HMP Warren Hill, part of HMP & YOI Hollesley Bay, were looking for a Point of Sale (POS) solution within the prison for inmates to purchase goods in a shop environment and to help the inmates work in a real life situation. Due to IT restrictions with network security our POS solution was sourced as it can operate securely and completely stand alone.

Datasym was contacted by the client to provide a stand alone POS solution for the inmate convenience shop which was due to open. Selling items from toiletries to eggs and frozen foods to confectionery, the shop would be a crucial outlet for the inmate’s needs required to run their ever-expanding business.

“The POS system has been remarkable really and it is now very well established. It has given prisoners valuable retail experiences combined with money and debt management.”

Ricky Palmer
Head of Corporate Services, HMP Warren Hill

HMP Warren Hill Datasym case study

The solution allows inmates to purchase goods against their inmate number which is then passed through to the back office solution providing a detailed report for the finance team who can in turn deduct the value from their account. The solution is ever evolving and since starting, offers and promotions have been introduced with great success. What was supposed to be a corner shop has flourished into a mini market, with the shop currently taking over £1000 a week in sales.

The shop is run by two inmates and overseen by Julia Fisher-Andersen who has recently won an award for the work she has done with the shop at the East Prison Custodial Awards in December 2017.

Benefits of our solution within the Prison sector include:

  • Records sales transactions and provides all the benefits of a POS solution
  • Promotes independence & educates inmates ahead of release
  • Provides detailed reporting on transactions, finance information and trends
  • Allocated payments against cashless customer accounts for inmates
  • Secure login including fingerprints, permissions and full accountability to prevent fraud.

The success of the POS solution at HMP Warren Hill has been seen across the Prison sector and is gaining a lot of momentum with a number of other sites including HMP Humber having the solution installed.

Get in touch with Datasym to see how we can help your business!

0844 870 9206

“The system works really well and the users of the solution love it due to its ease of use. It allows full financial and stock reporting which highlights sales and stock discrepancies which are crucial.”

Julia Fisher-Andersen
Business Hub, HMP Warren Hill

So get in touch today.

We don’t just show you how to buy from us, our consultants will work with you to ensure that the solution fits your business, rather than asking your business to fit an ‘off-the-shelf’ system.