Prisoners Were Never Allowed PS3s

16 Jun 2009 at 13:34:28 by

Prisoners in the United Kingdom have never been allowed Wi-Fi enabled technology, a statement from the Ministry of Justice has claimed.

Following a report from the Sunday Mercury (via Inside Time) stating inmates at HMP Rye Hill, Warwickshire, were not allowed PS3 consoles, and reports from the Guardian claiming PS3s were removed from prisons, IncGamers contacted the Ministry of Justice to clarify matters.

"There are not and never have been Playstation 3s at HMP Rye Hill.

“Prisoners in England and Wales have never been allowed access to wireless enabled technology such as that used in some games consoles.

“A decision was taken some years ago that the then current generation of games consoles should be barred because the capability to send or receive radio signals is an integral part of the equipment. Future games consoles with this ability will be banned. This ban applies to Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo DS."

When asked if this applied to the Wii and the PSP, a spokesperson from the ministry said that it included any console with the capability to access the internet.

Despite prisoners having to pay for their own consoles after a report last month showing that £220,000 GBP of taxpayers' money had been spent on consoles and the like between 2005 and 2008, no console with wireless technologies will be allowed.

“Following a review of the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme in relation to games consoles, such equipment has been removed from all prisoners except for those who are demonstrably well behaved, who commit to their sentence plan and fully comply with the prison regime. All 18-rated console games are banned. The cost of purchasing consoles and games now rests solely on the prisoner and is not met by the taxpayer.”

This does not mean that those particular inmates will be allowed the privilege of Wi-Fi enabled consoles the ministry was quick to add.

Although inmates are required to pay for their own consoles, their choices will be limited, unlike Ian Huntley who was able to get a Wii console (paid by the taxpayer) between 2006 and 2008.

A spokesperson for G4S, the private firm which runs Rye Hill Prison, also told IncGamers that there were never any PS3s on site, and inmates have only ever had access to the PS1 and the PS2.

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