TWIN FALLS-- Video visits between those behind bars and those out in the real world are a fairly new trend in the law enforcement world and the Twin Falls County jail is one of its newest supporters.
At the Twin Falls County jail, it's out with the old and in with the new.
The inmate sits at a terminal, the visitor sits at a terminal, the camera points on each other, they see other and they talk through a phone, said Lt. Michael Wiggins.
The video screens, the kiosks and the touch screens are all part of a high tech system at the T jail.
It connects the locked-up with their loved ones.
Here's how it works:
Visitors request a time to chat with an inmate on these kiosks in the jail lobby.
It could be half hour, it could be an hour, it could be 2 hours, it could be until the next day. It all depends on the available time slots, said Lt. Michael Wiggins.
If that time is available, a message is sent to a video phone, called the T-phone, in the inmate's cell block.
It pops up and says you've got a visit at this time, said Lt. Michael Wiggins.
The inmate gets on that T-phone, the visitor gets on the T-phone in the jail lobby and they chat live.
Inmates aren't necessarily fans because it eliminates face to face time in person.
Some even tried to damage the T-phones but that stopped when inmates realized they got a video visit or nothing.
Visiting is not a right, it's a privilege. It can be taken from them. They can destroy the machines, we just won't put them back in there, said Lt. Michael Wiggins.
Jail administrators prefer the video visits.
It eliminates the need to take inmates from one block to another, which means they are no longer passing other inmates or guards with whom they can fight.
Less movement, more security, less apt for things to go wrong,
This system is on a trial run at the Twin Fall County Sheriff's office.
Although there have been kinks, the sheriff's office has every intention of keeping the program.
The sheriff told us the T-phones could have another use in the future.
Inmates may have tightly controlled Internet access to news websites and other sites that encourage educational opportunities like getting GEDs.
By the way video chats are monitored and recorded.
The sheriff's office paid nothing for the system and the continued maintenance on the technology will also be free.
