By Gabrielle Gonzalez
LaPorte County Herald-Argus
LAPORTE, Ind. (AP) — Visitation at the La Porte County Jail will become more convenient and reliable for visitors and jail staff.
A new kiosk system for video visitation has been installed in a former storage closet at the jail and has been running for about two weeks with only minor glitches.
“It’s been a goal of mine to have video visitation since 2007,” La Porte County Sheriff Mike Mollenhauer said. “There have been minor glitches but really, it has been working good.
We are excited to have gotten this accomplished.”
Since the kiosks have been installed, there have been more than 70 video visits, the La Porte County Herald-Argus reported.
Each jail cell block has a touch screen kiosk for the inmate to use. Officers will no longer have to transport each inmate to the visiting lobby on the fourth floor.
Mollenhauer said this helps the safety of the jail for the officers who will not have to transport the inmates. He said this will also help the officers in the jail utilize their time more efficiently.
There are eight kiosks available for visitors to use in the visitation room. Two people can visit the inmate at a time. The visitor and inmate speak through a phone receiver and can view one another on the video screen.
Visitors make an appointment and then receive a pin number. The screen has a touch system where you can schedule an appointment to visit or call the other line when at the scheduled visit. Inmates can also view their visiting times.
Visitors have one free visitation a week when they come to the jail. Visitors can also use the online visitation at the convenience of their home.
Account Manager Michael Stump of Securus, the visitation program company, said if the weather is bad, if it is too hard to get to the jail or if someone lives out of town, they can visit with the inmate online.
“Securus is very pleased to work with La Porte County,” said Stump. “Everything is scheduled in advance so there can be many more visits and time frames for those visits.”
Visitation for kiosks will not be available on Wednesdays and weekends.
Video visitation is monitored and recorded to make sure visitors and inmates act appropriately. Two additional cameras will be installed in the visitation room to make sure visits are conducted appropriately or visitation will be banned for the inmate.
The cost for the online visit is $20 for 20 minutes. The jail has a special until Jan. 15. Online visitation until that date is $5.
Attorneys can also use the video visitation as well. Attorney visits will not be recorded.
Mollenhauer said the project has taken a few years to complete due its high cost. The video visitation system is being paid for by the inmates through the commissary fund.
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