Slashdot Mirror
Jails Are Replacing Visits With Video Calls (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: In recent years, more and more jails have introduced video-calling services. Theoretically, these products could make it easier for inmates to maintain their relationships with family and friends outside. But many jails have moved in the opposite direction, using the advent of these "video visitation" services as an excuse to restrict or eliminate traditional in-person visits.
There are a number of reasons jail administrators have gone this route. But critics say that money plays a big role. In-person visitation requires more staff supervision -- both to escort inmates to and from visitation rooms and to make sure no contraband changes hands during a visit. So switching to video visitation can save cash-strapped jails money.
But jails also profit more directly from limiting in-person visits. While on-site video visits are usually free, the companies providing the system generally offer a paid off-site video-calling service, too. And jails get a hefty percentage of that money.
There are a number of reasons jail administrators have gone this route. But critics say that money plays a big role. In-person visitation requires more staff supervision -- both to escort inmates to and from visitation rooms and to make sure no contraband changes hands during a visit. So switching to video visitation can save cash-strapped jails money.
But jails also profit more directly from limiting in-person visits. While on-site video visits are usually free, the companies providing the system generally offer a paid off-site video-calling service, too. And jails get a hefty percentage of that money.
Studies have consistently found that prisoners who maintain close contact with their family members while incarcerated have better post-release outcomes and lower recidivism rates. These findings represent a body of research stretching back over 40 years. For example, according to “Explorations in Inmate-Family Relationships,” a 1972 study: “The central finding of this research is the strong and consistent positive relationship that exists between parole success and maintaining strong family ties while in prison. Only 50 percent of the ‘no contact’ inmates completed their first year on parole without being arrested, while 70 percent of those with three visitors were ‘arrest free’ during this period. In addition, the ‘loners’ were six times more likely to wind up back in prison during the first year (12 percent returned compared to 2 percent for those with three or more visitors). For all Base Expectancy levels, we found that those who maintained closer ties performed more satisfactorily on parole.” https://www.prisonlegalnews.or...
(1) Keeps inmates sane. (2) Keeps inmates compliant. (3) Reduces instances of sex between inmates. (4) Keeps inmates connected to the world outside the walls. Social support network and significant others are important in preventing recidivism. CA and NY, states that actually pretend to care about rehabilitation, have kept them for that reason.
Healthcare, prisons, and education, should never be run for profit, as this amounts to an automatic restriction of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Prisoners can fight back. Refuse to participate in any work release program. Refuse to participate in any prison line work program (laundry, kitchen, etc...) Making private prisons a losing financial proposition will force the state to implement prison reforms.
Good people go to bed earlier.
They'd be better off using both, to be honest. Video is not a replacement for friendly human contact in person. All other in-perosn human contact in a prison (with jailers, other inmates) is likely to be abusive.
A good way to warp someone's mind is to only allow them abusive/coersive human contact.
In before the "they deserve hell on Earth because they were caught with a small amount of drugs or stole something worth $100" authoritarian crowd chimes in. Anyway, in-person human contact in a prison -- from jailers (not "correction officers") and other inmates is likely to be violent and abusive. Giving inmates the opportunity at loving contact with family, friends, and spouses (yes, conjugal should be allowed) makes them more likely to be sane upon being released. Removing all normal human contact makes psychological damage and violence more likely after release.
I understand the need to save money. But money is best saved by non locking up non-violent drug offenders -- what adults put into their own bodies should be their own choice. Same with diverting petty thieves, the homeless, non-functional addicts, and the mentally ill to community service, shelters, and mental health therapy as appropriate.
But hey. It's America. We'd rather punish than treat. Because Puritanism.
The prison service in the US is run as a profit-centre.
Literally no civilised country in the world sees incarceration rates, or such profit from the prison services, as the US has.
Basically, the US keeps modern-day slaves of the prison population, in for-profit prisons, thus giving it the incentive to incarcerate as many people as possible (contrary to almost every other country which is trying to CUT their prison population and spending money to do so).
Ironically, the US forbids buying items produced in foreign prisons but makes more of them than any other country in the world.
This is how most people will react:
1) They did the crime, they should be able to do the time.
2) They did the crime, they should be able to do the time.
3) They did the crime, they should be able to do the time.
4) They did the crime, they should be able to do the time.
People do not realize that not all that are in prison are harcore criminals. At least not the first time they went in. And as long as the prisons keep making money and are for-profit, why should they care? It is so much easier to turn a blind eye and say that these are not our problems and just be even tougher on those who get out, so they are put away and we can sleep knowing we have done what we could.
Oh and if they are in prison, rape is ok, because it is funny, right?
I absolutely understand those high risk car chases in the US. If I am in Europe and they catch me, I will get perhaps a year and I can start to get a new life. In the US, my life is over. I have nothing to loose, so why not risk it all in the off chance that it works.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
You're British from your writing. You're actually understating the problem. There is no "US Prison Service." The closest one can come to that are Federal prisons, but most inmates are not in the Federal system.
What we have are State, County, and even City prisons, all run by different authorities, some public, some privately contracted, all with opportunity for abuse, corruption, graft, and kickbacks. There are thousands of little fiefdoms that operate without much oversight from competent authorities.
Same goes for police forces. UK has them on a national and county level. Every American jerkwater town can have their own police, and training, hiring standards, etc vary widely. If these systems were consolidated at the State level with strict court oversight, a lot of corruption would be cleaned up. But no one wants to give up their little profit centers.
Where there is not a public safety concern, inmates should be given the occasional day pass to visit friends and family outside the prison, and return afterward. Likewise, they should be allowed to hold jobs outside the prison. Whenever possible and with no requirements on time served, they should be transitioned to parole in so far as the public safety risk is assessed to allow such transition. Parole fees must be abolished.
The environment inside prison should resemble the ideal societal environment as much as possible: prisoners must be treated with dignity respective of their value as human beings, and their individual needs must be met. All surfaces within the prison must be scrubbed clean at all times; proper hygiene must be available; and communication with the outside world must be retained.
Support my political activism on Patreon.
The profit center piece of this should not be understated. Prisons extort significant amounts of money from prisoners' families for communications.
In Tennessee, a 15 minute inmate phone call costs $2.40 for in-state long distance and $3.15 for out-of-state long distance. "Maybe these just haven't been updated in a long time?" No, these are the updated rates from 2017. Before that it was almost /double/ this.
With that as prologue, why should we expect any less from video calls?
Where there is not a public safety concern, inmates should be given the occasional day pass to visit friends and family outside the prison, and return afterward. Likewise, they should be allowed to hold jobs outside the prison. Whenever possible and with no requirements on time served, they should be transitioned to parole in so far as the public safety risk is assessed to allow such transition. Parole fees must be abolished.
It's a political problem. No politician wants to risk being Willy Horton'd because of such a program; no matter how much sense reforms such as those might make. Even if the program ran smoothly they'd still fear the "(Insert politicians name and bad B&W photo) released thousands of convicted criminals into your neighbor hoods." ads.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
It's the result of the way you dehumanize them in the prisons. There are plenty of examples of how to do it the right way, in Europe but also in the US. For a start, Americans could stop jokingly accepting prison rape as a means of punishment....