Sheriff's office partners with Securus Technologies | Computer Science | thetomahawk.com – The Tomahawk
Johnson County Sheriff, Eddie Tester, left, is joined by Dustin Shearin. Capt. Brian McGinnis pose for a photo following the announcement of plans to provide inmates with some new technology to communicate with family and other services offered to them.
Johnson County Sheriff, Eddie Tester, left, is joined by Dustin Shearin. Capt. Brian McGinnis pose for a photo following the announcement of plans to provide inmates with some new technology to communicate with family and other services offered to them.
Johnson County Sheriff’s department and Securus Technologies are working together to install tablet and video technology scheduled for March 2023. The goal is to educate, communicate, and prepare incarcerated individuals to reenter society.
The free JP6S Securus Unity tablet will be available to every incarcerated person.
According to Johnson County Sheriff Eddie Tester, this form of communication allows them to communicate with parents, children, and other support systems that help establish a “successful reentry into the population.”
The tablet will allow multiple forms of communication such as e-messaging, telephone calls, scheduling 24 hours in advance, and pre-approved 30-minute video sessions for face-to-face communication, as well as education, e-Books, Law Library, religious books and podcasts that may offer help to get their lives on track.
Tester said that calls would be on a cost-per-minute rate plan. The option to purchase music, games, television, and movies rated PG-13 and below is an option that could generate additional revenue, which varies by service for the county.
To help with the effort to maintain safety, Securus plans to provide a suite of technology utilized for the detection of illicit behavior. In addition to the tablets, the jail will be adopting a digital mail center, also offered by Securus. The digital mail system scans the mail and checks for keywords before being received by the inmate. Captain Brian McGinnis said, “that will help cut back on contraband.”
When asked why inmates should be allowed tablets, McGinnis said, “the people incarcerated are just that, people.” Digital face-to-face communication helps the families affected by the inmate’s poor choices to cope, offering the inmate the support to rehabilitate for reentry and allowing the children affected by their incarceration to help reduce the effects of a missing parent. Not to mention the additional services provide revenue to the county.
Sheriff Tester and Captain McGinnis work together to create an environment where inmates will be held accountable and financially responsible for the tablet should they not take care of them. Families of the incarcerated will be encouraged to download the app.
Additional information will be available on the Johnson County Sheriff’s website in the coming months. For more on Securus Technologies, how it works, and the services offered, visit www.securtel.us
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