Oregon's Prisoner Gamers

Posted on March 23, 2006

The BBC reports that Oregon has a unique rewards system for prisoners that involves video games. The prisoners can buy video game systems from DreamGear after 18 months with a clean record.

The escalating system of non-cash incentives rewards those prisoners that stay out of trouble.
After six months of clean conduct, inmates get the chance to buy a 7-inch LCD screen with a cable hook-up for their cell. Inmates earn the money for the tiny TV, which costs $300, via the wages they earn doing jobs while serving their sentence.
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After 18 months, inmates are offered further incentives, such as more visiting hours and get the chance to buy ice cream.
They are also given the chance to buy the game gadget which costs $35. The graphics in the 50 games stored on the gadget resemble those seen in mid-1980s consoles.

The idea must be motivating some prisoners to behave because the article says they sold 809 consoles to inmates between November 2005 and January 2006. The consoles should certainly make passing time in prison easier.