Audio clip
Jim Hammond
The Hamilton County sheriff and his deputy chief over the jail are considering a piece of technology they say could save jailers a lot of headaches -- video screens.
Sheriff Jim Hammond and Deputy Chief Richard Shockley see video visitation as the next step in improving security and keeping down the manpower needed to run the 30-year-old jail.
"Right now we have 13 visitation stations," Deputy Chief Shockley said. "We have visitations scheduled Monday through Sunday, four times a day."
Each time inmates move from one part of the jail to another, jail officers are required to escort them. Even holding visitations four times a day, seven days a week means only 364 inmates can have a visit in a week, he said.
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Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press Maria Gonzalez talks with an inmate during visitation at the Hamilton County Jail on Tuesday. Jail officials are looking into using video visitation in the future.
"Well, we've got 508 (inmates) in here, so what do we do with the rest of them?" Deputy Chief Shockley said.
Remote access over the Internet is one important feature of some of the video systems that Sheriff Hammond has reviewed, he said.
"The technology's down there where you can actually visit from home," Sheriff Hammond said.
Cost estimates for such a system range between $300,000 and $400,000. But both the sheriff and deputy chief said the initial investment would go a long way in keeping staffing levels down.
Under safety protocol, it can take up to three officers to move an inmate from one part of the jail to another. If approved, the monitors would be installed in the jail and in the visitors area, eliminating the need to move inmates.
BY THE NUMBERS
* 500 -- Average jail population
* 364 -- Number of inmates who can have visitation per week under current system
* 110 -- Number of jail employees on staff
* 7 -- Days a week that Hamilton County runs visitations at the jail
* 4 -- Number of visitation sessions offered each day
Source: Hamilton County Sheriff's Office
Elsewhere, the Hamilton County Criminal Court system plans to begin video arraignments soon. With the new system, officers no longer will funnel prisoners in and out of courtrooms during arraignments.
The sheriff and Deputy Chief Shockley said they discussed the video technology recently but saw much of it in person at a American Correctional Association meeting in Tampa, Fla., in late January.
Sheriff Hammond said the idea would not be presented formally to the Hamilton County Commission until the next budget cycle and likely not until more research into pricing and use.
Todd South covers courts and the military for the Times Free Press. He has worked at the paper for three years and previously covered crime and safety in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia. Todd’s hometown is Dodge City, Kan. He served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq before returning to school for his journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Todd previously worked at the Anniston (Ala.) Star. Contact Todd ...
Charge family members a $5 user fee for each visitation. Let them pay for it and keep the taxpayer out of it.
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