Jail Is Switching To Video System For Visiting Inmates
The Davis County Jail in Utah will be outfitted with video equipment that expands visiting hours for families and friends of inmates. Inmates can meet with their loved ones via visitation stations set up in their living quarters.
The expanded visiting times–seven days per week and as many as 12 hours each day–contrast with the jail no longer allowing face-to-face meetings between visitors and inmates. Deputy jail commander Brian Locke notes that both inmates and their families dislike the new visitation system, but added that protecting public safety and security is the main priority at the facility.
Chief Deputy Sheriff Kevin McLeod says the video visitation equipment, which will be installed as part of an expansion of the jail next fall, will provide savings over the long-term.
Davis County Commissioners recently agreed to permit a $217,000 contract for using the equipment at the jail. The expansion will add 400 more beds to the facility in the fall.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Associated Press (11/30/05) .