Two UK Government agencies have got in to their very own console war over the possibility that prisoners are using video games to organise crimes from inside jail.
Bill Hughes, director general of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), claimed that consoles allow criminals to communicate with their cronies on the outside:
People are using PlayStations to charge their mobile phones and are playing games interactively with others, so are able to communicate with them.
In response, a spokesperson for the Prison Service denied the allegations:
Prisoners have never been allowed access to wireless enabled technology such as that used in some games consoles. Nor would they ever be allowed access to such technology.
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.
Speaking to Negative Gamer, they added:
Future games consoles with this ability will be banned. This ban applies to Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo DS.
The same capability can occur with the Playstation 2, but an additional piece of equipment is needed to send or receive such signals. No Playstation 2 in the estate has this functionality.
Further clarification from the Prison Service indicates the Wii and PSP also fall under the blanket ban on current gen consoles. The row has since been defused after both sides issued statements saying “Soca and the Prison Service work closely together to prevent criminals continuing their activities in prison.”
It is unclear how Soca’s suspicions first arose, as they have not disclosed the results of their investigations. There is however one way to ensure prisoners can’t use games consoles to communicate with the outside world – don’t let them have any in the first place.
iTunes
Bullshit, the only way i was ever going to be able to afford to get my law abiding hands was to be sent to prison.
Perhaps this will mean there may be a downturn in crime if all they have to look forward to is a bumming and the PS2.