bitcoin is a prisoners dream, why no reports of use by inmates?

[Anon136]

Ok so first some evidence that inmates have access to the internet, thats pretty important. http://www.wsmv.com/story/22080698/inmates-party-display-drugs-and-cash-in-facebook-posts-and-video ok so now if we established that inmates have access to the internet, why do they not use bitcoin?

• traditional money has been cash or cigarettes, both can be confiscated by "the man" bitcoin can not be confiscated.
• cigarettes and cash take up space and space is at a premium in prisons. hiding places are difficult to find. bitcoins dont occupy physical space.
• bitcoins allow prisoners to engage in commerce outside of the walls of the prison, something markedly more difficult with cash or cigarettes. this would make it much easier to get contraband into the prison.
• sometimes its difficult to meet face to face with people in prison, regimented schedules and what not, bitcoin allows you to transfer wealth to someone that you are unable to contact face to face
• some prisoners are criminals, probably not most, but probably a higher proportion of them are than in the general population, theirfor extortion is a risk. if someone can see your large pile of cash they are likely to threaten to harm you inorder to acquire it. with bitcoin you could hide how much wealth you have making extortion less likely.
• bitcoins could allow prisoners to bribe guards or the people who decide whether you get paroled more easily than trying to hand them a pile of cash

well ill go ahead and post this up for now. if i can think of something i missed than ill add it in later. if anyone else can think of advantages that i missed let me know and ill add them to the list.

so what are your theories? why arnt prisoners using bitcoin? you could say "well they are just dumb" but they are smart enough to use facebook blockchain.info isnt that much more complex.

[Wilikon]

Great idea. Bitcoin enabled shiv with WiFi for the win!

[Pente]

I have a friend in prison since 1993. He justs laughs when people bring up the internet. He has never used it. Has no idea how it has changed the world. My understanding is that the prison uses it's own internal computer network that is not connected to the outside world. Occasionally, people do smuggle in cell phones, but that is pretty rare. As for bribing guards, they will trade favors with the gay inmates, no bitcoins needed. If you had a bitcoin wallet, the best thing would be to just sit on it, keep your head low, read a lot, wait till you are out, and enjoy spending your greatly appreciated bitcoins.

[Jabbatheslutt]

I don't picture too many of these inmates as computer literate especially with little contact to the outside world.

[Anon136]

I have a friend in prison since 1993. He justs laughs when people bring up the internet. He has never used it. Has no idea how it has changed the world. My understanding is that the prison uses it's own internal computer network that is not connected to the outside world. Occasionally, people do smuggle in cell phones, but that is pretty rare. As for bribing guards, they will trade favors with the gay inmates, no bitcoins needed. If you had a bitcoin wallet, the best thing would be to just sit on it, keep your head low, read a lot, wait till you are out, and enjoy spending your greatly appreciated bitcoins.

good to hear from someone one with some relevant first hand experience. perhaps what is described in that news report was an at least mostly isolated event.

also in that video I'm pretty sure they were using 3g or 4g not wifi.

[nthoangga]

I don't picture too many of these inmates as computer literate especially with little contact to the outside world.

I think this is mostly the case since most prisoner won't have a proper education.

[Anon136]

i was thinking also that if it became a problem than the prison could probably call up the phone company and "politely request" that they block all transmissions originating from the general location of the prison.

[CEG5952]

hardly anyone in the world uses bitcoin..... why would prisoners?

[Anon136]

hardly anyone in the world uses bitcoin..... why would prisoners?

for all of the reasons mentioned in the OP...

prisoners have WAY more incentive to want to use btc than average joe, so we should expect to see them adopting before random people. so saying other people dont use them why would prisoners is a little silly.

[Hawker]

hardly anyone in the world uses bitcoin..... why would prisoners?

for all of the reasons mentioned in the OP...

prisoners have WAY more incentive to want to use btc than average joe, so we should expect to see them adopting before random people. so saying other people dont use them why would prisoners is a little silly.

Sorry have you ever been in jail?  I have and feel you need to know 2 things:
1. Unless you are very lucky and the librarian is exceptionally generous, you will not have Internet access.  So buying cigarettes with Bitcoin is not going to happen.
2. If you known to have something worth over £100 in the morning, say a lump or a mobile, by noon you will have made a choice between having teeth in your head and having that goodie taken off you.

If you were going to jail, would you want anyone to know you have a Bitcoin and that all anyone needs to do it poke you in the thigh and they will have it transferred to their wallet?  Or would you want someone to get a lump of hash to you?

[scarsbergholden]

hardly anyone in the world uses bitcoin..... why would prisoners?

for all of the reasons mentioned in the OP...

prisoners have WAY more incentive to want to use btc than average joe, so we should expect to see them adopting before random people. so saying other people dont use them why would prisoners is a little silly.

i think you vastly overestimate prisoners' privileges and access to things that would facilitate the use of bitcoin..... plus, as it stands, i'm not sure bitcoin is necessary to move anything on the inside OR the outside.

[Anon136]

hardly anyone in the world uses bitcoin..... why would prisoners?

for all of the reasons mentioned in the OP...

prisoners have WAY more incentive to want to use btc than average joe, so we should expect to see them adopting before random people. so saying other people dont use them why would prisoners is a little silly.

Sorry have you ever been in jail?  I have and feel you need to know 2 things:
1. Unless you are very lucky and the librarian is exceptionally generous, you will not have Internet access.  So buying cigarettes with Bitcoin is not going to happen.
2. If you known to have something worth over £100 in the morning, say a lump or a mobile, by noon you will have made a choice between having teeth in your head and having that goodie taken off you.

If you were going to jail, would you want anyone to know you have a Bitcoin and that all anyone needs to do it poke you in the thigh and they will have it transferred to their wallet?  Or would you want someone to get a lump of hash to you?

no i have certainly never been in jail.

1) ok in the video i linked they were clearly using smartphons with 3g or 4g not the librarian. of course you might be right, i already conceded that what we see in the video may be an isolated event.

2) that was one of the advantages i listed for bitcoin. if you are storing wealth in cigarettes, as i understand it the standard prison money, than its apparent to everyone that you have wealth. you never need to tell anyone how much bitcoin you have or if you have any. this is one of the advantages bitcoin has over cigarettes as money.

[Anon136]

hardly anyone in the world uses bitcoin..... why would prisoners?

for all of the reasons mentioned in the OP...

prisoners have WAY more incentive to want to use btc than average joe, so we should expect to see them adopting before random people. so saying other people dont use them why would prisoners is a little silly.

i think you vastly overestimate prisoners' privileges and access to things that would facilitate the use of bitcoin

yes this seems likely

[Hawker]

hardly anyone in the world uses bitcoin..... why would prisoners?

for all of the reasons mentioned in the OP...

prisoners have WAY more incentive to want to use btc than average joe, so we should expect to see them adopting before random people. so saying other people dont use them why would prisoners is a little silly.

Sorry have you ever been in jail?  I have and feel you need to know 2 things:
1. Unless you are very lucky and the librarian is exceptionally generous, you will not have Internet access.  So buying cigarettes with Bitcoin is not going to happen.
2. If you known to have something worth over £100 in the morning, say a lump or a mobile, by noon you will have made a choice between having teeth in your head and having that goodie taken off you.

If you were going to jail, would you want anyone to know you have a Bitcoin and that all anyone needs to do it poke you in the thigh and they will have it transferred to their wallet?  Or would you want someone to get a lump of hash to you?

no i have certainly never been in jail.

1) ok in the video i linked they were clearly using smartphons with 3g or 4g not the librarian. of course you might be right, i already conceded that what we see in the video may be an isolated event.

2) that was one of the advantages i listed for bitcoin. if you are storing wealth in cigarettes, as i understand it the standard prison money, than its apparent to everyone that you have wealth. you never need to tell anyone how much bitcoin you have or if you have any. this is one of the advantages bitcoin has over cigarettes as money.

For the record, I should never have been in jail either.  It was a wrong place wrong time thing and never got to trial. 

[Luckybit]

Ok so first some evidence that inmates have access to the internet, thats pretty important. http://www.wsmv.com/story/22080698/inmates-party-display-drugs-and-cash-in-facebook-posts-and-video ok so now if we established that inmates have access to the internet, why do they not use bitcoin?

• traditional money has been cash or cigarettes, both can be confiscated by "the man" bitcoin can not be confiscated.
• cigarettes and cash take up space and space is at a premium in prisons. hiding places are difficult to find. bitcoins dont occupy physical space.
• bitcoins allow prisoners to engage in commerce outside of the walls of the prison, something markedly more difficult with cash or cigarettes. this would make it much easier to get contraband into the prison.
• sometimes its difficult to meet face to face with people in prison, regimented schedules and what not, bitcoin allows you to transfer wealth to someone that you are unable to contact face to face
• some prisoners are criminals, probably not most, but probably a higher proportion of them are than in the general population, theirfor extortion is a risk. if someone can see your large pile of cash they are likely to threaten to harm you inorder to acquire it. with bitcoin you could hide how much wealth you have making extortion less likely.
• bitcoins could allow prisoners to bribe guards or the people who decide whether you get paroled more easily than trying to hand them a pile of cash

well ill go ahead and post this up for now. if i can think of something i missed than ill add it in later. if anyone else can think of advantages that i missed let me know and ill add them to the list.

so what are your theories? why arnt prisoners using bitcoin? you could say "well they are just dumb" but they are smart enough to use facebook blockchain.info isnt that much more complex.

Inmates already have currencies. I think it depends on who is in prison. When more people from the Bitcoin community find themselves in prison then prisoners will be using Bitcoins.

[waltermot321]

We need a new Alt-coin, Prison coin which buy them extra lunch or less beating..

[Anon136]

hardly anyone in the world uses bitcoin..... why would prisoners?

for all of the reasons mentioned in the OP...

prisoners have WAY more incentive to want to use btc than average joe, so we should expect to see them adopting before random people. so saying other people dont use them why would prisoners is a little silly.

Sorry have you ever been in jail?  I have and feel you need to know 2 things:
1. Unless you are very lucky and the librarian is exceptionally generous, you will not have Internet access.  So buying cigarettes with Bitcoin is not going to happen.
2. If you known to have something worth over £100 in the morning, say a lump or a mobile, by noon you will have made a choice between having teeth in your head and having that goodie taken off you.

If you were going to jail, would you want anyone to know you have a Bitcoin and that all anyone needs to do it poke you in the thigh and they will have it transferred to their wallet?  Or would you want someone to get a lump of hash to you?

no i have certainly never been in jail.

1) ok in the video i linked they were clearly using smartphons with 3g or 4g not the librarian. of course you might be right, i already conceded that what we see in the video may be an isolated event.

2) that was one of the advantages i listed for bitcoin. if you are storing wealth in cigarettes, as i understand it the standard prison money, than its apparent to everyone that you have wealth. you never need to tell anyone how much bitcoin you have or if you have any. this is one of the advantages bitcoin has over cigarettes as money.

For the record, I should never have been in jail either.  It was a wrong place wrong time thing and never got to trial. 

notice my deliberate use of "some prisoners are criminals" anyway sorry to hear that, we have all suffered at the hands of the state, some more than others.