Chronicle – A Contraband Voice Recorder

About

Transparent recorder for prisoners to record own experience

Chronicle is a contraband voice recorder disguised as a digital radio, intended to be sold in prisons. It is an example of speculative design: its conceit is not to function as a marketable product, but instead to hijack the design language of marketed products available in prison commissaries and to increase dialogue around the plight of the incarcerated. Hypothetically, a prisoner could use Chronicle to record him or herself speaking alone in their cell. In the event of a verbal or physical altercation with a correctional officer or inmate, he or she could activate Chronicle and utilise the recorder’s object camouflage to covertly capture audio that can be submitted as legal evidence in a courtroom. When available in the prison ecosystem, Chronicle seeks to increase dialogue around the plight of the incarcerated and address the struggle of all involved in the criminal justice system.