria “Vicki” Draves – First Asian American Olympic Medalist

Unlike many Olympians who began practicing their sport from a very young age, Victoria “Vicki” Draves didn’t start diving until the age of 16. Only six years later, she earned her first national diving title.

Draves truly rose to prominence in 1948, after participating in the London Summer Olympic Games, where she won gold medals from both the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform; the first female diver to achieve that feat. She was also the first Asian American to win an Olympic medal. After the Olympics, Draves toured the United States and Europe performing in a water extravaganza show and ended her career teaching children swimming and diving.

Learn more.