BY MICHAEL GROHS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
TABLETS IN PRISON Do the benefits outweigh the risks?
C
onsidering the havoc cell phones have wreaked in correctional facilities, it may seem counterintuitive to allow inmates to have computer tablets since they are in many ways two sides of the same coin. Nevertheless, the trend in many facilities has been to allow or even encourage inmates to at least have access to the devices. In fact, corrections officials in South Carolina, who for years have pushed for cell phone jamming technology in correctional facilities, are providing inmates with tablets. In early 2019, Corrections Director Bryan Stirling told the Associated Press that the tablets will be part of a technology program that officials hope will stem the flow of phones into prisons. The tablets allow inmates to call home at a cheaper rate than current phone calling programs and will provide access to pre-loaded educational materials as well as pre-approved 32 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
streaming movie and music services. The intention is that the tablets will make the idea of a smuggled-in cell phone less attractive. "This will go directly to that cellphone problem," he notes. Jade Trombetta, vice president, Marketing and Media Relations at Securus Technologies, says, “Tablet technology is transformative. The handheld devices have the ability to bring hope to incarcerated individuals and change the trajectory of their lives. Securus offers life-improving applications on the devices including Email (eCard and photo attachments), Lantern Education, KA Lite videos, JobView, Securus phone app, VideoGrams, games, Newstand, movies, podcasts, and eBooks.” (The SecureView and JP5 tablets offered to offenders are not currently being used for videoenabled calls due to security risks; however, a popular communication option on the JP5 tablets is
the 30-second VideoGram.) “Family and friends can share footage of special moments with their incarcerated loved one that is stored on the tablets for future viewing,” she points out. “In most locations, incarcerated individuals can also send VideoGrams to their family and friends as well. Additionally, in some locations, incarcerated individuals can make phone calls from their tablets using the Securus phone app. The option to place phone calls in living quarters not only increases engagement between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones, but it also reduces lines at the stationary telephones.”
Who’s Using What and How? Over the past decade, says Trombetta, “The corrections industry has transitioned from antiquated systems to innovative technology solutions.” Corrections-grade tablets helped
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