Should prisoners have access to social media sites?

[Sweet Pea]

Prisoners at HMP Gartree in Leicestershire have access to facebook and other social media sites, these include a convicted killer serving life. He asked for people to send him money so he could top up his Blackberry phone. I think this is totally unacceptable what do you think?.
Edit Piran there are pictures of him on his facebook page so it's not nonsense I am afraid.
Edit Piran there are pictures of him on his facebook page so it's not nonsense I am afraid.

[Will]

Same here!

[C L S]

Definitely this is very unacceptable - it would never happen at any prison in Scotland.
I'm glad we are getting our independence next September as we won't be infected with all these English 'diseases'!

[Wessex]

Absolutely not...........

Prison is about restricting freedom.....not facilitating it!

[Piran]

I think it is a load of nonsense.
Inmates in the UK have NO access to computers or mobile phones. This inmate had a phone smuggled in to him. There is no way they can use computers unless it is part of an ICT course, and these computers are locked, so only a few programmes can be used. The computers themselves are kept in a locked room where only the Officers have the keys. This idea that Prisoners can wander around doing what they like is a fallacy. Apart from lock up for 20 plus hours a day, they have association for an hour in a room. They cannot wander around a prison at will.
UK

EDIT: This was done using an illegal mobile, that is why his picture was on FB. He is not the first one to have done this. By now - phone will have been found, ,conviscated and he will be in the punishment block.

[blackbull]

This is outrageous and should be stopped immediately.

[Clive]

Of course it's unacceptable and they do not - officially. Clearly he is breaking the rules as laid down in Prison Rule 51. Mobile phones are banned in prison because the prison cannot censor calls on them, and any prisoner found with one gets it confiscated and will appear before a governor for adjudication (an internal trial). This prisoner must have had one smuggled in to him. It is an imprisonable offence to bring a prohibited item in to a prisoner, and this is clearly stated on notices in prison visiting halls.

Piran is completely correct - official access to the Internet by prisoners is supervised and allowed only If absolutely necessary for educational purposes. In my time as a prisoner I never had it at all, as I didn't do any such course and observed the rules.

You might like to tell Gartree who this is. That'll get it stopped if they find his phone - the first thing they'll do is search his cell for it. By the way, convicted killers are most of what Gartree has in it - it has the highest population of lifers in any UK prison.

[old grumpy]

Sweat Pea... Hello as usual. I have my own thoughts on the privileges for Prisoners, but on this occasion I have to take on board what CLIVE has said, after all he has had experience behind the wall and he does appear to know his subject.
All the best as always.