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[Tobor]

This is incredibly interesting. Talk about your niche markets:

The JP3, which family or friends can buy for prisoners online for around $40, is virtually indestructible, Shapiro says. Inmates use it to browse JPay’s library of more than 10 million songs on electronic kiosks the company installs in common areas inside prisons. Downloads run from $1.29 to $1.99 a tune. (The three most popular artists: Usher, Tre Songz, and Kenny Chesney.) Although he’s charging prisoners more than Apple’s (AAPL) iTunes store does for most songs, Shapiro insists he’s not profiteering from a captive market; JPay shares revenue from all of its services with the “majority” of the prisons it serves, he says. Shapiro won’t disclose financials, but says his company has been profitable since 2006.

Martin Horn, a former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and an ex-commissioner of the New York City’s Department of Correction, believes companies like Keefe and JPay offer a valuable service. “Boredom is the fundamental phenomenon of prison life,” says Horn. “Things that appear to be coddling inmates actually do have merit and value from the point of view of corrections management.”

By yearend, JPay plans to introduce the JP4, the first mini tablet designed exclusively for prisons. Equipped with a 4.3-inch screen and encased in clear plastic, the device will retail for $50. The gizmo can’t access the Internet, though, so users will have to download media from JPay’s kiosks. “It could be a big deal eventually,” says Mike Watkins, a Washington state corrections official who oversees JPay’s systems in the state’s 12 prisons and expects to start evaluating the new device this month. “Think about education, think about games,” says Shapiro. “It’s endless where we could go.”

Talk about a walled garden!

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-14/the-apple-of-the-u-dot-s-dot-prison-system

 

[Polari]

(The three most popular artists: Usher, Tre Songz, and Kenny Chesney.)

wtf ever happened to keeping it real?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Huh. Interesting idea.

 

[donkey show]

wtf ever happened to keeping it real?

When keeping it real goes wrong.

 

[Vice]

wtf ever happened to keeping it real?

Thugs need love too.

 

[SeanR1221]

In before why should they get anything fun.

 

[jooey]

see, all you people who think clear plastic electronics are so hot fail to recognize that you can't hide drugs or blades in them

 

[Fury Sense]

life of a first world prisoner > life of third world "middle class"

 

[Tobor]

Here's the official site for the JP3 player.

http://www.jpayinc.com/jp3_music_player.html

How it works

Inmates first purchase the JP3™ Player, a corrections-grade MP3 media player, or have one purchased for them by a friend or family member through JPay.com. While any inmate can browse the music store and preview songs (a feature that encourages adoption), those who are already in possession of a JP3™ player can purchase music directly from the JPay kiosk located in their housing unit. Purchases can be made with funds from the inmate's commissary or spendable account, or with JPay credits (a special, dedicated account specifically for music tracks, stamps and other JPay products). Once a song or songs are purchased, and once the purchase is approved, the tracks are downloaded to the inmate's JP3™ player, and can be listened to in their individual units or wherever else in the facility the JP3™ player is allowed to be used.

It's an ingenious business model.

 

[PaleFolklore]

Regardless of what the crime is, people serving time shouldn't have access to this stuff. It's a punishment, not a vacation.

 

[Veezy]

Regardless of what the crime is, people serving time shouldn't have access to this stuff. It's a punishment, not a vacation.

You're locked inside of a cage with other people locked inside of their own cages, separated from society. In an American prison. It's an Mp3 player, not a roller coaster. A little bit of distraction might stop somebody from going crazy.

 

[Suairyu]

Regardless of what the crime is, people serving time shouldn't have access to this stuff. It's a punishment, not a vacation.

Ignoring your laughable attempt to compare prison to vacation, part of the prison process is to normalise people, preparing them for re-insertion into society.

Having recreation and certain 'luxuries' is part of being in society. You deny prisoners that, you're just creating a system that creates monsters.

 

[davepoobond]

i dont see much of a problem with this... we are caging them to keep them separated from society and "hopefully" rehabilitate them. they do not lose access to money they earn while in prison or have before they were sent there.

these may serve some sort of subtle rehabilitation in the sense that people won't get crazier than they would have otherwise.

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

Download me some Usher or I'll shank you

 

[gohepcat]

Regardless of what the crime is, people serving time shouldn't have access to this stuff. It's a punishment, not a vacation.

You honestly think an MP3 player make it a vacation. People need to think long and hard about what we want happening to people while they're in prison. Eventually they get released and I'd rather them not be more crazy.

 

[Hagi]

Don't see what the big deal is, prisoners here can buy fucking Xbox's for their cells.

 

[PaleFolklore]

Ignoring your laughable attempt to compare prison to vacation, part of the prison process is to normalise people, preparing them for re-insertion into society.

Having recreation and certain 'luxuries' is part of being in society. You deny prisoners that, you're just creating a system that creates monsters.

Many of them are already monsters, listening to Usher won't change that. Fine, give the ones who have committed non violent crimes an MP3 player. But the one who have committed violent crimes should rot.

 

[Leona Lewis]

In this thread: people think everyone in prison is a murderer.

 

[FStop7]

Prison economy is so gross.

I wonder if these things are made by prisoners, too.

 

[Cipherr]

Download me some Usher or I'll shank you

Is the new Jailbreak out for this yet?

*gets beaten by guards*

 

[Xeke]

Many of them are already monsters, listening to Usher won't change that. Fine, give the ones who have committed non violent crimes an MP3 player. But the one who have committed violent crimes should rot.

Oh boo hoo. I take it they should have no access to books either. Right?

But the one who have committed violent crimes should rot.

The problem with the US prison system is people with your mindset.

 

[Suairyu]

Many of them are already monsters, listening to Usher won't change that. Fine, give the ones who have committed non violent crimes an MP3 player. But the one who have committed violent crimes should rot.

Uhuh. If the penal system of civilized countries followed your philosophy, we'd have a lot more re-offenders and society would be much worse.

I hate prison threads on GAF. People will argue for systems that are factually ineffective because their base emotions say so.

 

[Vice]

Regardless of what the crime is, people serving time shouldn't have access to this stuff. It's a punishment, not a vacation.

It gives them an incentive to behave. If you have nothing to lose then there's no point in acting like a decent human.

 

[highrider]

as someone with experience in state and federal prison, i urge people to spend 23 hours locked in your bathroom at some point and revisit this.

 

[remnant]

Pretty sure the court doesn't demand you can't hear music

 

[Rentahamster]

I keep thinking "Jurassic Park 3".


No matter what I do, I can't help it.

 

[Devolution]

Ignoring your laughable attempt to compare prison to vacation, part of the prison process is to normalise people, preparing them for re-insertion into society.

Having recreation and certain 'luxuries' is part of being in society. You deny prisoners that, you're just creating a system that creates monsters.

Keep them (or make them more) sociopathic is always the answer.

 

[Horseticuffs]

Shit, I'd buy a proper mp3 player with that design. It's not a bad looking product. It's no iPod, for sure, but I bet it's tough as hell.

 

[LordCanti]

as someone with experience in state and federal prison, i urge people to spend 23 hours locked in your bathroom at some point and revisit this.

I have spent 23 hours locked in my bathroom. Let me tell you right now that a tablet would have made it a much more enjoyable experience.

 

[LuchaShaq]

Oh boo hoo. I take it they should have no access to books either. Right?



The problem with the US prison system is people with your mindset.

The problem with the US prison system is that it's mostly filled by non violent offenders.

 

[shadyspace]

I have spent 23 hours locked in my bathroom. Let me tell you right now that a tablet would have made it a much more enjoyable experience.

Why did you spend 23 hours locked in your bathroom.

 

[LordCanti]

Why did you spend 23 hours locked in your bathroom.

Food poisoning. At one point I just crawled in the shower, turned the water on, and went to sleep for like twelve hours.

 

[Kyon]

How TELLING flUSHER and Food Trey would be topping the charts somewhere that isn't Billboard and having actual fans and success somewhere in this planet

 

[Stumpokapow]

In this thread: people think everyone in prison is a murderer.

It wouldn't change anything if they were (I think you know that, I'm responding to the more broad point)

Even were everyone murderers, some would be negligent homicide, some second degree, some first degree, some fresh in the system, others 6 months away from finishing a 25 year sentence and ready to be released, some in need of mental health help, others sedate and lucid--so no, even with a prison filled with murderers, it still wouldn't make sense to deprive all of them maximally.

It's also weird that, even setting aside the treatment of prisoners issues, people would ignore the quotes in the OP about making it easier for guards and superintendents. Part of the reason why prisoners get leisure activities is so that guards get even a fraction of an easier time keeping everyone under control. I get why some people want prison to be more punitive, but so punitive that prison guards are saying "hey dude, ease up a little bit to make my life easier and safer"? That's shockingly naive public policy.

 

[Conciliator]

...Trey Songz, really?

 

[ari]

wtf ever happened to keeping it real?

They listening to usher while they are...umm.......too easy...too easy.

EDIT: didn't take long for another thread to turn to shit.

 

[disappeared]

That's an interesting idea.

 

[alphaNoid]

In before why should they get anything fun.

I would be much happier if my tax dollars were used to provide bread and water. Nothing else. I'm a cold heartless son of a bitch, and I dont' give a shit.

edit. Spend my tax monies on education and people who deserve it.

 

[midonnay]

not profiteering from a captive audience but the company has been profitable since 2006....

my head hurts...

 

[Veezy]

I would be much happier if my tax dollars were used to provide bread and water. Nothing else. I'm a cold heartless son of a bitch, and I dont' give a shit.

edit. Spend my tax monies on education and people who deserve it.

Society being a cold heartless son of a bitch, in general, is part of the problem with our revolving door, public and private, prison system. It also leads to convicts being released with zero rehab and then returning to the life they lead before prison.

But, they're just filthy fucking animals, right?

 

[Yaboosh]

not profiteering from a captive audience but the company has been profitable since 2006....

my head hurts...

Profiteering means something different than just making a profit.

 

[Tobor]

I would be much happier if my tax dollars were used to provide bread and water. Nothing else. I'm a cold heartless son of a bitch, and I dont' give a shit.

edit. Spend my tax monies on education and people who deserve it.

You're not paying a dime for this service.

The value of providing personal music to inmates with the JP3™ program – at no cost to the facility or DOC – is demonstrated by the increase in security brought about by a uniform media product, as well as by the easing of prisoner movements throughout the facility.

 

[Valnen]

Many of them are already monsters, listening to Usher won't change that. Fine, give the ones who have committed non violent crimes an MP3 player. But the one who have committed violent crimes should rot.

Definitely. Rapists deserve to suffer, not listen to music.

 

[SapientWolf]

I'd rather see this get used for ebooks and educational materials, but if music keeps people from shanking each other then it's probably not a bad thing.

 

[UrbanRats]

A good number of people seem to advocate rape and torture as a form of punishment in prisons, ruled or unruled, as it may be.
Aside from the fact that i don't agree with it, i don't understand how you deal with the fact that these people will, at some point, be set free into society once again, with all that psychological baggage on their shoulders, most of them having to start again with little to nothing.
A justice system that takes a person (however anti-social) and turns it into a worse one, is a counter-productive one, even if it appeases your basic needs of vengance.

At that point it would be easier to just kill any violent criminal, or give them life imprisonment.

Either death penalty or a life of torture, seem quite a simplistic and harsh method of justice to me, though.

 

[Veezy]

I'd rather see this get used for ebooks and educational materials, but if music keeps people from shanking each other then it's probably not a bad thing.

Indeed.

Criminals commit all sorts of crimes for all sorts of reasons. Some people are crazy. Some people feel what they did wasn't wrong at the time. Some people thought the crime the committed was the best solution to some problem they had in their life.

Society should be incredibly focused on helping these men and women understand what they did, why it was wrong, and how not to get in trouble again. Also, we should be focused on protecting these prisoners from each other. Sometimes that therapy, sometimes that's training. Regardless of the solution, being in a cell with nothing but a bed, a toilet, and bread isn't going to keep you in a mental state to receive any sort of treatment to correct the behavior.

 

[forrest]

Some dude shanked me and took my JP3 last week. I'm in the infirmary now, but word around the block is the guy that got me had to suck 10 dicks just to get enough money for an usher download. I'm feeling better already.

 

[TheGreatDivide]

Prisoners don't deserve this purely because they're using it to listen to Usher.

 

[JDSN]

Usher? Seriously?

not profiteering from a captive audience but the company has been profitable since 2006....

my head hurts...

Profiteering doesnt mean what you think it means.

 

[soultron]

So now prison shivs play Usher?