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Features

An overview of the core features of the PrisonPC PILS, including central device management, security, TV, email, and web access.

Secure Central Management

Authorised staff can manage site policies and inmate desktops from a secure central location, confident that inmates cannot circumvent policy or evade monitoring.

Each desktop can be restricted to a designated inmate or group of inmates, allowing staff to implement any desired rental or reward system without needing to manage physical access.

Enforced Curfews

Access to desktops is restricted according to a predefined schedule. During curfews inmates are unable to access the system until the curfew is automatically lifted.

Individual services such as television, printing, and web browsing, can also have curfews applied, enabling staff to limit access to privileged services.

Passive Discipline

Staff can deny inmates individual privileges (email, television, games, etc.) from the secure management console, avoiding the need to visit the inmates’ cells to remove equipment and placing themselves in a potentially volatile situation. This can be applied to selected inmates or to groups of inmates.

Consolidated Device

Many prisons today provide multimedia facilities to inmates in the form of televisions, radios, stereos, gaming consoles, and similar devices. PrisonPC consolidates all these devices into a single unit, reducing the opportunity for inmates to hide contraband, and passes ultimate control to staff to apply automatic curfews to individual features or to revoke privileges entirely.

Desktop and Software Management

From their secure console staff can broadcast pop-up alerts to inmates, remotely control desktops, clandestinely monitor an inmate’s activity, and shut-down, power-up, or entirely disable a desktop or group of desktops.

PrisonPC leverages the power and value of commodity desktop hardware to run applications on the local desktop while not allowing the inmates to access the underlying operating system nor to modify the application software.


PrisonPC puts the power of system management squarely in the hands of staff and, where necessary, allows them to perform their duties remotely and therefore avoid placing themselves in a potentially volatile situation.


Integrated IPTV and Media

Standard free-to-air television and radio content is distributed to the inmates’ PILS desktops, enabling them to select and view individual channels or stations. Specific television programmes deemed unacceptable by prison policy can be blocked by staff while others can  be cached and timeshifted.

Closed-circuit Channels

Correctional facilities can broadcast video and audio content on the internal channels for access by the inmates. This content would typically include educational videos, induction videos, time-shifted free-to-air media, and religious services.

This is particularly valuable to correctional facilities where inmates of minority religions might otherwise be subjected to intolerance and bullying.


“Access [to televisions] can be a strong incentive to good behaviour and regime participation, and can aid order and control by occupying inmates’ time and reducing boredom and tension.”

– NOMS Agency Board, UK Ministry of Justice, March 1st 2012


Media Restrictions

PrisonPC PILS desktops can play standard audio CDs and video DVDs, eliminating the need for insecure CD players, stereos, and video players in the inmates’ cells.

Inmates are denied access to unauthorised optical media and to all USB storage devices (thumbdrives and similar). Any such media smuggled into the facility will be rejected by PrisonPC desktops.

Filtered Web and Email

Email offers a valuable addition to the overall strategy of managed reintegration of inmates with their families and community, and it provides intel staff a powerful tool in their arsenal by allowing them to monitor communications in real time and to review and compare old correspondence with ease.

PrisonPC email can greatly reduce the amount of hand-written postal mail which must often be reviewed manually by staff to ensure it contains no inappropriate content.

Restricted Email

The secure email service enables inmates to correspond with a restricted list of addressees according to a strict set of rules which align with prison policy.

Address filters alone are not sufficient and so are supplemented by a set of filtering rules which perform deep analysis of each message before allowing delivery.

All incoming and outgoing email passes through the filtering mechanism which automatically quarantines any unapproved or tainted email for staff attention, enabling staff to review and approve or reject individual messages prior to delivery.

And, of course, all incoming and outgoing email is copied to a secure archive through which prison staff are able to view any email at any time, even well after delivery has occurred.


“a remarkably consistent association has been found between family contact during incarceration and lower recidivism rates.”

– Rebecca L. Naser & Christy A. Visher 

Family Members’ Experiences with Incarceration and Reentry

7 Western Criminology Review 20, 21 - 2006


Web Access

Inmates can be selectively provided with access to browse a limited list of approved websites, such as for on-line education or legal preparation. Attempts to access non-approved sites or pages are rejected.


In Europe over 85% of the population use the Internet and it has been recognised in law as a fundamental right on a par with freedom of expression. Australia’s uptake is higher with almost 90% of the population being Internet users.


Print Management

PrisonPC makes document identification and distribution easy. All documents printed by inmates are watermarked with clear identification of who printed the document, regardless of the application they’ve printed from. Additionally, electronic copies of all printed documents are automatically retained for later review by staff.

Content Delivery

PrisonPC facilitates the secure delivery of interactive educational content, from both on-line sources and through in-house education providers. Applications supporting a range of educational needs, from basic literacy and numeracy through to more advanced education, can be offered securely through PrisonPC, thereby increasing the inmates’ opportunity to be better prepared for reintegration into society and gain meaningful employment.