C2 Software has launched The Scottish Prison Service’s (SPS) new website. Aimed at improving the flow of information from the SPS and raising awareness of its work, the site will be used by a broad audience including the public, media, politicians and support organisations.

The new site includes sections with information about various aspects of prison life including news, public contracts, recruitment, various publications, guidance on the freedom of information process and monthly expenditure.

Designed and built by C2 Software, the website was developed specifically for the non-technical user, allowing authorised members of staff to contribute content and create, update and publish pages giving SPS full control over this critical channel of communication.
 
The new website will enable SPS to raise awareness and educate key audiences about its roles and responsibilities including its work to reduce re-offending, rehabilitate offenders and give them the skills needed to reintroduce them to society.
 
The site has a dedicated page for each prison providing visitor information. C2 also delivered a mobile web application that smartphone users can use to find contact information for each of the 15 SPS establishments.
 
Critical to the success of the project was C2’s deployment of a robust mechanism for the SPS to update the site regularly with new content and archive old content as Tom Fox, Scottish Prison Service Head of Corporate Affairs explains:  “Our website needs to work hard for us and it was important that we work with a company which has a proven track record for delivering websites that are easy to manage and maintain as well as being accessible and usable.
 
“C2 were highly professional and responsive to our needs.  They were particularly helpful at identifying issues we might not have been aware of and coming up with solutions to help us work around any problems.”
 
C2 Software specialises in CMS and its flagship software Activedition powers the websites and intranets of global and national organisations including Herbalife, Maclay Murray Spens LLP, Aberdeen City Council and the Royal Mint.
 
C2's Finlay Carmichael commented:  “We are extremely proud of the site we have created for the SPS.  We knew they needed a website that could easily be kept up to date and would be a valuable resource of information for a diverse user group as well as communicating clear messages for the organisation.  We believe we have succeeded in achieving our goals and know that we have delivered a website that can grow and evolve with the changing needs of the SPS.”
 
Employing around 4000 staff and managing a typical daily population of 7,900 prisoners, Scottish Prison Service operates 15 establishments across Scotland, a training college, a central storage facility and a headquarters in Edinburgh.