By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Jail is moving forward to install an Internet-based system for visitation with inmates that some are hoping will be expanded to offer a form of telecommuting in other parts of the local criminal justice system.
Inmates have not enjoyed face-to-face visits for years, since the new jail was built and a video screen visitation system was installed in the Chehalis facility.
But Jail Chief Kevin Hanson says that equipment is antiquated and hard-wired into the building; and he’s found a program he says is more versatile.
If inmates have family who live far away, they would not have to drive to Chehalis for a visit, according to Hanson. They could just log in from home, he said.
It could still only happen during the inmate’s scheduled visitation time and would cost the user about $9 for a 30 minute session, according to Hanson.
And, while children are not allowed into the the jail for visits under the current setup, they could visit through the Internet system, he said.
Another advantage is the session would be archived for a period of time, and will be a good tool for detectives investigating certain crimes by watching the visits.
The system could potentially be used by others, according to Hanson. For example, defense attorneys could have meetings with their incarcerated clients over the Internet.
Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer could perhaps avoid the expense of flying in expert witnesses for trials, by putting them “virtually” on the witness stand, according to Hanson.
Hanson said they hope to have the new visitation system in place by this fall, and move on to phase two of the plan; using it for video arraignments in court.
Centralia Municipal Court and Chehalis Municipal Court are on board with the idea, according to Hanson.
Hanson and Sheriff Steve Mansfield have touted the cost savings and increased security from not having to transport inmates to the courts to actually see judges.
Centralia Police Chief Bob Berg said last week he likes the idea of his officers not having to drive over to jail to bring inmates back to Centralia for court.
“It would save us a lot of money, but what really sold me on it is increased security of the court,” Berg said.
The judges in Lewis County Superior Court and Lewis County District Court are opposed to video arraignments in their courtrooms however.
District Court Judge Michael Roewe cites a number of factors including their belief it violates court rules and would impose unnecessary work on other participants working in the criminal justice system.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
By charging the user only $9 for 30 minutes, how long will it take to cover the costs of installing, operating, and maintaining this system? If it is something that comes as a benefit for the inmates, then the inmates should bear the full and complete costs of this, not the taxpayers.