The Macon County Jail has partnered with the National Crime Information Center to provide inmates and their families with video visitation kiosks.
COVID-19 forced millions of people around the nation to shift primarily in-person interactions to a digital space, and the situation was no different for the jail. Jail administrator Dereck Jones said video conferencing for visitation was an idea often discussed in his department even before the pandemic, so it became a huge to-do once the pandemic hit its full stride. Unfortunately, COVID-19 made it harder than ever to institute such a system, so the last two years have seen several false starts and the use of iPads as a stopgap solution.
“NCIC, Kimble’s [Commissary Services] and the Macon County IT department have done in the past couple of weeks what we’ve been trying to get done for two years,” Jones said.
Now that the video visitation kiosks are set up, inmates’ loved ones can use an app on their phones or computers to schedule an appointment and visit them digitally. NCIC’s platform also makes it easier for inmates to communicate with county staff about matters like medical needs, grievances and requests to speak with counsel from a distance (most communications are recorded, but nothing between an attorney and a client is). It’s an efficient system that frees up a lot of phone service in the jail, and staff members are glad it’s finally up and running.
“We’re very proud of the kiosks,” Sgt. Robert Young said. “We’ve worked very hard to get these in.”
Bill Pope of NCIC said video visitation has taken off in popularity among law enforcement agencies all over the country since the pandemic began. Not only does it limit traffic coming through the jail and mitigate the risk of infections, but it also makes the logistics of visitation more convenient for jail staff and opens opportunities for extended visiting hours. He thinks Macon County families will be pleased by the options at their disposal.
“The video visitation system also offers a secured messaging system that allows inmates and family members to send text messages to approved users,” Pope said. “Along with messages, family members can send photos, scanned documents, gifs, emojis and even 30-second video messages.”
Jones thinks video visitation will be a popular choice for inmates in the Macon County jail, particularly for those whose families or attorneys are a long way away from them and can’t visit often. However, he also explained that the department isn’t sacrificing in-person visitation for this system. Anyone who isn’t comfortable visiting remotely will still have the physical option.
‘We still offer face-to-face,” Jones said. “We know that it isn’t what’s right for everyone.”
For more information on how video visitation works, go online to www.ncic.com/ncic-video-visitation.