PS3 Banned from British Prisons
PS3 Banned from British Prisons
April 2, 2007
Although it's unclear exactly how a PlayStation 3 might find its way inside a British prison, officials are taking steps to ensure that Sony's next-gen system stays outside of those walls.According to ITV News, British Home Secretary John Reid (left) said recently that the PS3 is banned from prisons. Responding to a question from Parliament, Reid added:
Advice was issued to all prisons in December 2005 that the Sony PlayStation 3 was barred from the prison estate because of the equipment's ability to send and receive radio signals.
Reid is apparently referring to the system's built-in Wi-Fi capability.
Allowing prisoners access to video game systems has been a political hot button issue in several U.S. states, but such controversies have generally centered on philosophical arguments regarding the punitive aspect of incarceration rather than technology. GP is unclear on whether British prisoners are allowed access to older, non Wi-Fi systems such as the PS2.
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Posted 11/08/09 at 01:07am
Austin_Lewis: Health insurance, brought to you by the same kind of bureacrats who couldn't, in timely fashion, investigate the comments of any of the men Obama appointed Czars. Or their past. Or their history of not paying taxes.
Austin_Lewis: Health insurance, brought to you by the same kind of bureacrats who couldn't, in timely fashion, investigate the comments of any of the men Obama appointed Czars. Or their past. Or their history of not paying taxes.
Posted 11/08/09 at 01:06am
Austin_Lewis: Yes, and what a piece of crap it was. Arresting and fining people just because they don't make a personal choice to buy healh insurance, creating over a hundred new bureacracies, and worse.
Austin_Lewis: Yes, and what a piece of crap it was. Arresting and fining people just because they don't make a personal choice to buy healh insurance, creating over a hundred new bureacracies, and worse.
Posted 11/08/09 at 12:24am
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:the only trouble is a bunch of witless hacks wrote it....its going to be a train wreck....
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:the only trouble is a bunch of witless hacks wrote it....its going to be a train wreck....
Posted 11/07/09 at 11:33pm
JDKJ: BREAKING: In a photo-finish at the wire, House passes health care reform bill. Relatedly, in a fit of pique, Austin Lewis kicks innocent dog.
JDKJ: BREAKING: In a photo-finish at the wire, House passes health care reform bill. Relatedly, in a fit of pique, Austin Lewis kicks innocent dog.
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
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Comments
Most people here (including myself) have probably never seen the inside of any prison beyond Shawshank and Foxriver but I presume the reality is very different to the hollywood reductions.
If you see prison as a way of reforming the prisoners then rewards and incentives for being good seem an adequate way of encouraging them to "play nice" with one another. On the other hand if you see prison as a pure way of them paying penence for their crimes then this would be an outrage... Makes for interesting debate...
Blocking WiFi-enabled devices just seems good sense to me...
Actually, that's a real possibility in some cases. Not all prisons are miles from the nearest residence, and even the ones that were built for isolation were often built that way years or decades ago, so that subsequent sprawl has encroached on their territory. Some low- and medium-security prisons both here in the US and abroad are actually situated smack-dab in the middle of residential or commercial areas, or will be in the next few years given the inevitable sprawl.
Regardless of your feelings on whether or not prisoners should be allowed access to video games -in general- (I think that there are -some- cases where -some- games could be allowed to -some- prisoners, as a reward for good behaviour, etc) I'd like to think we can ALL agree that controlling means of communication into and out of prisons is important. It's hard enough to keep gang leaders and other career criminals from keeping in touch with their "business operations" through mail and telephones (I suspect that in the UK, like here, it's illegal to refuse -ALL- communication to prisoners indefinately) without allowing them unrestricted internet access.
That said, I -do- hope they're keeping an eye on -all- the wi-fi capable systems.
or become more evil.
The theory behind it being that the people there are in for a very, very long time and without some kind of time consuming activity most will commit suicide.
(It's the lowest rated PS2 game shown on Metacritic...)
I'd be majorly pissed off if any criminal in jail was able to get a PS3 before me :P
*quick search*
Yep, it's definitely the case. From the British parliament website's archive, here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070320/text...
"Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007, Official Report, column 108W, on Holloway prison, which games and videos are available for use. [126606]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Prisoners at Holloway have access to a range of films and DVDs. The prison has a central library of videos and DVDs which are vetted for suitability by the prison librarian. From this small library a number of films are provided to the first night centre for use by new prisoners.
Additionally, women on the enhanced level of the incentives and earned privileges scheme are entitled to receive up to 10 DVDs and six computer games through the post. These games and DVDs must be originals, must arrive at the prison sealed, and are vetted for suitability by prisoner reception staff. Unsuitable games and DVDs are placed in the prisoner’s stored property and she is advised in writing that the game or DVD will not be issued as it has been deemed unsuitable. The prisoner may appeal this decision to the Governor should she disagree."
Certainly, therefore, in Holloway prison some of the prisoners are entitled to computer games, and presumably consoles: logically the same may be the same for other prisons, and even if not they're certainly available in /some/ prisons.
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