Technology in prisons costs a lot. If it’s a green field prison then the costs are high because everything is new but it’s reasonably straightforward. In an existing prison it’s difficult to introduce new technologies especially those requiring networks; physical networks or wireless both require a significant amount of time and access in the prison to implement.

There are multiply clients or domains within a prison; security, corporate and prisoner. These networks are typically separate because historically they have been less secure than desired. Today, most of the security issues have been resolved particularly as the systems are now reliant on IP networks. The potential costs, both in green and brown field sites, are high if each domain requires its own network. Additionally, keeping the networks separate keeps the information separate to and sharing of information in real-time becomes more difficult.

Prison Operations and Technology (PID025)

Speakers

Sir Tim Purcell