Prison telecommunications

Last summer, I managed to get into there from where many, on the contrary, would like to get out as soon as possible. I visited the walls of the correctional colony number 2 in Yekaterinburg. No, I have not turned into a bank robber or a small drug dealer. He did not crack the website of the Ministry of Defense and did not repost records containing appeals to various kinds of discord. And he did not even catch representatives of Japanese animation in Orthodox churches. I just simply asked for a tour, in order to clarify for myself what modern communication technologies are used outside the walls of Russian correctional institutions.

Under the cut the story of my walk through the alleys of the prison barracks with a camera in hand.

A little general information about the telecom in the MIS

The Russian Government approved the document entitled “The Concept for the Development of the Penitentiary System of Penalties (MIS)” back in 2010. In the fat document, among other things, a plan for the development of telecommunications networks was presented. According to the document, within ten years it is necessary to do everything so that the prisoners are provided with a full range of telecommunication services. Also, the system of information security of departmental networks had to undergo modernization.
')
According to the latest published data, which dates back to 2013, 700 institutions in 80 territorial bodies are integrated into the telecommunication system of the TCB. Each of them has its own local networks, in which more than 10 thousand computers are involved.

All bodies of the FPS interact with each other using e-mail with a system of protection against hacking. For the most part, the department’s telecommunications network operates on leased lines from Rostelecom and Transtelecom. There are also own communication channels, organized with the help of optics and radio-relay equipment, allowing to provide data transmission, facsimile and telephone communications.

IR-2

The numbers listed above are only a way to demonstrate the breadth and possibilities of telecommunications of the Russian criminal correctional system and what ultimately should work. But it's time to move away from dry numbers.

Penal colony number 2 institution, probably known to every Yekaterinburg. The strange practice of locating detention centers directly in the center of a large city at one time touched Yekaterinburg as well.



Here, behind high walls with barbed wire, those who are recognized by the court as dangerous to society are serving their sentences. Communication in such institutions is a matter of prime necessity. For employees, it is primarily an instrument of control, and for those serving a sentence an exceptional opportunity to hear and see loved ones located hundreds and thousands of kilometers away.

An iron door that opens with a loud signal alternately launches small groups of three people into the territory of the colony. These are mainly employees of the institution. Attitude is the same to all and indulgence is not given here. Telephone and other communications equipment will have to leave at the entrance. Audio and video equipment, which rushes with them into the territory of the colony is also carefully checked. Each incoming passes a mandatory identification on the bio-smart system. This happens as follows: a person enters a small room surrounded on all sides by bars, where you have to go through fingerprint identification.





The room where each incoming person goes through identification in bio-smart

The data of each employee of the colony, as well as the visitor, is stored in a special database. An outsider is unlikely to penetrate here. A visitor who has not appeared here for three months disappears from the base. The data of the resigned employee is also stored only for some time.



A fingerprint is attached to this device, and all data recorded on you should be reflected in the database.

Each institution has its own database of information about employees and visitors. My data was not entered into the database, but later on I was constantly escorted across the territory of the colony.

CCTV

It is not surprising that prisoners are the public for which close supervision is needed, therefore the prison staff need a quality control system for those who are serving time. In the IR-2 for this purpose use IP-cameras.





Literally, every part of the territory of the “zone” is under the watchful eye of the “big brother”. In addition to local cameras, the employees have several dome cameras with manual control and focus to cover the entire territory of IK-2.


Dome camera with manual control. With its help, you can look at almost every corner of the IR-2

The picture from all IP video cameras goes directly to the attendant console.


Remote attendant. On the monitor images from video cameras, as well as the readings of the alarm sensors. Here is the manual control of the dome camera.






Picture from cameras and control panel dome camera

On the territory of IK-2 several shops successfully operate, supplying various products for the needs of the FPS. For example, here they make corps for video surveillance. As a result, the colony saves, acquiring only the matrix for video cameras and installing them in their own enclosures.




Case for video camera production IK-2

Services for prisoners

What is good telecommunications? Not only the opportunity to like the avatar of a cool girl in social networks or read the “tasty” article on “Giktayms”. First of all, telecom gave us the opportunity to clearly hear and see each other even if we are on the other side of the world. It is a sin not to use this opportunity, especially since the next few years you will have to be locked up because you have neglected the criminal code of the Russian Federation.

In IK-2, the famous Skype messenger is used to communicate prisoners with loved ones. Video calls are possible only after the approval of the administration of the institution. To do this, a person who wants to communicate with the person serving the sentence must leave a corresponding application. When it is approved at a certain time, you will only need to call your own IR-2 login in the messenger.


Skype number by which you can assign a video


Monitor with a camera for video viewing.


One of the prisoners communicates via Skype with relatives


Institutions of the FPS also communicate with each other via videoconference.

With the advent of the Internet, the FSIN eliminated the need for the constant transportation of prisoners to court. Now many court sessions are held online via video link. This is especially useful when the case of a convicted person is already considered in a court of another region.





In IK-2, several payphones were installed for telephone communication between prisoners and their relatives. For the call also requires prior consent of the administration.



Telephony and a number of other colony services are provided by a virtual telecom operator specializing in working with institutions of the Federal Penitentiary Service. In addition to telephony, the “prison operator” organizes video communication and e-mail for communication between departmental institutions. Unfortunately, the rules of the portal do not allow me to name the operator’s name, although the company is, of course, unique. But it is worth emphasizing that the “prison operator” already provides its services to more than 300 FSIN institutions in 40 regions of the country.

The FSIN is actively using the possibilities of modern communication for a more comfortable life of those serving sentences - some time ago the department launched an online store, thanks to which relatives can supply the prisoners with everything they need.



The store menu allows you to select the institution and region of the sentence. To buy in the store you must pay a grocery card.



After that, the convict will be able to receive food in the amount paid directly on the territory of the colony.


So the online store actually looks like

In addition to the online store, another service for communication has been operating in the network for several years. Portal "FSIN-LETTER" allows anyone who wants to contact a prisoner of a Russian prison to send an email for this.



The cost of a text page depends on the number of characters. So, a page of text up to 2500 characters will cost 55 rubles, and the photo attached to it is still 30.



At this, my excursion came to an end, and I, accompanied by, but not under escort, headed for the exit, which seemed to be wrapped in steel gratings. For me, like everyone here, closely watched by a video camera, transmitting a digitized signal over optical networks, which penetrated here, where life seemed to freeze for a time period equal to the length of your term.