Indiana's Inmates Could Soon Have Access To Tablets (abc57.com)

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Indiana's Inmates Could Soon Have Access To Tablets (abc57.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Saturday March 25, 2017 @01:30AM from the live-comfortably dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ABC57 News in South Bend, Indiana: Indiana is looking to help offenders who are behind bars. Soon, each inmate in the Hoosier state could have their own tablet. The Indiana Department of Correction says the tablet will help inmates stay connected with their families and improve their education. Offenders will be able to use the tablets to access any classwork, self-help materials or entertainment. Officials expect to use entertainment, like music or movies, to reward good behavior. The proposal was first filed in January. Apple iPad's or kindles won't be used. Instead, a company that makes tablets specifically for prisons or jails will be hired. One San Francisco based-company they may consider, Telmate, has a device that is used in more than 20 states, including some jails in Marshall County. INDOC is hoping a vendor will front the costs of the entertainment apps so taxpayers won't have to. INDOC also says it wants to avoid charging inmate fees because charging fees that they can't afford would defeat the purpose of the system. If the company selected pays, the vendor would be reimbursed and still earn a profit.

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Why not? by Ol+Olsoc · 2017-03-25 01:34 · Score: 4, Insightful

I know the get tough on crime crowd will be throwing a massive shit-fit, but if you can give them something to occupy their time, it might be less shit going down in there.

--
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
1. Re:Why not? by craigminah · 2017-03-25 01:39 · Score: 1
  
  How about "occupying their time" with work such as making license plates, breaking big rocks into smaller rocks, digging holes, filling in holes, etc.?
2. Re:Why not? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-25 01:46 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  What's the deterrent to crime then?
  They can't block ads.
3. Re:Why not? by OzPeter · 2017-03-25 01:57 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  How about "occupying their time" with work such as making license plates, breaking big rocks into smaller rocks, digging holes, filling in holes, etc.?
  And when they get out their only possible skill set will be "making license plates, breaking big rocks into smaller rocks, digging holes, filling in holes, etc.". At least with a tablet the have the possibility of learning something of value.
  
  --
  I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
4. Re:Why not? by Striek · 2017-03-25 01:58 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Hmmm - prison = food, clothing, shelter, in some cases a good gym membership and now your own tablet with internet and skype and probably easy access to porn.
  What's the deterrent to crime then?
  First, you need to give up your freedom. Be denied all contact with all other humans, and be cut off from the world. You'd need to accept spending years like that. For years, you will not see a sunrise, or a rolling ocean. For years, you cannot join a motorcycle club. For years, even the possibility of a pleasant walk will elude you. You'll miss the spring flowers, the greens of summer, and the spectacle of autumn - for years. And for years, you will not feel wind in your hair or the sun on your face.
  If you're willing to give up all that in exchange for a tablet, a treadmill, and three square a day, well sir, kudos to you. I wouldn't.
  For the slow of mind - prison, in a modern society, is not meant to be a deterrent - that's why we call it corrections. Modern civil societies have rehabilitative prisons, not punitive prisons. (Almost) everyone in prison is getting out eventually. You'd better plan for that.
  
  --
  "Government is like fire; a handy servant, but a dangerous master." -- George Washington
5. Re: Why not? by slasher999 · 2017-03-25 02:05 · Score: 2
  
  Not true, menial labor serves to convince people they don't want to do menial labor and strive for something better. It's up to the individual to find their motivation. Would tablet permissions as a reward work for good behavior? Sure, I don't however think every inmate should get one at the cost to taxpayers.
6. Re:Why not? by alvinrod · 2017-03-25 02:06 · Score: 2
  
  The first is at least productive, but it isn't really a viable skill training program, especially if the only people who get to make license plates are in prison. The others are just pointless punishment that don't actually help anyone and just feed our vindictiveness.
  
  One interesting approach that I read about a few years ago that seems to really help was a dog training program where inmates help to rehabilitate and train shelter dogs so that they can be adopted or for use as service animals. It's certainly not a huge job market outside of prison for this, but it is something and its believed that this also helps to rehabilitate inmates as well.
  
  Gordon Ramsay also did a show about teaching prisoners to cook. This seemed like a pretty good idea since there's no shortage of jobs there and they can provide some stability in life. Someone even started a restaurant around the concept as well.
7. Re:Why not? by thegarbz · 2017-03-25 02:08 · Score: 1
  
  How about "occupying their time" with work such as making license plates, breaking big rocks into smaller rocks, digging holes, filling in holes, etc.?
  Having zero marketable skills will really do well for America's already shithouse recidivism stats.
8. Re:Why not? by BarbaraHudson · 2017-03-25 02:19 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Prison != solitary confinement. That would be far too expensive. You get to see sunrises and sunsets, you get to play sports, you get your 3 square meals a day and all medical expenses covered. And if you think that "joining a motorcycle club" is just about riding motor cycles, you need to talk to a few Satan's Choice or Hells Angels members. The clubs function just fine in prisons, controlling much of the drug trade.
  For the homeless, prison looks like a damn fine deal.
  
  --
  "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
9. Re: Why not? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-25 02:30 · Score: 1
  
  How is that the prisons problem?
  No matter how little a prison provides the inmates with an employer will theoretically be capable of providing less.
  That your employer doesn't provide you with good equipment is not an argument for making prisons worse.
  If your workplace is so bad that people working there is turning to crime then there is even more reason to make prisons so good that people there won't become repeat offenders.
  In a way prisons are in the same territory that schools are in. People there are supposed to be trained to become law abiding citizens.
  If providing the inmates with tablets is part of that training then so be it.
10. Re: Why not? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-25 02:39 · Score: 1
  
  Not true, menial labor serves to convince people they don't want to do menial labor and strive for something better.
  Like getting quick cash by robbing a store?
  It is not like it is an untested area. There have been a lot of experiments going on in how to make criminals turn away from crime.
  Physical labor doesn't do jack shit in that regard. It's just something that keeps them occupied while in jail
  There are two things that actually works when it comes to stop convicts from becoming repeat offenders.
  The primary one is education. If they have more options when they come out then the likelihood of them committing more crimes is reduced.
  The other one is psychological evaluation. A lot of people commit crimes because of psychological issues. A proper diagnose is the first step in treatment.
  I know that ADHD diagnosis have a bad reputation because of how it was applied on children.
  For adults it has been shown that violent criminals are overrepresented in that regard.
  There is a large bunch of violent repeat offenders in jail that can get their life in order if you just inform them of their condition and tell them where they can get pills that fixes it.
  It's not like they want to be violent.
11. Re:Why not? by Iamthecheese · 2017-03-25 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  It's a lot deeper than that. "Tough on crime" in the American way, is tough on victims. Take a man who is accused of breaking a law. Subject him to a courthouse without justice where innocence is secondary to getting him through the system .Show him the system doesn't give the tiniest shit about him. Put him a place he will be afraid for his life 24 hours a day. Humiliate him. Let him be beaten. Introduce him to a gang that promises to protect him. Don't let him talk to people who care for him except once a week, possibly, through a screen, where he can't say a lot of things because it's being recorded. Let him mull things over. Then let him out and tell him he'll never have a decent job and isn't eligible for most public assistance. Make sure he has nowhere to turn and no one to help him. Then send him a bill for thousands of dollars for his incarceration.What do you fucking think is going to happen?
  
  Crime (at least crime outside of prisons) has been falling, but that's only because most likely criminals are permanently incarcerated. Those who really, truly care about potential victims are going to have to start caring about inmates.
  
  --
  If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
12. Re:Why not? by stephanruby · 2017-03-25 02:52 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  How about "occupying their time" with work such as making license plates, breaking big rocks into smaller rocks, digging holes, filling in holes, etc.?
  Making license plates doesn't earn the prison near enough money. And before you tell me about INDOC not wanting to charge the inmate fees, you'd be right of course. INDOC doesn't want to charge the inmates. It wants to charge their families. This is exactly how they used to do it for phone calls.
  They used to charge up to $14 per minute for collect phone calls until the FCC recently put a stop to it. Now, they're capped at no more than $1.75 for 15 minutes. Can you believe it? On a 15 min phone call, there is now a shortfall of $208.25
  Prisons have come to depend on this extra income for their sludge funds. Now that the FCC took it away from them. They just need to start providing services on cheap devices that the FCC hasn't even thought to regulate for prison yet. This is the real story here.
13. Re: Why not? by cyber-vandal · 2017-03-25 02:56 · Score: 1
  
  The inability to leave.
14. Re:Why not? by mjwx · 2017-03-25 03:10 · Score: 1
  
  I know the get tough on crime crowd will be throwing a massive shit-fit, but if you can give them something to occupy their time, it might be less shit going down in there.
  Because we don't want criminals rehabilitating and reintegrating into normal society. How can we continue to run a prison-industrial complex if we reduce recidivism rates.
  
  And rewards for good behaviour, pshaw, we should be training guards to beat prisoners senseless whilst ignoring sodomy in the wash room, nor should we pay prison guards enough that they wouldn't dare think about taking some bribes from inmates to smuggle in drugs. No, we should be outsourcing prison staff to the lowest possible bidder.
  
  I mean look at Norway, they treat their prisoners like human beings and look at the horrible society they have to live in.
  
  --
  Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
15. Re:Why not? by BarbaraHudson · 2017-03-25 03:42 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Prisons have conjugal visits. They also have all the sex you never wanted. And in the female prisons, a lot of unwanted sex with the guards. If it weren't for the prison rapes and coerced sex, there are plenty of people who would be better off in prison than on the streets or in a shelter (shelters also have lots of unwanted sex for women who don't want to sleep outside - it's so bad in some areas that women are actually safer outside a shelter than in).
  
  --
  "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
16. Re: Why not? by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 03:48 · Score: 1
  
  If the equipment you have to do your work isn't suitable, then why do you work there?
17. Re: Why not? by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 03:58 · Score: 1
  
  Well, gee you convinced me. The only thing stopping me from commiting a crime was that they weren't done piling on the incentives to. Now I am going to go out and commit all the crime. I cant believe all the crime I've been missing our on committing. Thanks for reminding me of what I was missing out on!
18. Re: Why not? by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 04:05 · Score: 1
  
  The main interest I see in victims is on creating more.
19. Re: Why not? by Hognoxious · 2017-03-25 04:06 · Score: 1
  
  He doesn't have a choice - he's in prison, you insensitive clod!
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
20. Re: Why not? by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 04:23 · Score: 1
  
  Iam good at being an insensitive clod and I do what I am good at. Thanks for noticing! #SenpaiNoticedMe
21. Re:Why not? by pete6677 · 2017-03-25 04:25 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Norway consists of a mostly peaceful homogeneous society. Send them a few hundred thousand MS-13s who are from places where human life is very cheap, and see what happens to their society. It will break apart really fast.
22. Re:Why not? by Kjella · 2017-03-25 04:27 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Hmmm - prison = food, clothing, shelter, in some cases a good gym membership and now your own tablet with internet and skype and probably easy access to porn. What's the deterrent to crime then?
  The conditions in prison are rarely effective as a deterrent anyway, either people think they'll get away with it (typically theft, burglary, mugging, robbery, trafficking illegal goods, fraud, embezzlement and related crimes) or crimes of passion (rage, lust, envy mostly, often combined with being drunk or high - most violent crime, rape and murder) where they're not thinking rationally of consequences. While there are certainly repeat offenders there's also many first-time offenders that have no real concept of what doing time is like or small time criminals that confuse being off the streets for a few weeks on minimum security with being locked up for years.
  And most criminals don't return or not return to prison because of how the conditions are on the inside. They return because they don't really see any alternatives to the life they have on the outside. No money, no job, no CV or work history, so it's back to stealing or peddling drugs on the street corner. Or they have impulse control or substance abuse issues that don't just disappear with time. And if prison is some horrible hellhole then you have these "nothing to lose", "never going back" people who will do anything to get away with it and fight the police until they die in a rain of bullets from a SWAT team. They need to see that there is another way, in prison and after prison. Not everyone will want to change, but you can't whip them into changing.
  Getting proper apples-to-apples numbers on the effect of treating prisoners humanely is very difficult, but it generally varies from "it helps" to "it doesn't hurt", there's really very little to suggest it makes things worse. It's mostly a matter of whether it's money worth spending. Here in Norway we created what the international press called "the world's most humane maximum security prison" but mainly it's that it is built like a normal living quarters like a dorm room or hotel room. No escapes, very low tension even though it's murderers and rapists. Even gangs keep the peace inside the prison, it's like everybody is on time-out. And quite many find they like it better than the life they had.
  
  --
  Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
23. Re: Why not? by geoskd · 2017-03-25 04:31 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Not true, menial labor serves to convince people they don't want to do menial labor and strive for something better. It's up to the individual to find their motivation. Would tablet permissions as a reward work for good behavior?
  Most people who end up in jail are there for one of two reasons: Drug crimes or property crimes. The ones who are there for drug crimes, didn't commit the crimes because that is the life they wanted, its the life they got stuck with, and they would gladly trade it in for something better. The same is true for property crimes. The thing that has been lacking from their lives that got them into prison in the first place wasn't motivation to be better, it was opportunity. Society failed them, and failed them hard. Now that they have been to prison, there is no road back for most of them. What few opportunities they may have had evaporated the moment they were convicted. What this country needs to fight the "crime epidemic" is not more prisons and more guards, but better education for all, and a system that guarantees that everyone who wants opportunities can find them. Stop punishing people for never having had the chance to do better, and start giving them those chances.
  Put in another context, what percentage of the prison population in this country would have made excellent programmers with a lifetime of quality education instead of the shit show they actually got? Even if its just 2% of the population that is currently incarcerated or on parole, that would exceed 100,000 people, and would be plenty to make up for the shortage of tech workers that we insist on importing from other countries by way the H1B visa program. The only reason we have a problem with a shortage of smart people in this country is that we insist on putting as many hurdles in front of the masses as possible.
  Its high time the people in this country start looking on education and health care as a fundamental human right. Not because of any kind of altruistic belief, but because it is cheaper than paying for a huge prison system, an unbelievably large police force, and the cost of unemployable citizens.
  
  --
  I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
24. Re:Why not? by epyT-R · 2017-03-25 04:59 · Score: 1
  
  First, you need to give up your freedom. Be denied all contact with all other humans, and be cut off from the world. You'd need to accept spending years like that. For years, you will not see a sunrise, or a rolling ocean. For years, you cannot join a motorcycle club. For years, even the possibility of a pleasant walk will elude you. You'll miss the spring flowers, the greens of summer, and the spectacle of autumn - for years. And for years, you will not feel wind in your hair or the sun on your face.
  Give me a break. Given the alternative is living on the streets, where arguably there's as much access to these things as possible, most would choose the prison offer. Hunger and cold are powerful motivators.
25. Re: Why not? by backslashdot · 2017-03-25 05:05 · Score: 1
  
  The get-tough on crime comically macho idiots are usually the first ones to commit a crime if they were in a circumstance where they needed to and felt they could get away with it. Tablets are really cheap nowadays. My only concern is that the Lithium Ion batteries could be dangerous. I think the highest priority for prison is cameras with audio and night vision capability everywhere inside including aimed at the cell (when they need privacy they could have a small designated area in the cell that is out of the camera field of view. Also, the footage and audio from in-cell cameras should be archived such that only a search warrant issued by a judge can retrieve them. This provides some level of privacy in the cell while being able to investigate inmate on inmate or guard on inmate violence. Prisoners should not have a total expectation of privacy.
26. Re:Why not? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2017-03-25 05:54 · Score: 2
  
  First, you need to give up your freedom. Be denied all contact with all other humans, and be cut off from the world. You'd need to accept spending years like that. For years, you will not see a sunrise, or a rolling ocean. For years, you cannot join a motorcycle club. For years, even the possibility of a pleasant walk will elude you. You'll miss the spring flowers, the greens of summer, and the spectacle of autumn - for years. And for years, you will not feel wind in your hair or the sun on your face.
  So? That sounds just like a career in IT in Cubicle Hell to me . . .
  
  --
  Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
27. Re: Why not? by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 05:59 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Menial labor serves to convince me that if all you ever do is menial labor, you won't ever have experience of anything different to find that anything has value, so my reaction to people expressing some notion on the value of menial labor is to ridicule the notion.
28. Re: Why not? by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 06:06 · Score: 1
  
  Why is it that people say this like it's something, when they don't know what they saw. You think the people you are talking about "knew better and had opportunities" and many have said the same before. I never believed them and they never believed what they were saying and continued to try to convince me, so I'll just continue believing you are all just really bad at lying.
29. Re:Why not? by tyrus568 · 2017-03-25 10:14 · Score: 2
  
  I'd agree with this. I'm in school studying forensic psychology. According to what I've learned so far, the best way to treat offenders and rehabilitate them is to first focus on those who have the greatest chance of re-offending in the future (triage), under the theory that they are the most likely to benefit from treatment (this requires an assessment of future risk for each person). In the treatment itself, it's important to match the appropriate staff to treat certain populations so that they are responsive to the characteristics of the people being treated. It's important to target the criminogenic needs of the prison population being treated; that is, addressing those factors that are known to lead to future recidivism. Why did they commit these crimes, and how can we address the needs that they were trying to get met? Things like antisocial attitudes, substance abuse and dependence and promoting prosocial behaviors are some of the areas that most need to be developed in a treatment team relationship.
  It is also known which types of treatment are not effective, types of therapy that can actually increase the chances of recidivism. Traditional psychoanalytic and client-centered therapy don't work well in prison. Neither do sociological strategies that focus on particular subcultures, or retributive programs that focus on punishing the offender (i.e. boot camps). Any program that doesn't address the issues/criminogenic needs that the offender is trying to get met will be unsuccessful in the long run.
  Psychopaths are an especially challenging group. As a personality disorder, psychopathy isn't really treatable in modern science as of yet. For a long time it was thought that they couldn't even be treated at all. Treatments that tried to improve empathy in psychopaths seemed to just make them better psychopaths as it taught them how to exploit others. There has been more hope in the last decade that some treatments can help.
  Considering that as far as we have been able to determine, psychopathy is present in 25% of all general offenders in prison, 15% of child molesters, and 40-50% of rapists, there is a high chance of recidivism among psychopaths - but these are just estimates as it's very difficult to identify them without a skilled assessment (even then they are easily missed as they're good at imitation/masquerading as normal). It's not their fault they are psychopaths and there is a lot of scientific evidence pointing to biological origins (large areas of the cerebral cortex and the amygdala aren't firing). One of the issues with psychopathy is the failure to learn from their mistakes, again something probably neurological in origin. It's not that they can't see the consequence of a future action they are considering, it's more that they are hyper-attentive to the reward of the decision and ignore the consequence. This allows for greater recidivism in this population.
  tl;dr It's best to rehabilitate offenders by treating the problems that got them there in the first place, mainly anti-social behaviors/thinking and substance abuse/dependence. Lack of social support when in the real world is another factor for them. Not all prison populations will be treated successfully, obviously. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is currently the most optimistic treatment method.
30. Re: Why not? by Ol+Olsoc · 2017-03-25 12:31 · Score: 1
  
  So inmates in prison will have access to better equipment than i do at work? Is this some kind of disincentive program.
  Exactly, So why don't you do something to get sent to prison and get better equipment.
  
  --
  The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
31. Re:Why not? by Ol+Olsoc · 2017-03-25 12:34 · Score: 1
  
  How about "occupying their time" with work such as making license plates, breaking big rocks into smaller rocks, digging holes, filling in holes, etc.?
  Because there are businesses out there that can make money doing that stuff.
  Then again, there is a sizable subset of Americans who are pissed off that we can't own slaves any more, a sweet gig that the North screwed up with their war of aggression.
  
  --
  The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
32. Re: Why not? by Ol+Olsoc · 2017-03-25 12:35 · Score: 1
  
  Not true, menial labor serves to convince people they don't want to do menial labor and strive for something better. It's up to the individual to find their motivation. Would tablet permissions as a reward work for good behavior? Sure, I don't however think every inmate should get one at the cost to taxpayers.
  Okay, Let's put it to the test. On you for the next 30 years.
  
  --
  The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
33. Re: Why not? by skam240 · 2017-03-25 13:17 · Score: 1
  
  "Not true, menial labor serves to convince people they don't want to do menial labor and strive for something better."
  Of course they probably became criminals because they didnt want to do menial labor so that doesnt hold up so well.
  Maybe giving them a little help in finding better uses for their energy is a good thing.
  
  --
  I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
34. Re:Why not? by BarbaraHudson · 2017-03-25 13:20 · Score: 1
  
  California, Connecticut, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York and Washington all allow conjugal visits. Maybe you should be the one to get a "fucking clue". Or learn to use the internet? Maybe we can send you to prison so you can get some practice on one of those tablets?
  
  --
  "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
35. Re:Why not? by skam240 · 2017-03-25 13:53 · Score: 1
  
  Of course first generation immigrants in the US (both illegal and legal) are significantly less likely to commit crimes (outside of illegal immigration in the case of illegal immigrants obviously) than native born citizens.
  To site just a few, easy to find, sources...
  https://www.google.com/url?sa=...
  http://www.pewresearch.org/fac...
  http://www.politifact.com/trut...
  Not that I think such a pesky thing as reality will change your mind as "racial purity" is a system of belief that inherently doesnt allow foriegn views.
  
  --
  I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
36. Re: Why not? by Dr.+Evil · 2017-03-25 21:15 · Score: 1
  
  "Not true, menial labor serves to convince people they don't want to do menial labor and strive for something better."
  With a criminal record, there aren't many options.
37. Re: Why not? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-26 00:30 · Score: 1
  
  What is your experience in prisons?
38. Re: Why not? by ChoosyBeggar · 2017-03-26 05:13 · Score: 1
  
  Meant to rate this insightful, but misclicked. Damn coffee isn't working. Anyway, I grew up in the hood too. I had the same schooling as countless criminals. What was different was my desire to be a good person.
39. Re: Why not? by cthulhu11 · 2017-03-26 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  Look them up. They make even mainstream Android tablets look luxurious.
40. Re:Why not? by BarbaraHudson · 2017-03-26 12:11 · Score: 1
  
  Naive, aren't we? First, this is not free. You have to pay per minute, and it's not the whole internet. Just chat stuff with a select list of approved people, courses, court case management, etc.
  Second, in the hole you won't be able to make any money to pay for it anyway.
  Third, you don't get any luxuries in the hole. Not even a sheet, blanket, and a pillow. So forget a tablet.
  Fourth, you don't get to decide to go to solitary. If you're a real PITA, they may decide to keep you with the general population and let everyone know that things are going to be hard because of you. It's one of the ways they deal with "problem people."
  
  --
  "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
41. Re:Why not? by Agripa · 2017-03-27 02:13 · Score: 1
  
  They used to charge up to $14 per minute for collect phone calls until the FCC recently put a stop to it. Now, they're capped at no more than $1.75 for 15 minutes. Can you believe it? On a 15 min phone call, there is now a shortfall of $208.25
  Prisons have come to depend on this extra income for their sludge funds. Now that the FCC took it away from them. They just need to start providing services on cheap devices that the FCC hasn't even thought to regulate for prison yet. This is the real story here.
  The court blocked the FCC's rate cap and then the FCC gave up on it anyway.
  https://consumerist.com/2017/0...
42. Re:Why not? by syntotic · 2017-03-27 06:40 · Score: 1
  
  Who is convincing whom? The tablet company with a big idea for a very specific and characteristic niche (feels like sour-sweet to think of specifying such trinket), or some mental health and (?)-institution looking for solutions for specific and general problems in society and penal theory? It MAY act as an incentive for some people to send themselves to jail only to have access to a tablet from time to time! You are providing a value where you are supposed to grant only punishment and limbo, not Dante!
43. Re:Why not? by stephanruby · 2017-04-05 14:55 · Score: 1
  
  Thanks for the update. I didn't know that. It's worse than I thought.
We know where this is going by Kludge · 2017-03-25 01:46 · Score: 1

Obligatory Community reference:
http://community-sitcom.wikia....
Porn by lophophore · 2017-03-25 01:52 · Score: 1

These will be used 99.9% for porn.

--
there are 3 kinds of people:
* those who can count
* those who can't
1. Re: Porn by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 04:07 · Score: 1
  
  Creating victims seems to be a greater constant. No stopping until Earth is Hell, and then proceed to eliminate anything positive that might have gotten overlooked.
For profit prison industry ... by 140Mandak262Jamuna · 2017-03-25 01:54 · Score: 5, Insightful

Remember we are talking about "innovation" coming from for-profit prisons.
They operate on cost plus contracts, with practically unlimited access to tax payer funds. If some court somewhere rules "inmates must have access to gym equipment", they could build a 2 million dollar gym in the prison and mop up 20% of it or build 20K gym and get 20% of that. Which one would they choose?
These prison companies charge 2 $ a minute for a phone call. Yes, in this day and age of unlimited voice and data, voice calls out of prison costs the inmates or their families 2$ a minute. Do you think this new fangled tablets are going to provided to them at reasonable costs you and I pay outside the prisons? You have not seen the twinkling dollar signs in the eyes of prison management executives.
The prison companies pressure judges to use harsh prison sentences using social media and slanted local news coverage. Lobby the legislators for minimum sentencing guidelines. Encourage law suites that will increase the cost of incarceration. More it costs, more is their margin! They also actually bribe judges to be harsh. Only a few judges like the one in Wilkes-Barry PA got caught, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.
We have to outlaw private sector prisons. It is a crying shame USA has the highest incarceration rate in the world and adding insult to injury we are paying through our noses for it.

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sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
1. Re:For profit prison industry ... by Bite+The+Pillow · 2017-03-25 03:14 · Score: 2
  
  I agree but your post is off topic. Indiana seems to be trying to avoid using this as a service, and using it more for pacification. Other states have implemented the service model, but I see no indication here.
  I would support Indiana and encourage them away from fees, rather than attacking a problem that exists elsewhere.
2. Re:For profit prison industry ... by 140Mandak262Jamuna · 2017-03-25 03:56 · Score: 1
  
  Thanks for the clarification. I was mistaken, it looks like, to attribute it to some gold digging scheme by some PHB in for-profit-prisons.
  
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  sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
What is the Purpose of Prison? by RobotRunAmok · 2017-03-25 01:59 · Score: 1

[1] Is it to punish Bad Guys, said punishment being a deterrent to keep all those not-quite Bad Guys from taking the plunge?
[2] Is it to protect the populace, keeping Bad Guys off the streets?
[3] Or is it to rehabilitate Bad Guys, transform them into Good Guys?
If it's [1] or [2], ditch the iPads and stack 'em up like cordwood. If it's [3], give 'em all iPads and teach 'em web design (the modern equivalent of making license plates), but don't call it 'prison,' because words mean something. It seems to me the justice system blurs all these distinctions into a muddy and costly mess.
1. Re:What is the Purpose of Prison? by yes-but-no · 2017-03-25 02:57 · Score: 1
  
  isn't it because it's a nice way to milk the system? someone somewhere is siphoning off the tax-dollars? ftm (follow the money) should lead to the private fat cats.
2. Re:What is the Purpose of Prison? by mjwx · 2017-03-25 03:26 · Score: 2
  
  [1] Is it to punish Bad Guys, said punishment being a deterrent to keep all those not-quite Bad Guys from taking the plunge?
  [2] Is it to protect the populace, keeping Bad Guys off the streets?
  [3] Or is it to rehabilitate Bad Guys, transform them into Good Guys?
  [4] All of the above.
  
  If it's [1] or [2], ditch the iPads and stack 'em up like cordwood. If it's [3], give 'em all iPads and teach 'em web design (the modern equivalent of making license plates), but don't call it 'prison,' because words mean something. It seems to me the justice system blurs all these distinctions into a muddy and costly mess.
  Prisons actually serve all three purposes, they serve as deterrents against crime, isolation of criminals and for rehabilitation of criminals. Most western countries tend to emphasise the latter but we still call them prisons.
  
  By and large I agree with rehabilitating criminals as much as possible, however there are cases where all we can do is keep them locked up. This does not mean we should stack them in like cordwood. Even if they're animals, we're not, so we maintain a minimal level of human rights if for no other reason than not to reduce ourselves to their level. However that's for rare cases. The majority of criminals are not in their for such heinous crimes so yes, we should do something to reduce recidivism rates. Giving them tablets is pretty much the same as any other kind of reward, just a more modern form of mail, library and phone privileges. It helps to prepare convicts for a life outside so they don't end up back inside.
  
  It costs the UK tax payer GBP 65,000 per prisoner, even if they didn't work and lived off benefits we'd save 75% or more of what we pay to keep them locked up. So reducing recidivism has a compelling economic argument at the very least. Hell, if they held down a job paying the National Living Wage of GBP 7.50 an hour (14,625 per year on a 37.5 week), they'd actually contribute a little tax money.
  
  --
  Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
3. Re:What is the Purpose of Prison? by SuricouRaven · 2017-03-25 20:05 · Score: 2
  
  You missed a reason. A rather less noble reason, but still a real one.
  [4] To satisfy the people's sense of justice by letting them see suffering inflicted upon those regarded as deserving suffering.
It's somewhat locked down by No+Longer+an+AC · 2017-03-25 02:10 · Score: 2

I saw another article about this a month ago.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ne...
They may be able to customize how locked down they are depending on the facility where they're used.
In this article they pay 5 cents a minute.

Inmates can text and call up to 10 contacts who must be screened and approved by the company. Telmate monitors and stores data on the inmates’ communications, providing the information to investigator
Better article:
http://cbs6albany.com/news/loc...

Inmates can't surf the web on the devices but they are allowed to talk to or text up to 10 contacts. The sheriff says Telmate, the company that created the tablet software, checks those people out before any communication occurs.
“As well as vetting the person they look for buzzwords, encrypted messages trying to come through,” Apple said.
1. Re:It's somewhat locked down by Bite+The+Pillow · 2017-03-25 03:09 · Score: 1
  
  That's not Indiana, and the vendor mentioned is only one of many being considered. So that info is ancillary at best.
Black Mirror by Skinkie · 2017-03-25 03:19 · Score: 1

I hope nobody gets it in their minds to make inmates peddle or watch ads to reimburse their privileged tablet. And I can think of many other tasks... Next to that, like pen and paper a tablet could be the same kind of tool. But what does really make the behavioral difference required when freedom is granted back?

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Support Eachother, Copy Dutch Property!
1. Re: Black Mirror by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 04:13 · Score: 1
  
  Can you rephrase the question? I'm not quite sure you understand what you are asking. What is the base behavior you want change from? Is change all that matters or is it sufficient for someone who was killing women to switch to killing men? People don't really think these things through.
2. Re: Black Mirror by Skinkie · 2017-03-25 04:48 · Score: 1
  
  As example; lets assume that in some cases insufficient funds would be the root cause of criminal activities. The justice system wants to provide retribution for society, but also would need to prepare the inmate at some time to join that same society again. But without a job, means of living, a motivation, that is just not going to happen hence the prison system provides education, a tablet for e-learning can help with that, like books currently do.
  
  In The Netherlands some evidence based online psychology companies have emerged in the last 5 years. One of them is a spin off of the University of Amsterdam. I can also imagine that psychology programs assists with anger management and all kind of other issues that at this moment aren't really considered due to the lack of funds and therefore manpower.
  
  I am not suggesting that that all people can change, given their past. But if nobody cares about what happens at the first day of them exiting the venue, that sounds like a really poor policy, after spending an Europe average of 102 euro per day (The Netherlands 202 euro) per inmate. That tablet would account for at most one prison day, if any evidence concludes that it would change behavior in a positive way, it is already a proper investment.
  
  --
  Support Eachother, Copy Dutch Property!
Explain to me by argStyopa · 2017-03-25 03:34 · Score: 1

...why, for a goodly chunk of the population, it wouldn't just be better to become a ward of the state, again?

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-Styopa
I should just commit a crime by kwelch007 · 2017-03-25 03:50 · Score: 1

I live in Illinois and have a very high-stress IT job. I should just drive the 90 miles and commit armed robbery at the first gas station. I could basically do the same thing I do today, but without the stress, pressure, or cost of living I have now.
1. Re:I should just commit a crime by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-25 04:22 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah because living in a prison is stress and pressure free! Also everything you've accumulated over your lifetime will be gone, because you won't be able to pay to store and preserve it! Yay for freedom from cost of living! Plus of course once you get out, if you ever get out, you can kiss away any chance of retaining your high-stress IT career. No one in the field's ever going to hire an ex-con! You can look forward to a life free from all the stresses of the IT field!
2. Re:I should just commit a crime by skam240 · 2017-03-25 14:08 · Score: 1
  
  Okay, so go do that then. No one is stopping you but yourself.
  Or maybe that's just a really dumb thing you just said.
  
  --
  I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
Re: wtf? by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 04:16 · Score: 1

In that case. get rid of goodness entirely. Punishment is the one true value. I don't think you appreciate your punishment enough, citizen!
Re: Doesn't seem right by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 04:18 · Score: 1

Because there is no one who is not a criminal. We were all conceived criminals.
Source of this idea, no doubt... by Glasswire · 2017-03-25 04:30 · Score: 1

...is a tablet vendor account exec playing golf with some senior official at the state corrections office. Whether it's a good idea for the inmates or society is purely secondary.
1. Re:Source of this idea, no doubt... by RightwingNutjob · 2017-03-25 06:43 · Score: 1
  
  'An honest buck' is socialist code speak for using taxpayer money to pay for unneeded extravagances.
well under gop healthcare plan you may have to by Joe_Dragon · 2017-03-25 04:47 · Score: 1

well under gop healthcare plan you may have to and you just need to rob a bank to go to a fed lockup. Bette healthcare then states.
Re: wtf? by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 05:19 · Score: 1

So the only conclusion one can reasonably draw from that is for the world to be just one huge prison for it is inexcusable for anyone to escape anything of their own fault. And everyone belons in prison of course. Not to mention Hell.
Re: The get tough on crime type by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 06:15 · Score: 1

The get tough on crime type know in their heart of hearts that they are criminals and that scares them, so what does a criminal propose be done about crime, especially a not very bright one? Commit crime on criminals of course!
Re: Deterrent to crime by hackwrench · 2017-03-25 06:24 · Score: 1

Alright, now that I've got all the lampooning of all the comments with bad ideas largely out of my system, to talk about what would really be a deterrent. Exposing people to things that actually do have value and encouraging them to value them and to do things that have value and to value doing things that have value. That's how you deter people who do things that don't have value from doing things that don't have value. Doing things that don't have value, to people only gives them the impression that there are cases where doing those things does have value.
Crime is falling with lead levels from gasoline by Paul+Fernhout · 2017-03-25 07:45 · Score: 1

http://www.motherjones.com/env...
"So this is the choice before us: We can either attack crime at its root by getting rid of the remaining lead in our environment, or we can continue our current policy of waiting 20 years and then locking up all the lead-poisoned kids who have turned into criminals."

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A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
1. Re:Crime is falling with lead levels from gasoline by VAXcat · 2017-03-26 05:08 · Score: 1
  
  Correlation doesn't imply causation. It's more likely that as the baby boomers get old and raise the average age of the population, crime goes down, since most crimes are done by the younger more active parts of a population.
  
  --
  There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
2. Re:Crime is falling with lead levels from gasoline by Paul+Fernhout · 2017-03-26 11:20 · Score: 1
  
  From the article: "The gasoline lead story has another virtue too: It's the only hypothesis that persuasively explains both the rise of crime in the '60s and '70s and its fall beginning in the '90s. Two other theories -- the baby boom demographic bulge and the drug explosion of the '60 -- at least have the potential to explain both, but neither one fully fits the known data. Only gasoline lead, with its dramatic rise and fall following World War II, can explain the equally dramatic rise and fall in violent crime."
  Yes, it's always good to be cautious about correlations and what they prove. But it is also widely accepted that lead is harmful.
  
  --
  A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
Solve the literacy problem by detritus. · 2017-03-25 21:04 · Score: 1

I've long been an advocate of e-books or tablets for inmates as they have the potential to catch on and be a real game changer if the politically correct sadists don't shoot down the problem. Staggering amounts of people who end up in jail/prison lack basic literacy skills. Far too many jails also lack decent libraries, or even opportunities to finish school. Start using audio books and movies with captioning and you'll see the problem with recidivism begin to solve itself. Empowering inmates with education and entertainment, especially on a platform where every interaction can be closely monitored, you even develop a control group for assessing psychological behavior. Imagine if people actually learn a skill, trade, or even sharpen their technical literacy in ways never possible before due to inmate safety, cost or other barriers.
Re:nonviolent drug offenders by ebvwfbw · 2017-03-26 05:07 · Score: 1

where are the bodies?
You know, there's a thing called Google. You can search for things like this. It's not hard, snowflake.
http://www.wave3.com/story/344...
I could go on and on with these links. Kids in the back where the two adults in the front OD and are now dead, while driving a car in traffic. And so on and so on. Happens a lot lately.
Raped? Here you go. Just google these. There are plenty of examples if you look.
http://lacrossetribune.com/jac...
I remember incident after incident in the early 1970s. Stupid kids doing drugs and dying. They'd also steal to support their habit because they can't hold a job.
So it's not a form of slavery to outlaw these. It's a form of slavery if you're a user. Not talking about MJ. Heroin, that's bad shit. I'm seeing it all over again as dumb kids use it and they're hooked. Now their stealing, all kinds of illegal activities, then end up dead just like they did 50 years ago. That's why it's illegal.
Politicians would love to find a way to not put drug offenders in jail. Come up with something and let them know. It would be an easy fix to simply shoot heroin addicts. They're going to end up dead anyway. I proposed to my State Senator to set aside a house where addicts could go and just supply them all the heroin they want. It won't be long after all. It'll save society from being robbed, hit by them driving cars, etc. He didn't have the guts to introduce it. I guess more people have to die first.