Family and friends of inmates at the Warren County Jail will no longer be able to visit them from the other side of a glass window. Instead, visits now will be conducted via computer screen, with the option to connect from home.

Video visitation systems were installed at the jail in mid-November. Sheriff Keven Harrison said the technology will allow jail staff to use their time more efficiently, improve security, and make it easier for friends and family to visit inmates.

“Visitation has always been manpower intensive. We’ve got to move the prisoners and then we have to supervise the visit,” Harrison said. The increasing jail population made it difficult or impossible to facilitate all the in-person visits, he said. Visiting hours were also limited because of security concerns with both prisoners and visitors moving through areas of the jail and courthouse.

The new video systems, on the other hand, require little to no work from jail staff and reduce security risk, Harrison said. Because video kiosks have been installed in all the jail’s housing units, inmates no longer have to be moved to get visits. And visitors who come to the courthouse no longer enter the jail part of the building.

Visitors now log in at a video kiosk toward the rear of the first floor of the courthouse. Their video call goes directly to a kiosk in the housing unit of the person they are trying to reach, who can then answer. All the video kiosks have attached phones with which users speak to each other.

Visitors are required to set up an account in the system with some personal information, and will have to enter a password into the touch screen interface every time they visit.

The video kiosks in the jail are free to use and are available any time the courthouse is open, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

But Harrison said he hopes visitors take advantage of a new option to make a video call directly from home. Users can set up an account on the website www.inmatecanteen.com to make video calls directly from their home computer.

However, users who call from home are charged 50 cents per minute, Harrison said, and must have the proper equipment and software. 

The computer needs an internet connection capable of supporting a video call, along with an attached video camera and a microphone.

The function also requires a Google Chrome or Internet Explorer 11 web browser, as well as fully updated Adobe Flash Player software.

One of the advantages of visiting from home is expanded hours. Video calls from home can be made any day of the week between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. Harrison said it also offers convenience and a way for faraway family members to be able to see their loved ones.

All video visitation, whether it’s done from the courthouse or at home, will be limited to 30-minute sessions, so that all inmates have ample opportunity to receive visits, Harrison said.

All video calls are recorded and monitored by the video kiosk vendor, TurnKey Corrections. Any inappropriate behavior will result in the connection being terminated, Harrison said.

He said TurnKey installed the video kiosks without charge, and will be paid back through the fees from home calls and also commissary fees, which are also now paid through the kiosks.

Another function integrated into the system is that anyone who wants to deposit money into an inmate’s commissary account can now do so through the video kiosks or the Inmate Canteen website. However, the website does state that adding money to an inmate’s account includes an $8.95 processing fee.

Responding to potential criticism about providing more access for inmates to receive visits, Harrison said visits from friends and family improve inmates’ mental health and reduce negative behavior.

“You may think this is silly, but I have de-escalated many situations by having a parent, spouse, sibling or child talk to an inmate,” he said.

Additionally, Harrison pointed out that most of the inmates in the jail are being held pretrial, and remain incarcerated only because they don’t have money to pay bond. Many of them will be released on probation even if they are convicted.

It’s important to treat those held at the jail with respect and dignity, because that will affect how they interact with law enforcement and the community at large in the future, Harrison said.

The kiosks in the jail housing have the added benefit of automating a number of other functions that used to require staff time. Communications that used to be done with paper forms are now done instantly through the kiosks, including complaints and medical requests, Harrison said. Not having to process piles of paperwork every day leaves jail staff more time to focus on safety and security, he said.

The kiosks also provide access to certain information, including a “law library” that allows inmates to research legal documents that might be relevant to their cases.

Shown is one of three video visitation kiosks that have been installed in the public area of the Warren County Courthouse. The county jail has ended in-person visitation and replaced it with a video visitation service that can be used any time the courthouse is open. Visitors can also make video calls from home to inmates in the jail. Submitted photo.