England, Wales prisoners lose access to 18-rated games

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 25th 2008 at 11:55AM }

The Prison Service in England and Wales will not allow prisoners to play 18-rated games after September 30. The BBC reports that well-behaved residents and those at risk of suicide will still be allowed to play games -- we hope the suicide folks aren't playing Persona.

The government apparently spent £10k ($19,763 USD) last year on consoles and games for inmates. Effective immediately, inmates will have to buy their own consoles and games. Those who can't afford the video game distraction are sure to occupy their time with more constructive ventures ... like shiv production.

[Via GI.biz]

Tags: banned, barred, britain, jail, prison, prison-service, uk, wales

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

DEEZNUTZ @ Jul 25th 2008 11:59AM

Has OZ the video game been made yet?

Broseph @ Jul 25th 2008 12:03PM

yeah the thought of an inmate in a prison playing manhunt or gta isssss just kinda strange

Mikeymike @ Jul 25th 2008 12:10PM

Why should they get to play videos games in the first place?

Phantom @ Jul 25th 2008 12:17PM

Only well behaved inmates (the ones that don't start riots or whatever ) and ones that are suicidal get to play .

Think about it , If I got sent to jail for tax evasion (oops) , and I had a DS and a bunch of games , and I was allowed to play them if I behaved , do you think I would be playing FFIV , or causing trouble . (playing FFIV)

Mikeymike @ Jul 25th 2008 12:20PM

I guess so, but.. you get sent to jail for a reason, and if I could play video games just because I was well behaved, jail would seem less harsh.

WRE: I own all 3! (4 if you count the DS.) @ Jul 25th 2008 12:46PM

Agreed. This follows the same idiot mentality of sending your child to their toy-stocked room every time they misbehave. If psycholgy has taught us anything it's that punishment needs to be swift, decisive and consistent. In other words, for corrective action to be effective it needs to be more painful than the unwanted behavior is desirable.

*steps off soapbox*

Etchasketchist @ Jul 25th 2008 12:46PM

To pacify them. You want to guard a bunch of crazed thugs who've been sitting around all day with nothing to do but think of ways to shank you? TV's and Videogames in jails keep prison violence down and make life easier for the guards who have to deal with them.

Mikeymike @ Jul 25th 2008 12:50PM

at Etchasketchist

I understand that, but that isn't the way it should be. Jail is suppose to be a place where people go to spend time for the things they have done. It's suppose to be a place where people fear to go. If they have luxuries like games and movies then what is the point of going to Jail in the first place?

Averna @ Jul 25th 2008 12:50PM

Or suicidal...

So if youre in an English gaol and you get bored... you what? Threaten to slit your wrists so you can play Super Smash Bros?

Professor Lario @ Jul 25th 2008 1:36PM

No kidding. Bored or misbehaved - put em on work crew.

DarkNessBear @ Jul 25th 2008 1:52PM

Yea... I'm sure people commit crimes because they want to play games in jail.

How about that lingering idea that you are slowly withering away in jail while not near your loved ones? I think that's pretty much the reason why you don't want to be in there.

"Don't let me out! I am almost done with Mass Effect!"

LaughingTarget @ Jul 25th 2008 3:03PM

People committing crimes to be sent to jail isn't uncommon. It's a free room, free food, entertainment is provided, exercise opportunities exist, and if you feel like life isn't good enough, just bitch real loud to the nearest leftist and they'll spend more money on your "welfare".

If guards are worried about violent prisoners, just don't let them out of the cell...for anything.

007craft @ Jul 25th 2008 4:45PM

Take it from some1 whos been to prison, playing games will help alot. When I was in prison we didnt have any games, All I did was plan to break out and see murders and guys getting raped by a guy named t-bag.

Oh wait I was never in prison, I was just watching prison break....... ON FOX!!!!!!

koehler83 @ Jul 25th 2008 12:12PM

September 30 is some strange universal statute of limitations. The unofficial end of the summer I guess.

I notice it because it happens be my birthday.

Zoot Suit Jedi @ Jul 25th 2008 12:12PM

I wonder if the inmates that can afford the consoles will get shanked by other inmates whilst waiting in line for their machines.

FOXHOUND @ Jul 25th 2008 12:36PM

I still don't understand why prisoners, no matter what the crime, are allowed such comforts. They're in jail for a reason, to serve a sentence for disobeying the law. Those rehab programs for inmates on their way out are fine, but they shouldn't be entitled to joys like this. If they want to reintroduce them back into society; have them learn trade skills, improve their language & reading comprehension, and make them truly realize the error of their ways so they're not a repeat offender.

The most "luxurious" item they should have are books, magazines, and newspapers in a jail library. If they need something to occupy their time, then let them read. Not cable TV, movie nights/DVDs, board games, and certainly not videogames of any kind.

There are people and families outside of prison that don't get three square meals a day, let alone cable TV or a remotely recent generation game system... yet money gets funnelled to people who have broken the law, harmed others, or worse -- to play around.
'Eff that. >:\ Jail is not supposed to be a vacation from society, it's a punishment.

Esat Dedezade @ Jul 25th 2008 12:37PM

Word.

Etchasketchist @ Jul 25th 2008 12:53PM

Trust me, they don't do these things to be nice to prisoners. They do them because they have good reasons. If they can have books, a bench press and chess boards, why not a Nintendo? One of the points of prison is to separate people from society for a certain amount of time and then reintroduce them to society. The punishment of taking away their rights, removing them from their friends and family, and restricting their movement is more than enough punishment for most crimes. Would you like to sign up for prison camp to go play video games with these guys for 10-20 years? I thought not. Somehow, prison with or without videogames is still prison. Now smart people who have studied these things and work in these places have decided it's a good idea to give certain prisoners videogame privileges. I trust their decision more than your reactionary off the cuff comments.

animeman_59 @ Jul 25th 2008 1:14PM

Absolutely agree.

Our prison system(America) is a friggin' joke. Why in the hell should prisoners be given any type of luxury? And things such as TVs, DVDs, and games are luxuries. Not necessities. I'll support any measure that'll make inmates more productive members of society, such as technical and skill training, GED, and college programs. But they should never be allowed to enjoy themselves in prison.

I understand the arguement of pacifying violent behavior with such things, I just don't agree with it. Here's my solution. If you get sent to jail for whatever and you decide to injure or kill an inmate out of boredom, then you get send to solitary. For a long time.

You're already in prison, cut out from the rest of the law-abiding world, for your dumb shit; so if you can't behave yourself in prison, then you're cut off from the prison population.

And if you continue to kill fellow inmates, then it's the death penalty. I'm sorry, but if a human being doesn't respect the life of another human being, then they forfeit theirs; especially in a country that gives murderers SEVERAL chances at redemption before we dish out the needle of justice.

FOXHOUND @ Jul 25th 2008 2:45PM

Etchasketchist ---
While I respect the retort(always good to hear constructive response rather than "LULZ, DAT'S STOOPID!" XD); I still can't fathom why they should be allowed that kind of rehab. I'm a criminal justice major myself... yet I still disagree with this kind of "overly nice" rehabilitation.

Using books, magazines, newspapers, and perhaps even introductory computer literacy training is more than enough for productive rehabilitation back into society. If the inmates are showing good-to-excellent progress(and if budget allows), perhaps more leisure time could be allotted. Afterall, the point of rehab isn't just to moderate a criminal's behavior back to normal; it's also to prepare them for the world's workforce and valued citizenship once again.

Instead of playing videogames, that time could be spent productively teaching inmates how to not only cope with a world that will most likely shun them for their criminal record, but make an appreciative honest day's pay. Let's face it -- the biggest hurdle for those released from jail isn't if they can beat HALO3 on hardest setting; it's making sure they are mentally good and employment-ready to re-enter society.

That could and can be done without the use of videogames.

badbhoy @ Jul 25th 2008 1:03PM

Clearly you don't understand correctional theory. The purpose of most modern prison systems is two-fold. One is to remove the criminal from society to prevent further crime. The second is to (hopefully) rehabilitate the convict so that upon release they will be productive members of society. Rehabilitation obviously includes skills training, counselling and so on. But for someone to learn how to be a productive person they also need to be taught that with hard work and good behaviour comes reward. With the obvious exception of life prisoners, a lot of convicts will get out of jail eventually. Would you want those people to have spent ten miserable years being "punished" in a for what they have done and go back out on the street with a bad attitude? They would almost certain committ crime again.

WRE: I own all 3! (4 if you count the DS.) @ Jul 25th 2008 1:16PM

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but I don't think that videogames are the way to go. Let them pick a novel of their choice or another phone call or visiting day or conjugal visit; something that will be intrinsically rewarding. Then again, myabe Nintendogs would be okay...

LaughingTarget @ Jul 25th 2008 3:07PM

But rehabilitation doesn't exactly work. The old adage 1% of the population commits 90% of the crime is true for a reason.

Individuals are in jail because they deprived another human being of their liberties, freedoms or even life. Rehabilitation is a reward for what now? Stealing an aspect of another's life that can never be returned? Frankly, we shouldn't even be considering letting someone out of prison at all unless they find a way to return their victims to a state of being that is best described as their crime never have been committed. Since that is clearly impossible, we shouldn't be rewarding a criminal with anything, education, entertainment, or even nutritious food. Just a cold, hard, dead cell with whatever food we scrounge up when the local elementary school tosses expired food at the end of the month.

animeman_59 @ Jul 25th 2008 1:21PM

They fact that they'll go back to prison for commiting another crime is the only reason why shouldn't do it again. If it's solely on bad attitude, then maybe that's the reason they went to prison in the first place.

I agree that you should give inmates a program for rehabilitation, but how's this for a flip arguement.

What if they had it so good in prison that when they got out and go back to their poor way of life before being incarcerated, they realized life is better on the inside?

How many petty criminals who serve 5 or 10 years actually had a gaming console, or anything else luxurious? That's the problem I have with this. Why give them something better than what they had on the outside?

Prison should be punishment, and punishment should not be enjoyable.

Batzarro @ Jul 25th 2008 1:25PM

Because violent games turn criminals...into criminals!

But on a serious note, yeah, you can't forget that at the end of the day, prisoners are still human beings. A lot of the rehabilitation fails because the ambient in jails is often so aggressive and oppressive(what with prison gangs and sometimes abusive guards) that it encourages convicts to be MORE agressive and criminal, rather than more social and agreeable. So, something to pass the time other than festering in there isn't that much to ask.

Eric @ Jul 25th 2008 1:35PM

Having been in several jails and prisons (as an intern, not a prisoner), I have seen how these things help. At the last prison I went to, everyone sat around and watched TV or played board games. The younger guards couldn't remember any physical fights, and the older guards said that it hadn't happened in quite a few years.

By not reducing the violence in prisons, the management of that prison is disrespecting the lives of the people that get hurt in prison violence. It's not so much about the people doing harm, it's those that die in prison.

DarkNessBear @ Jul 25th 2008 1:53PM

This rule is legit. I wouldn't want my inmates watching Hostel or crime movies either. Or reading crime books.

badbhoy @ Jul 25th 2008 2:12PM

Animeman, your view on the prison system is seriously outdated. Like medieval times outdated.

Also, using murderers as your example is a weak argument since they are the convicts that have committed the most obviously despicable crime. There are people in prison for all sorts of criminal activity and to suggest that everyone should just be punished and given only the bare necessities to live is ridiculous.