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New Technology is Creating Improvements in the Corrections Field

NCJ Number
210666
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 62-64
Author(s)
Charles E. Johnson; Thomas H. Hesse
Date Published
July 2005
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article briefly describes innovative technologies being developed and utilized in the United States that provide communication from inmates to family, promoting the successful and effective reintegration of inmates.
Abstract
Interest has been gaining in the area of new technologies being implemented in prisons and jails, specifically in the area of video visitation and the need for avenues through which the family support system and the reintegration of inmates back into the community could be improved during incarceration. With the reintegration of inmates being of high importance to United States corrections, the United States has begun the design and implementation of video visitation system applications and extending the visit back into the home and the community. This article describes the video visitation system of Maricopa County to reduce staff time in handling visitation and reduce inmate movement within the jail. The system has been successful for 3 years. The ultimate goal for the county is to move visitation to in-home family visits within the next 2 years. New video visitation technologies will soon provide a method to increase positive incentives for inmates through more face-to-face family visits that could result in a reduction of aggressive inmate situations and allow staff time to be refocused on correctional programs.