World's Top Prison Chiefs to Check on CSE Servelec's Security Technology

State-of-the-art prison security technology developed by Sheffield-based IT specialist CSE Servelec will this week be showcased to an international delegation of prison governors.

CSE Servelec, a leading integrator of mission-critical technology solutions, is using the three-day Prison Governors' Association conference in Buxton, Derbyshire to show a new control room system it has developed on behalf of HM Prison Service.

Panoptes, which is on schedule for delivery to the Prison Service College near Rugby within the next few months, makes full use of the latest virtual reality and artificial intelligence technologies. It takes information from across prison establishments in a number of forms and then records and presents it in a way that enables operators to quickly make decisions in order to control situations.

Information arrives as voice messages, event indications such as alarms, moving images like CCTV, still images, text or numerical data. Outgoing information could include commands such as signals to electronic locking.

The concept involves the use of three displays for each operator, with a typical control room containing six operators.

Each position provides: A main operator control system which displays a map /layout of the establishment with information concerning incidents and events, as well as controls which allow the operator to deal with those situations and the devices attached to the system. A video image display which allows the operator to view close circuit television images from any of the cameras or other sources attached to the system. It will automatically show selected views for incidents which the operator is handling. And a virtual reality display which allows the operator to be positioned with a three dimensional graphical representation of the establishment to better determine the nature of the incident being handled.

"This system has already caught the attention of other prison services outside of Britain, and we now expect to see considerable interest from the governors meeting in Buxton," said Alan Gilby, managing director, CSE Servelec.

"The successful development of this leading-edge control room solution reflects CSE Servelec's vast experience in the implementation of mission-critical IT solutions for industrial and public sector applications."

HM Prison Service has signed a framework contract option for Panoptes to be rolled-out over a period of up to 10 years into prisons throughout England and Wales. Dependent on roll out numbers, the contract could be valued at up to £30m