Flagship Digital Prison HMP Berwyn Is a Vision of How Prisons Can Reduce Reoffending

One of the first prisons to adopt the Digital reform was HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, Wales. This 2,106-bed public-sector prison opened in February 2017 and is the flagship of the Digital programme. HMP Berwyn is the largest prison in England and Wales and the second largest in Europe.

The Solution

Rather than adopting traditional administrative systems, HMP Berwyn introduced Unilink’s biometric-enabled digital solutions to automate paper-based processes.

Custodial Management System (Staff Platform)

Providing safety, security and efficiency, Unilink’s Custodial Management System (Staff Platform) integrates biometric fingerprint identification and verification into a wide range of functions: from offender, staff and visitor enrolment, movement tracking, access control, to a unique application for Prisoner Self-Service. Using biometrics increases security, creates efficiencies by replacing outdated paper-based processes with modern automated procedures and limits potential for human error.

Data & Intelligence Capabilities

Using operational data, HMP Berwyn can:

Analysing the rich operational data collected enables the identification of those prisoners taking drugs and those most at risk of self-harm. The effect of drugs, most particularly spice,  is very damaging to prison welfare and safety. CMS gathers intelligence enabling those visitors likely to be delivering drugs to be identified, and their activities to be halted. Biometrics ensures that, despite multiple ID’s, individuals are tracked and, if necessary, caught. At HMP Berwyn, Officers were able to spot illegal trafficking of mobile phones by analysing prisoner behavioural patterns in CMS.

Prisoner Self-Service

Used by over 55,000+ prisoners in over 70+ Establishments across UK, Europe and Australia, the system has processed approximately 3 billion transactions to date. Unilink’s Prisoner Self-Service automates many labour-intensive and time-consuming administrative processes, such as submitting applications, purchasing items, choosing meals, viewing the weekly timetable, viewing the account balance, scheduling visits, accessing frequently asked questions, and more. The system has a complete audit trail so requests can’t get lost, and response time and
content by prison officers can be monitored.

Prisoners log in to the system using their fingerprint on wing-based kiosks or via a username and password on laptops in their cells. The service gives prisoners a sense of self-worth by enabling them to manage their day-to-day activities and providing additional accountability for those with in-cell laptops. This in turn, encourages self-reliance and promotes the “responsible prisoner” model, leading to a reduction in re-offending upon release.

In addition to the prisoner benefits, Self-Service reduces the administrative burden on staff.  Staff can use the time saved by working directly with offenders to foster better relationships. The solution also helps to identify prisoners with low planned “purposeful activity” and direct resources to them, as these individuals are often those at the highest risk of self-harm and suicide.

The catering team at HMP Berwyn use the system to collate all the food orders for the day,  and the kitchen manager described the service as ‘the best thing since sliced bread’. The food quality has improved, and there is less wastage.

"There are massive benefits to the system. All the data is stored there - which means it can’t be moved, lost or deleted. At any given moment, we can go and check on the data we need." - Prison Officer | HMP Berwyn

The establishment is always looking for new ways to benefit from the Unilink system and recently migrated from a paper-based system for charitable donations by prisoners to a digital solution in the Prisoner Self-Service. This reduced the time required to create a report and process the donation, saving HMP Berwyn 2.5 days per month.

The Impact at HMP Berwyn

In 2025, HMP Berwyn users carried out over 22 million self-service transactions, including over 1.5 million application requests. Without Staff Portal and Prisoner Self-Service, all these transactions would have been manual.

According to one Prison Officer at HMP Berwyn, “There are massive benefits to the system. All the data is stored there - which means it can’t be moved, lost or deleted. At any given moment, we can check the data we need. This allowed us to get rid of the paper-based processes [used at other establishments], which, cost-wise and time-wise, is a great saving.”

Modular Systems

Unilink’s solutions are modular and configurable to meet the requirements of each individual establishment. The solutions can be operated on-premises, from a data centre, or in the Cloud, and are browser-based and device agnostic.

At HMP Berwyn, the web-based self-service portal for prisoners is accessible on Windows laptops via a wired connection in their cells, and via kiosks on the wings. Within the Digital Prisons Programme, Unilink designed and developed an API that communicates with external systems.

HMPPS centralised offender management system, P-NOMIS, holds records of all prisoners, including their prison number, account balance and visitor information. The API interfaces with the PNOMIS system to transfer data between PNOMIS and the Self-service application,  including real-time account balance information.

HMPPS and Unilink Working Together To Enable More Digital Prisons

The Digital Prisons Programme has often been referred to as the biggest reform in the British Custodial System since the Victorian age.

Over 30 public sector prisons in England & Wales are now live as part of the Digital Prisons and Launchpad Programme. Unilink has installed almost 1,000 kiosks across these prisons to date and continues to provide services to HMPPS establishments.

The solution is accessible to prisoners both in-cell via laptops and through kiosks on the wings, increasing access to digital services and supporting greater engagement across the prison estate.