Throughout this project we have established the problem clearly, mapped the user experience in detail, stress tested the idea against industry professionals and refined our thinking at every stage. This page brings all of that together into a clear statement of what we are actually proposing to build.
The solution is an automated incarceration alert system that sits between the Northern Ireland Prison Service and service providers. At the moment someone is sentenced, the system fires an automated notification to registered providers, triggering an immediate pause on that person's billing and financial obligations. It requires no action from the prisoner, no meaningful additional workload for prison staff, and no new legislation to implement. When the person is released the system fires again, giving them the opportunity to choose which services they want to resume and which they want to cancel permanently. They leave prison with a clear financial picture rather than a crisis waiting for them at the door.
The system operates across three distinct moments in the prisoner journey.
The first is the point of sentencing. This is the trigger. The moment an incarceration event is logged in the prison management system a webhook fires outward to a centralised alert platform. That platform then uses APIs to contact each registered service provider and send a verified pause request on behalf of the prisoner. The provider receives the notification, pauses the account, and sends a confirmation back to the system. The whole process is automated, real time and requires no human intervention beyond the intake process that was already happening.
The second is the duration of the sentence. During this period the system maintains the paused state. No billing occurs, no interest accumulates and no debt collection is triggered. The data is stored securely and in full GDPR compliance throughout. This is the period where the system does its most important work simply by doing nothing, holding the line while the person serves their sentence.
The third is the point of release. A discharge event triggers a second notification to providers. The prisoner is presented with a clear summary of everything that was paused on their behalf and is given the choice of what to resume and what to cancel permanently. This moment of choice is deliberate. It is the first act of financial agency the system offers the person and it connects directly to the insight Barry gave us about the importance of autonomy in successful reintegration.
The solution does not exist in isolation. It connects to several parts of the wider service ecosystem that already exist and are already functioning.
On the prison side it connects to the existing intake process. The trigger point, logging an incarceration event, is something that already happens on day one. The system attaches to that moment rather than creating a new one.
On the provider side it connects to account management infrastructure that providers like BT, Sky and Virgin already have in place internally. The system is not asking them to build something new. It is asking them to expose an existing capability through an agreed integration.
On the prisoner side it connects to the discharge process, the moment of release planning that already exists within the prison service, however limited that currently is. The financial summary produced by the system becomes a natural part of that conversation rather than a separate intervention.
