Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court
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Re: Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court
#2I'm glad about that overturn of the ban
Re: Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court
#3I wonder if there are any schemes making e-book readers available in prisons - no danger of smuggling in drugs in a stream of bytes!
Re: Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court
#4The one issue brought up which I think it a legitimate concern is, how do you insure the book is not used for improper purposes. Those would be but not limited to, concealment of prohibited objects, drugs, and messages?
You can screen for some, but I would expect all parcels to have some limited form of search. I would tend to think a better option would be to fix the availability of library services to prisoners, perhaps even only allowing access to the delivered books in a library setting; books are kept by the system in the library for the prisoners.
I understand that idea that reading is fundamental, but controlling what is in their environment is a big part of maintaining a safe and secure environment.
Re: Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court
#5I wonder if there are any schemes making e-book readers available in prisons - no danger of smuggling in drugs in a stream of bytes!
A move that would, no doubt, be reported in the tabloid news as "Evil prisoners given luxury top of the range tablets"
Re: Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court
#6I wonder if there are any schemes making e-book readers available in prisons - no danger of smuggling in drugs in a stream of bytes!
A move that would, no doubt, be reported in the tabloid news as "Evil prisoners given luxury top of the range tablets"
Since when is a cheap e-book reader a top of the range tablet.
It's like calling a radio a high tech electronic device.
But i get where your coming from journalists like to blow everything out of proportion.
Re: Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court
#7The one issue brought up which I think it a legitimate concern is, how do you insure the book is not used for improper purposes. Those would be but not limited to, concealment of prohibited objects, drugs, and messages? You can screen for some, but I would expect all parcels to have some limited form of search. I would tend to think a better option would be to fix the availability of library services to prisoners, pe…
Nothing I'm reading here says they've been banned from inspecting the books. No reason they can't be scanned, shaken out, and flipped through.
Re: Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court
#8The one issue brought up which I think it a legitimate concern is, how do you insure the book is not used for improper purposes. Those would be but not limited to, concealment of prohibited objects, drugs, and messages? You can screen for some, but I would expect all parcels to have some limited form of search. I would tend to think a better option would be to fix the availability of library services to prisoners, pe…
In the uk, prisoners get sent other parcels, they of course are screened. No real reason for not allowing books. This ban was just the prisons minister playing to the tabloid press.
"a better option would be to fix the availability of library services to prisoners" - alas, this is not even a bad joke. In e.g. high security prisons, you might get to visit the library once every 4 weeks. If (or these days, more often than not when) there are staff shortages, supervision of prisoners' library visits is among the first things cut - in which case, you might get to visit again in 4 weeks time, maybe.
Source: 2nd hand info from talking to someone who works in a prison.
Re: Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
A move that would, no doubt, be reported in the tabloid news as "Evil prisoners given luxury top of the range tablets"
Since when is a cheap e-book reader a top of the range tablet. It's like calling a radio a high tech electronic device. But i get where your coming from journalists like to blow everything out of proportion.
There's a great article about prison radios and MP3 players, and a particular model of Sony FM receiver that is like 30 years old but incredibly popular in prisons due to battery life or something... Gotta track that down.
Re: Prison book ban ruled unlawful by High Court
#10I wonder if there are any schemes making e-book readers available in prisons - no danger of smuggling in drugs in a stream of bytes!
I am told that in high security prisons, you can own music CDs. BUT you must buy them from the prison's approved seller (assuming that the CD you want is in their catalog). This is apparently to stop data being smuggled in/out of the prison. I doubt they will be allowing ebooks and ebook readers anytime soon.