SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 VOL. 29 NO 5
PROGRESSIVE TECHNOLOGIES KEEP FACILITIES HUMMING
BODY CAMS FOR CORRECTIONS
CORRECTIONS
FORUM
Publisher & Executive Editor
Thomas S. Kapinos Assistant Publisher
Jennifer A. Kapinos
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
Associate Publishers Peggy Virgadamo
Art Sylvie
4 10 16 22 30 34 36 40
(480) 816-3448 asylvie@cox.net
The Pulse
West
(718) 456-7329 pegpaulv@aol.com
Editor-in-Chief
Northeast
Donna Rogers
Contributing Editors Michael Grohs, M.J. Guercio, Bill Schiffner, G.F. Guercio
Progressive Technologies Keep Facilities Humming
Art Director
Jamie Stroud
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Body Cams for Corrections
Handling Covid-19: Hi-Tech Disinfecting and Contact Tracing Mind the Gap: Overcoming the Chasm to Successful Reentry Profile Series No. 4: Improving Lives Through Digital Career Opportunities Virtual ACFSA Annual Conference & Vendor Show
Ad Index
Cover image courtesy of Skytron, LLC
(ISSN10729275) is published bi-monthly by: Criminal Justice Media, Inc 565 Pier Avenue PO Box 213 Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 (310) 374-2700 Send address changes to:
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FELONS HAVE POTENTIAL TO SWING CLOSE 2020 RACES As many as 2 million formerly incarcerated felons are poised to regain their voting rights ahead of the November election, an influx that could swing critical races in states like Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Iowa, according to a September 11 story on Politico.com The move to restore the vote to felons or people on parole or probation has been gathering speed for several years, with many states passing new laws or taking executive action well before this summer. But the result means a significant number of people with firsthand knowl-
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edge of the criminal justice system will have their right to vote returned before the election. “The numbers of people that are eligible to cast their ballot are huge. We know that that will absolutely impact any election, from state to local to federal, if all of those people exercise their right to vote,” said Stephanie Young, chief officer of culture, communications and media partnerships at When We All Vote, in the article. Iowa became the latest to act when Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order
in August restoring the right to vote and hold public office for Iowans with felony convictions who have completed their sentences. The policy will impact an estimated 40,000 people. “The trend has been very much one of reform over the years, and with relatively little backlash of any kind,” said Marc Mauer, a senior adviser and former executive director of The Sentencing Project, which estimated that felony disenfranchisement prevented 6.1 million Americans from voting in 2016. Indeed, a 2018 HuffPost/ YouGov poll found that 63 percent of adults supported the restoration of voting rights for individuals con-
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victed of a felony who have completed their sentences. A majority also said those individuals should automatically have their rights restored after completing their sentences rather than having to go through a process. The biggest advancement for felon voting rights came when nearly two-thirds of voters in Florida backed a constitutional amendment in 2018 to automatically restore felons' ability to vote after completion of their sentences. But Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation last year that defined “completion of sentence” to include full payment of any restitution or fines, fees and other costs, something voting
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rights advocates have decried as a modern-day poll tax. The amendment itself restored the right to vote for roughly 1.4 million Floridians, but the fate of hundreds of thousands of felons who must meet legal financial obligations hangs in the balance of a court decision expected sometime this month. Florida’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 5. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, felons in 16 states lose their voting rights while they’re incarcerated. In 21 states, felons lose their voting rights during incarceration and for additional time after, typically while on parole or probation or until outstanding fines, fees or restitution are
paid. And in 11 states, felons face stricter even policies. Vermont and Maine, whose populations are 94 percent white, are the only states in the U.S. where no citizens can lose their right to vote. But Washington, D.C., joined them in allowing its residents to vote from prison when Mayor Muriel Bowser signed a bill in July. At the very least, voting rights advocates say, states should allow returning citizens to vote once they’ve completed their sentences, even if they’re on parole or probation. See the full article at politico.com. Search felons right to vote.
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BARRACKS BEHIND BARS II PROGRAMS FOR JUSTICEINVOLVED VETS This paper is the fourth in the National Institute of Corrections justice-involved veteran compendium project. It illuminates programs in prisons across the country whose goal is to prevent recidivism by justice-involved veterans, and by so doing improve the safety of law enforcement officers, correctional officers, inmates, and the public. It illustrates the design/development, implementation, and sustainment of initiatives taken by corrections officials who have set up specialized housing—in pods, dorms, units, wings, or floors—and programming for military veterans.
Veterans working with veterans is an important aspect of veteran-specific programming. The shared experiences of veterans foster trust, a necessary component of approaches that require individuals to reveal personal and sometimes traumatic experiences with one another. Veterans know the physical, emotional, and even financial struggles of their counterparts because many of them have experienced these issues themselves. This relationship allows them to offer support and strategies for managing the realities of their justice involvement in ways that non-veterans may be unable to. Ron Self is a veteran who became
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: I would like to share information regarding the use of surgical disposable masks that was brought to my attention during use in my facility. I am an RN with the Sampson County Detention Center, in Clinton, N.C. Due to the Covid pandemic, we adopted the use of disposable masks with our inmates to prevent the spread of this virus. An incident occured that I think is worth sharing with other correctional and detention centers. A female inmate was placed on suicidal watch upon admission to our facility. Per our Covid protocol she was issued a disposal mask. She was to keep the mask for her 14 days of quarantine. On her second day, she had to go to court. Upon return, she informed our chief that she was no longer suicidal. He explained that suicidal release was a medical issue. She then informed us that if she had truly been suicidal she would have already harmed herself as we gave her a weapon. She had removed the metal piece in the mask (nose pincher) and had made a weapon that could have been used to harm herself or others. We have subsequently removed all metal from the disposable masks prior to giving to inmates until they have been depleted. We will then go to a cloth mask made by a local distributor to ensure the safety of all. Just wanted to share this information as it may prevent an untoward incident in other facilities. We have to work together to keep not only our inmates safe, but our valued officers as well. A Concerned Correction Facility Nurse, Sampson County Detention Center, Clinton, N.C. 8 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
adversely involved in the criminal justice system. He is highlighted in the NIC publication Barracks Behind Bars II: In Veteran Specific Housing Units, Veterans Help Veterans Help Themselves (Prison) as the cofounder of Veterans Healing Veterans (VHV) from the Inside Out. The VHV program is described as “a 52week, intensive peer-to-peer support group based on principles of narration therapy, writing, and the sharing of personal stories that probe key relationships, experiences, and concepts in order to explore the ramifications of trauma (whether from early life, military service, or incarceration).” Self initially encountered the disconnect that veterans report between themselves and non-veteran inmates while incarcerated. A transfer to California’s San Quentin State Prison gave Self access to a number of veteran-specific programs. While they satisfied the connections among his peers that he craved, he soon discovered that not all the programs were equal. At the time, many programs at the prison restricted access to veterans based on their discharge. Those with less than honorable discharge were ineligible to participate. When Self saw an otherwise qualifying Vietnam veteran with two Purple Hearts turned away, Self was irate. “It doesn’t matter what your discharge says. Once you come to prison, you’re dishonorably discharged from society. So, what your discharge status is in here shouldn’t really matter,” Self said. So, with the help of Jacques Verduin, a pioneer of prison rehabilitative programs and the founder and executive director of Insight-Out; numerous volunteers; and fellow inmates, Self created VHV to address the service gap.
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BY MICHAEL GROHS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
James Bond-esque Technologies for Prisons From contactless iris ID paired with temperature taking to a contraband recovery unit that offers a way to safely decontaminate swallowed evidence, these tools help keep facilities humming.
There was a time when the most anticipated part of a new James Bond movie was when Q showed 007 all the new gizmos and gadgets the people in research and development designed to keep the agent safe. It goes without saying that personnel in correctional facilities certainly have an interest in products that will likewise keep them out of dangerous situations, especially in a Covid world. 10 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
Iris Security Plus Temp Taking When it comes to biometrics, the irises in our eyes (the colored ring around the pupil) are more individually specific than a fingerprint, palm print, or facial image. EyeLock uses video-based technology to look at nearly 500 unique characteristics between both irises to determine someone’s identity. Its algorithm converts the characteristics to a code that is unique to an individual. The code is then encrypted creating a user’s EyeLock ID™. Each time the user looks at an EyeLock product, it is matched to the
existing template with a database of literally tens of thousands of irises in less than three seconds. Chris J. Jahnke, VP of Sales and Marketing at EyeLock, points out the benefits to using iris identity authentication. We currently live in a touchless world, and correctional facilities are hot spots for viruses like Covid, MERS, and SARS. While fingerprint identification and palm reading are excellent modalities, both require physical contact. Iris identity authentication from EyeLock’s products line, such as nano iXT®, is contactless, making it among the most hygienic forms of bio-
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metrics. Further, the iris in your eye will be the same from the day you are born until the day you die. They are different in every individual, including identical twins. It also has an extremely low false-acceptance rate (FAR) of up to 1:2.25 trillion with both eyes, Jahnke points out. (The fingerprint FAR is about 1:50,000. For 2D facial recognition, it is about 1:100,000.) EyeLock’s algo-
rithm stores two irises within a single template, which is encrypted using government standards. Software, called EIS, runs behind the scenes and controls the information, but EyeLock does not store any personally identifiable information. EyeLock’s iris biometric identity products can read a subject’s irises from about 16 inches to 32 inches, making it ADA compliant, so it can scan someone in a
wheelchair to someone almost seven feet tall. EyeLock’s technology can also read through glasses, PPE, and most types of sunglasses. Because all users of the technology need to “opt in” via enrollment, it will never capture someone without their knowledge a la the film Minority Report. It can have up to 20,000 users per device. The technology can be used in numerous scenarios. It can be used to ensure that the correct inmate is being released. It can ensure that the door being unlocked is being unlocked by a correctional officer and not an inmate, and someone’s eyes cannot be taken or reproduced like keys. The nano iXT even allows for an optional add-on module called iTemp®, which takes a subject’s temperature and can prevent someone from being admitted to a building if their temperature exceeds a threshold. Says Jahnke, “iTemp is simply a temperature screening tool for customers, and it gives them another tool that can provide a safer and healthier workplace. If they are going to be using touchless biometrics like iris recognition, adding the optional iTemp module is fast, highly accurate, and affordable,” he reports. There are many symptoms of Covid-19, SARS and MERS, and the CDC states that a fever is a primary one. “When they use our technology, there is no need to pay 12 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
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someone to stand there and take someone’s temperature or to send them to a separate device to do so.” 855-EYELOCK, sales@eyelock.com, www.eyelock.com.
Reduce Food Waste In 2016, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery noted that a correctional facility housing 4,000 prisoners can generate up to 2,000 lbs. of food waste every day. To lower operating costs, correctional facilities are tasked with finding ways to either compost, eliminate, or dispose of it. Totemic Business Solutions, LLC, offers two separate technologies to beneficially reuse food waste: Ecovim food waste dehydrators and Big Hanna invessel composters. Totemic will properly size and install the systems to help a facility meet regulatory organic waste requirements and eliminate or at least significantly reduce the need for waste compactors, thus saving monthly rental and hauling fees. Dehydrators can reduce food waste by 75% to 93% (depending upon the food’s water content), which can also lower disposal cost, and the remnants, which essentially have the texture of coffee grounds, can be used as a nutrient rich, all-natural soil amendment at the facility or elsewhere. There are four sizes available: 66 lbs. per cycle, 250 lbs. per cycle, 650 lbs. per cycle, and 1100 lbs. per cycle. Other sizes can be custom designed by request.
Correctional facilities can generate thousands of pounds of food waste a week. To lower operating costs, they are tasked with finding ways to either compost, eliminate, or dispose of it.
Depending on the facility, about a third of prison waste is food waste. With that amount of volume, prisons must manage the garbage every day. This requires time to load the dumpsters and eventually open and pass through the sally port. Reducing the events and duration of opening the sally port will save time and money.
Totemic Ecovim food waste dehydrators reduce food waste by 75% to 93%, depending upon the food’s water content, which provides sustainability benefits and cost savings.
Continues on page 40 14 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
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BY BILL SCHIFFNER, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Body Camera Technology Makes a Mark in Corrections Body worn cameras already have a foothold in law enforcement but are gaining ground in corrections.
Body cams, such as this one from Reveal Media, are said to help reduce violence and aggression while its live streaming capability helps enhance situational support in emergencies.
BODY WORN CAMERAS have become relatively common for patrol officers and deputies in police departments and sheriff’s offices across the nation. However, over the past few years, these wearable units have started to make their way into correctional facilities and jails. While body cam use in corrections is still in its infancy, these cameras serve a useful service in determining the true circumstances of an event or incident involving inmates and officers. Body worn 16 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
cameras can offer behavior modification, efficiency and facility control. “People generally associate body cameras with uniformed patrol. However, many agencies have already adopted body cameras in correctional facilities, and that trend seems like it will only continue,” predicts Alex Popof, chief executive officer at Visual Labs. He says, for example, use in a jail will now be required under certain circumstances as part of
Colorado’s new bill that was signed into law in June. He notes that Governor Jared Polis signed Colorado’s sweeping police accountability bill (Senate Bill 217) that passed in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Colorado is one of the first states to take this kind of legislative action. Popof says that even though body camera videos from a jail do not seem to make national news as frequently, they are still invaluable for addressing inmate complaints, protecting correc-
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tional officers, and promoting a culture of transparency. Reasons are varied for use in corrections facilities, concurs Bernadette Tilley, marketing executive, Reveal Media. “For corrections officers working in an environment of heightened tension, body cameras can help by deescalating potentially violent situations; helping inmates improve their behavior, and reducing the need for use of force whilst improving officer safety,” she says. “The presence of a body camera, when used appropriately can help reduce violence and aggression because they offer an unbiased eyewitness of a situation,” she furthers. “Body cameras provide critical audio-visual details of a close interaction which static CCTV doesn’t provide.” Features such as an articulating camera head can give an accurate angle of events, while live streaming of an event helps enhance situational support in emergencies, ensuring that appropriate support and back up arrives as fast as possible.
Requirements, Features and Benefits Popof points out that one key requirement is that the body cameras must be able to be easily shared among correctional officers. “At most agencies, each individual patrol officer is issued a body camera. However, that is generally not practical or costeffective in a jail. Many body camera systems require an administrator to plug in a camera to a computer to reassign a camera to a particular user.” Popof explains that since Visual Labs leverages smartphones as the body camera solution, it is extremely easy for an officer to login and logout of the Visual Labs application and preserve the audit trail. “Footage gets automatically uploaded via the department’s Wi-Fi (or alternatively LTE), so the agency doesn’t need to worry about docks, 18 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
kiosks or other network equipment. If using Wi-Fi, the smartphone does not have to be activated with a cellular carrier, since some detention facilities do not allow activated smartphones within the residential areas.” Popof adds that the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division (LED) recently upgraded to Visual’s body camera program to incorporate the latest technology and to enhance officer safety and operational efficiency. The LED has utilized body cameras for over five years and in 2019 decided it was time to replace its outdated technology. The department evaluated numerous body camera alternatives before deciding on the Visual Labs’ Android smartphone solution as an all-in-one device, as opposed to using vendor-specific hardware. “We have always understood the benefits of body cameras, both from our own perspective and that of the general public,” says Georgia LED’s Colonel Thomas Barnard. “It was time to upgrade the technology we used and we put it to the test right away.”
Becoming More Aware David Wasserstrom, executive manager at Sentinel Camera Systems, says that correctional agencies have a duty to ensure they run safe and secure facilities and are becoming aware of the value of evidence provided by body worn camera footage as an additional tool in meeting their obligations. “Driving the growth of body worn cameras are many benefits that go beyond the accountability of officers and inmates. They include transparency, increased professionalism, more peaceful civil interactions between the officers and inmates and even potential cost savings on internal affairs investigations into possible wrongdoing by officers as well as settlements of lawsuits stemming from improper behavior of officers.”
Features to Look For “In terms of the physical characteristics of the camera, the device should not weigh more than a total of six ounces and be able to record and store at least four hours of video using a single battery. The field of vision needs to be at least 120 degrees and automatically label video files with the date, location and time of the recording,” notes Wasserstrom. He explains that standard cameras are likely to have image quality issues as compared to more high-end cameras due to technical compromises to manage cost. The video resolution should be at least 1280 x 720 30p. Wasserstrom says that a more complete list of features should include the following: One button recording, night vision mode, GPS function, Wi-Fi function, 1280 full HD video, infrared light, audio voice recording, instant playback and a date, location and time stamp. “The entire camera system must be tamperproof with no capability of modifying the video in the camera by the officer wearing the camera,” he adds. He says that body worn cameras, especially those that have live streaming capabilities, provide opportunity for supervisors to view the day-to-day activities and observe, in real time (on live streaming cameras), what the officers are doing and determine if assistance is needed in a particular situation.
Innovative Introduction Last fall, Panasonic Public Safety Solutions Division, a business unit of the Panasonic i-PRO Sensing Solutions Co., rolled out an innovative new compact and lightweight body worn camera BWC series. The newest generation BWC 4000 unit incorporates a unique combination of features including a highly desirable 12-hour swappable battery, ensuring extended operation in
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the field without the hassle and distraction of a recharge for longer shifts. Masato Nakao, chief executive officer of Panasonic i-Pro Sensing Solutions Corp. of America says “as important as BWCs are in today’s public safety ecosystem, they are only one component of a much larger solution encompassing integrated field, vehicle, station-based documentation and evidence capture management technologies, as well as analytics, which we are bringing to a new level of performance, convenience and cost efficiency.”
Turnkey Solution Reveal works with corrections customers across the globe to deliver a solution that is tailored to suit the needs of their specific area of law enforcement. Reveal’s D-series body cameras are reported to be the most advanced body cameras in the world and with its future proof features, it is best in
departmental use, one button start/stop as well as a host of voice commands. 866.377.2677, www.equature.com
Improved Safety “There is evidence to support that body worn cameras directly contribute to improved safety for both officers and staff. Body cameras capture a much clearer picture of what is happening during an interaction and includes audio to give an even fuller context,” explains Bob Lovering, vice president of sales, Adjacent Markets at Axon. “In a recent state prison pilot, use-of-force was decreased by 51% when a body worn camera was present. The study also reported better video evidence depicting misconduct of both staff and inmates and better training and staff development opportunities. Today, some correctional facilities are using certain bodyworn video footage to ‘coach’ inmates on better behavior.” Lovering reports that correctional agencies that deploy body worn camera programs can expect to see a decrease in inmate grievances, especially with respect to female facilities and special needs populations. “Fewer grievances mean fewer investigations of alleged misconduct or misbehavior and improved relations between staff and inmates. Fewer and shorter investigations supported by strong evidence equates to cost savings.” Here are a few of the top body worn camera solutions on the market.
More Battery Life Panasonic’s latest Body Worn Camera (BWC4000) features a user swappable battery with up to 12 hours of life per battery charge. Additional features include an easy-to-read LCD sta-
its class across video quality, battery life, functionality and ease of use, says the company. Coupled with DEMS 360—its most advanced digital evidence management software—Reveal offers an unrivalled turnkey solution. Request a free trial or find out more at the web address or number listed below. 888.269.9924, www.revealmedia.com/contact
The Power of Smartphones Equature’s Body Worn Camera leverages the power of smartphones. The architecture provides for live streaming video, automated upload, and advanced GPS for field responder location. The solution provides for onsite, cloud, or a hybrid for implementation. It also offers an Android software application, automated upload of recorded video, multiple camera and phone options for
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tus screen, enhanced field of view, 1080p HD resolution, builtin Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, on-board GPS, H.264 and H.265 compression, IP67 environmental rating, and MIL-STD 810G military grade design. lisa.cayce@us.panasonic.com, www.security.us.panasonic.com/public-safety
Robust Video The Axon Body 3 allows users to capture more robust video with its low-light performance and reduced motion blur. This next generation body-worn camCORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEBER/OCTOBER 2020 19
era is the company’s first bodyworn camera to include LTE connectivity for real-time situational awareness capabilities, such as livestreaming. The camera provides complete on-device encryption and Axon Body 3’s sleek and rugged designs are built to survive even in the harshest conditions. The unit offers four built-in microphones where users can play back audio for a better sense of what happened at the scene. 800.978,2737, www.axon.com
Body Worn Computer The Visual Labs smartphone body camera solution represents a paradigm shift in the thinking
toward body worn cameras. The company believes the appropriate definition of BWC is not Body Worn Camera, but instead Body Worn Computer. The Visual Labs solution uses a fully-functioning smartphone as the recording device and provides all the features that camera-only devices offer and much more. By harnessing both the connectivity and computational power of the smartphone, the Visual Labs solution provides many advanced features, including: Automatic upload of footage from the field, providing real-time situational awareness via a live video and audio feed, providing real-time positional awareness, taking evidentiary photos and audio recordings and backup communication as a fully-functional smartphone. team@visuallabsinc.com, visuallabsinc.com
Streaming Body Worn Camera Sentinel Camera System’s Protector II camera is a leading live-streaming 4G LTE Body Camera in the security industry which transmits live video, audio, and GPS location in real time, day or night, to a central command center, while simultaneously recording the video on the camera itself. The camera has
had a number of updates including automatic streaming of the video upon camera activation in standby mode. In addition, audio communication between the central command center and the camera wearer can be initiated from the observer to the wearer and heard thru the speakers within the camera. 267.839.1500, www.sentinelcamerasystems.com
Smart Solution BodyWorn by Utility is a futureproof solution that overcomes significant pitfalls that are found in competing police body worn cameras. Utility developed this smart device to provide agencies with greater benefits than a manually operated camera. BodyWorn automatically records, based on policies when triggers are activated. Command centers and 911 dispatchers can send live messages to body worn devices and view live streaming during critical moments. The video, audio and metadata automatically and securely uploads to cloud storage, eliminating the inconvenience of physically docking the device. 800.597.4707, www.bodyworn.com
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BY DONNA ROGERS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Handling Covid-19
How prison officials can help reduce the frequency and severity of recent outbreaks.
Skytron’s UVC units disinfect jail cells.
The Covid-19 virus wreaks havoc on some of the most vulnerable populations, and without doubt, prison and jail populations and staff are among them. In June reports came in that jails in Maine could not transport inmates to serve their time to state facilities, leaving them vulnerable to keeping inmates sentenced to state prison in their county jails with limited space if quarantining was necessary (it wasn’t). Similarly, inmate population at the Greenville County Jail in South Carolina is once again growing, after alternative programs had lowered those held in jail, in part because the state 22 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
Department of Corrections has put a hold on all incoming male inmates due to a Covid outbreak at their intake facility. Back in April and May, according to Greenville News online, more people who were arrested were being placed in the county's home incarceration program, which allows those facing criminal charges to stay home while wearing a GPS tracking device until their case has been adjudicated. Since having a low of 806 offenders in June the jail swelled to 920 in mid-August and is expected to grow because of the measure passed by the DOC. Unfortunately, the Greenville jail has not been so lucky as to have only a few cases—as of mid-
August, 14 inmates and 21 detention center staff had tested positive. The latest data from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control shows that Greenville County saw the most new Covid19 cases reported across the state— 52 new confirmed cases of the virus reported on September 11.
Jail Reductions Reversed? Looking at the scope of jail reductions on a national scale, how has the jail population been reduced in response to the coronavirus? According to a study conducted by the Vera Institute of Justice, a New York-based non-
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profit group that advocates for prison and criminal justice reform, “from mid-March to midApril 2020—the first month of rapid spread of Covid-19 in the United States—there was an unprecedented reduction in the number of people held in local jails. Vera’s analysis of the most comprehensive jail data available shows that the number of people in jail in the United States fell by one quarter, mainly over the course of that month.” While the news of the early reduction was encouraging, overall reduction during the duration of the pandemic was mixed. In total, Vera studied 1,278 counties. In 527 counties, the number of people in jail declined rapidly and remained stable in the following weeks. However, in 454 counties, the jail population never decreased substantially. And in 270 counties, the jail population initially decreased but then increased quickly, approaching previous levels of incarceration.
Infection Prevalence Comprehensive data regarding the prevalence of Covid-19 infections in state prisons across the country has been compiled by the Marshall Project, the nonprofit investigative newsroom dedicated to the U.S. criminal justice system, and the Associated Press. The statistics are updated weekly. Data collected by The Marshall Project shows that “thousands of prisoners have caught the illness as prisons became the center of some of the country’s largest outbreaks. Thousands more workers, correctional officers and medical staff have been sickened. And hundreds of people—most of them incarcerated—have died. “As with all Covid-19 data, our understanding of the spread and impact of the virus is limited by the availability of testing,” furthers the study. “Epidemiology and public health experts say that 24 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
Skytron’s units can be detached so that the upper portion can be placed in very small places such as the inside of a helicopter or transport vehicle.
aside from a few states that have recently begun aggressively testing in prisons, it is likely that there are more cases of Covid-19 circulating undetected in facilities. Sixteen prison systems, including the Federal Bureau of Prisons, would not release information about how many prisoners they are testing.” According to the data set on September 10 regarding the virus within prisons, which is recorded by the Associated Press, some of the states with the highest infection rates include California with some 3,200 staff and 11,000 inmates testing positive; Florida with 2,800 staff and about 15,700 inmates testing positive and Texas with approximately 4,500 staff and 21,000 inmates testing positive (the latter includes 20 staff deaths and 145 inmate deaths). It should be noted that while these numbers are high, these states also rank as those with the biggest populations overall. Further exacerbating inmate virus spread rates are the threat of Western wildfires. As numerous wildfires tore through huge swaths of Oregon in September, according to The New York Times, “prisoners were hurried away from the encroaching flames—not to freedom but to an overcrowded state prison, where they slept shoulderto-shoulder in cots, and in some cases on the floor. Food was in short supply, showers and toilets few, and fights broke out between rival gang members.
“They were safe from one catastrophe, but delivered to another: the coronavirus pandemic, which has spread at an alarming rate in America’s prisons,” the article furthers. The dilemma is complex for prison officials who have to manage large facilities through simultaneous dangers, weighing security, safety from one calamity with another, and transfers to facilities with limited testing, as well as constraints in space and time for quarantine.
Bright Spots Despite the anxiety caused by risk of contagion, some bright spots exist within the walls, as reports of staff and inmates pulling together have recently circulated. For example, an inmate at the Delaware County Jail (Ohio) penned a letter to the Delaware County Sheriff's Office thanking them for keeping inmates safe during the pandemic, it was reported in July on abc6onyourside.com. In the letter, the inmate thanked the sheriff's office and jail workers for working on the front lines and keeping inmates safe from Covid-19. The letter read: “All departments here at DCJ have been on the front line to keep me and other inmates from getting the virus.… I just want to tell everyone, CO's, nurses, etc., thanks. You could easily made a decision to not come here to work and care about our health and safety.” Said the inmate, named Tracey, in an interview with the ABC news affiliate: "They tried to be you know, go above and beyond to make us feel safe and comfortable and as far as clean…” She added that she was inspired to write the letter after seeing a corrections officer exhausted, working hard one night, and she stayed up all night trying to get just the right words for the letter. Assistant director of the jail Nick Karafa said he was touched
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by the gesture, and he posted it to social media. Likewise, Tracey said she is touched by the fact the staff posted it to social media. "It made me know that they do care about what's being said and let them know that just because I'm an inmate don't mean I'm not human. We are human so... It's really emotional. I didn't know they went that far." The following are several technologies that CF found that can help to keep jails and prisons safe.
Covid Fighting Solutions Covid-19 ID Band & Contact Tracing Solution Protect your inmates and your staff with low-cost wearable Covid-19 emergency response ID bands that are highly visible.
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ENDUR ID™ has the ability to enable Covid-19 Warning and Alert emergency response bands using its IDMX™ and IDSS™ software products or for purchase as preprinted bands. Contagious illness bands can contain information such as: Tested Positive warning, In Quarantined warning or Tested/Antibody Safe alert to keep inmates separated. In addition to virus information, the waterproof bands can be printed with traditional inmate or detainee banding information such as color photo, allergies, warning and restrictions, etc. All bands are easily printed on a standard color laser printer.
When IDMX™ is used in conjunction with the Secur Trac™ software product developed with the firm’s partner, Data Capture Solutions, it has the ability to enable contact tracing of staff, inmates, patients or residents. This helps control the spread of the virus via a clear and concise reporting feature of whereabouts and contact with others in any given period of time. 603.758.1488, info@EndurID.com, www.endurid.com
UVC Disinfection Devices The Skytron 1140 Sentry is an introductory unit and the 2280 Syndicate comprises two Model 1140s that can be run separately or together. These devices have a significant advantage in power, and more power equals shorter run times and higher kill rates. Skytron UVC also has Smart Dose technology embedded in the system, which allows them to oper-
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Dane County Runs Skytron UVC Robots
ate as a whole room treatment device, where other UVC devices need to be periodically repositioned. These UVC devices are unique in that the top can detach from the base, allowing the top portion to be placed in very small spaces like ambulances and transport vehicles. The 3200 Max is in a class all its own. This UVC device is reported to have the most UVC energy of any product on the market. This means high disinfection rates in the shortest time. It has automatic shutters for maximum protection and long lamp life. info@skytron.com, www.skytron.com
Since March 2020, Dane County (Wisconsin) has been running their Skytron UVC Robots nearly 24/7 as part of its successful effort to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on inmates, staff and their families, and the local community. David Mahoney, sheriff of Dane
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County, believes it has been paramount in protecting his staff and inmates from the virus. “It has been effective. Our numbers relative to the overall population in comparison to other county sheriffs…have been much lower, and our symptoms have been relatively mild. I attribute it to these robots. I think our numbers would have been significantly higher if we had not moved into
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the direction of purchasing and using these robots around the clock.” He furthers: “I would suggest to my fellow sheriffs, that when the decision is made to purchase this robot, identify a team to operate and run them on a fulltime basis,” which he reports has been done successfully in his county.
UVC Cleaning & Robot Disinfecting System Command Sourcing, Inc. is a law enforcement and corrections supply company that has been providing unique technology solutions to keep people safe for years. Typically the firm works
with these government agencies on security screening solutions such as body scanners and safe restraint systems for police but since the coronavirus has impacted corrections, the firm has pivoted to include “bio-security solutions” such as the UV-C Robot. Command Sourcing’s UV-C “Robot” device uses an array of UV sensors, which determines and targets shadowed areas to deliver a measured dose of UV energy that destroys microorganisms. This unit is fully automated 28 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
and activated by a handheld remote control, and the room ventilation does not need to be modified. It measures UV light reflected from the walls, ceiling, floors, or items in the room and calculates the time required to deliver the programmed lethal dose for pathogens. After decontamination, it powers down and an audible alarm notifies the operator. sales@commandsourcing.com, www.commandsourcing.com
Steuben County Sheriff’s Office Uses Command Sourcing’s UV-C Robot The Steuben County Sheriff’s Office in Indiana has procured the UVC Robot and placed it in the intake/receiving area of the jail, which gets a great deal of traffic by current inmates, staff and new inmates coming in from the street. When inmates are moved from these holding cells the UVC Robot is placed into cell to sanitize and get rid of any unwanted germs or unseen insects, explains Capt. Jason Hufnagle. Jail staff has also used it in the general population blocks. Inmates are removed from the block and the UVC Robot is put into the area. “When inmates are returned to the block, staff has received a number of compliments from the inmate population on using the machine to help keep them safe,” says Capt. Hufnagle. (This is something that is far and few between when it comes to inmates giving staff compliments, he adds.) The UVC Robot has also been put to work in the administrative offices, medical exam room, recreation areas, inmate property room and the jail’s control rooms. “This gives staff peace of mind knowing that some of the areas that we work in day after day are being sanitized to help keep staff healthy and safe,” the
captain says. “I feel this is just one weapon that we can use to battle not just the COVID-19 virus, but it will also help with the upcoming flu season that is just around the corner.”
Contact-Free Temperature Scanning The DuThermX Body Temperature Measurement System uses advanced thermal camera technology to provide contact-free screening for potential health risks from inmates, employees and visitors. Launched by Dubak Electrical Group in
April 2020, the DuThermX product line includes the Walk Thru Series, Modular Container Series, Kiosk Series, Mobile Cart Series, and others to accommodate single individuals, 16-40 people
simultaneously, or up to 1,200 people per hour, alerting staff when elevated temperatures are found. “The DuThermX products allow for contact-free, continuous flow temperature screenings, providing a simple solution to help identify potential health risks,” says Nick Dubak, chief operating officer. “Similar to a metal detector, people can easily enter a room through the Walk-Thru Series without stopping to remove a mask or face covering.” Nicole Drougas, ndrougas@ dubakelectrical.com, 708.579.5252, www.DuThermX.com
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BY MICHAEL GROHS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Mind the Gap Overcoming the chasm faced by returning citizens when released from incarceration.
hile the U.S. has a recidivism rate that has remained high for years, reentry organizations are helping to overcome the barriers that hinder the success of a former incarcerated individual from reentering society. We look at reentry programs, such as CARE of Southeastern Michigan, which provide a variety of services including addiction counseling, education and life skills, and employment counseling to help these individuals make a successful integration into society. As the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens. The flip side of that adage seems to draw less reflection. Each year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, nearly 650,000 doors open for inmates as they are released from correctional institutions. The problem is often with those other doors. The U.S. has a recidivism rate that has remained
W
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stubbornly high for decades. Nearly two thirds of those released will be rearrested within three years. The question of how to lower that rate has been studied for years but tends to draw little attention from policy-makers. Addiction, medical conditions, support systems, employment, lack of skills, and other barriers tacked onto the stigma of a criminal record all hinder the success of someone reentering society. Each leaves room for gaps a former inmate can fall into. The National Institute of Justice has studied the matter for over 50 years and, like most experts’ findings, concluded that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. What experts and data show are that successful programs are those that start early, involve a partnership between the community and the justice system, and address a series of components between the time an inmate is released and finds success.
A 2019 report by The Harvard University Institute of Politics Criminal Justice Policy Group noted that the components that have the most significant impact on reentry success are health, employment, housing, skill development, mentorship, and social networks. The authors furthered that success is affected by factors including race, gender, age, type of offense, and socioeconomics. As a result, reentry programs need to tailor their services to address the individual needs of the people they serve. Practice and research are often not synchronous, and government programs and community-based organizations often have different priorities in their reentry services. Because of this, the authors stated, the two entities should work together and complement each other in order to facilitate successful reentry. For instance, government organizations are able to collect data that can guide community organizations in their work and refer indi-
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viduals to community reentry programs. Community organizations are better able to tailor their interventions to the people they serve.
Michigan DOC Model
The Offender Success Model is a statewide initiative by the Michigan Department of Corrections whose intent is to “reduce crime by implementing a seamless plan of services, supervision, and opportunities developed with each offender.” The goal is to provide individuals leaving state supervision with the tools to reintegrate into their communities by working with providers who can coordinate services between the correction system, parole officers, counselors, and support groups. One of those organizations is CARE of Southeastern Michigan, which provides a variety of services to individuals such as helping address addiction and co-occurring disorders, developing pro-social relationships, learning
appropriate skills, engaging with therapy, and finding meaningful employment. Monique Stanton, president and CEO of CARE of Southeastern Michigan, points out that the program works in conjunction with facilities and drug courts and provides a wide range of services, much of it geared toward youth. They provide a variety of correctional programs such as anger management, education including parenting classes, employee assistance, and professional development. The clinical department has one of the state’s largest peer recovery programs. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, half of all individuals serving a prison sentence have a substance use disorder. Through their Recovery United Corrections Division, CARE works with individuals who have a history of substance abuse as they reintegrate into the community. By connecting participants with
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treatment professionals and the recovery community, individuals are much more successful in addressing their substance use and mental health issues. As Stanton points out, starting before an inmate’s reentry is important. Peers go into the local jails to provide a coaching model to inmates. When the inmate gets out, they have someone there for them. “We know that community-based support promotes recovery and reduces recidivism. By initiating treatment for substance use while a person is still incarcerated and continuing to offer services as they reintegrate into the community, we can increase the likelihood of positive treatment outcomes.” Services include housing support, employment, job training and vocational support, substance abuse and mental health programs, and more. Support continues long after release in order to assure the best possible outcomes for both the individual and the
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community. Each person’s struggle with addiction and mental health is unique as is their road to recovery, and rehabilitation is more likely with support. Each person referred to Recovery United is matched with a certified peer recovery coach (PRC) who is themselves in long-term recovery, has extensive training in areas such as motivational interviewing and substance abuse assessment techniques, relapse prevention, and mental health management, and is intimately familiar with the resources and treatment services available to those struggling with substance abuse and other such challenges. The Maintaining Independence and Sobriety through Systems Integration, Outreach, and Networking (MISSION) program is a successful evidence-based intervention and support model, of which CARE says independent randomized and non-randomized trials have repeatedly demonstrated to be an effective intervention for many populations including criminal justice-involved veterans and female offenders re-entering the community. The program has consistently shown improved outcomes for all groups, especially related to long-term recovery from substance use, co-occurring disorders, and employment. It was developed in 2001 to meet the recovery needs of individuals with co-occurring disorders and has since been refined to better meet Both the SecureView and JP5 tablets offer access to no-cost education and reentry tools such as Lantern, Securus’s post-secondary education program, eBooks, podcasts, KA Lite education videos, and JobView for employment searches.
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Faith programs on the SecureView Tablet from Securus Technologies helped prepare incarcerated individuals at the Kendall County Sheriff's Office in Illinois.
the needs of criminal justice-involved individuals. Reentry services are integrated into an intensive sixmonth program that begins prior to the individual’s release and bridge the gap through reentry by connecting those in recovery with services and helping the individual stay engaged with their chosen treatment, community resources, and support. MISSION has been admitted into the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration-Registry for Evidence-Based Practices (NREPP), deployed within the Veterans Health Administration as part of the national plan to end veteran homelessness, utilized in a statewide Massachusetts plan to end homelessness, and written into public law for delivery alongside veteran treatment courts in Massachusetts. The program includes five key evidence-based components. Critical time intervention is a threestage intervention designed to facilitate a connection to and improve engagement with communitybased treatment providers. Dual recovery therapy, a structured 13-session treatment approach, blends and modifies traditional addiction treatment therapies with mental health approaches. Peer support helps participants achieve sobriety and mental health stability by providing personal and intensive support from someone who has experienced similar disorders in the past. Vocational support is designed to assist participants with obtaining and retaining employment using evidence-based practices for individuals with CODs. MISSION case managers and VISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET
peer support specialists are also cross-trained to screen for traumarelated symptoms, deliver traumainformed services, and refer clients to providers when more intense treatment is needed. The MISSION team is composed of two master-level case managers/therapists and a pair of PRCs. The relationship between the individual being served and their PRC is the cornerstone of this program. As noted, each client is matched with a PRC. Working together, each individual creates their own individual recovery plan. What’s most important is that each coach is there for the long haul, helping to bridge gaps, so a person can have what they need to focus on a lasting recovery. Sam Paris is the program supervisor at CARE and works with people in drug court and sobriety court and addresses such key aspects as housing, support systems, and employment. The PRCs, says Paris, “like to handle the hardest cases” and have realized significant success in doing so. The process starts by recognizing early on that the inmate needs help and establishing a relationship. Some inmates may not think they have a problem. Others might not know how to live any other way. Some only know how to live in chaos and don’t know how to handle success or live with a family and hold a job and need to know that “the program is a really good place to be.” The PRCs have the same experiences the participants do and can relate to being in short term sobriety and of the journey ahead. “It’s all about the long-term recovery and making the connection.”
Education & Reentry Tools
Among other barriers to reentry, says Perla Johnson, marketing communications manager at Securus Technologies, Inc., is the absence of education and reentry tools. Both the SecureView and JP5 tablets offer access to no-cost education and reentry tools such
as Lantern, the company’s postsecondary education program, eBooks, podcasts, KA Lite education videos, JobView for employment searches and more. “Technology is changing the trajectory for hundreds of thousands of incarcerated individuals, so when they’re released, they have a real chance to be successful and not return to the penal system,” states Dave Abel, president and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. “Tablets are not just pieces of hardware. They produce connections, create hope, and provide a lifeline to the outside world while helping to reduce infractions and keep facilities safer.” Says Johnson, “Facilities are always asking for education and reentry resources, which is why we’ve committed to further supporting digital education and betterment efforts focused on reducing recidivism rates and improving reentry rates.” Providing inmates with access to educational resources can have a significant impact on reducing recidivism. Research shows that incarcerated individuals who receive education are 43% less likely to become repeat offenders.
Course Content sharing
In an effort to enhance this, Securus launched CourseShare, a program that provides digital education for corrections. Departments of Correction, universities, third-party content providers, and employers are encouraged to join and submit free education, self-help, business, and training content so CourseShare participants can share resources with the incarcerated population across the country. Every agency is different, says Johnson, and they learned that as more partners adopt the Lantern LMS program for their incarcerated individuals, some have more resources and educational content than others, so the level of options vary for students. “As a solution, in January
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2020, we formalized the exchange of content into CourseShare and since the launch, third-party providers of educational and life skills content have joined the program to share their content as well. For example, Blackstone Career Institute has shared a paralegal training course, and FreshSkills has shared a life skills course. Lantern has widespread access to correctional facilities, making it an influential channel for distributing more content to more incarcerated students to help secure better outcomes.” Currently, they have nearly 300,000 tablets providing communication, education, re-entry and media services deployed in 37 states. A partnership with Ashland University reached new heights for student enrollment with a 37% increase between the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters. Lantern also proved to be valuable during the Covid-19 outbreak. Ohio prisons suspended all non-essential people from entering the facility, including instructors, so incarcerated students who were originally being taught on-site by Ashland instructors were moved to Lantern to learn remotely. Since Lantern’s inception, there have been 158,031 students, 1,093,026 course enrollments, and 14,145,015 KA Lite videos have been downloaded. Additionally, the no-cost employment search tool, JobView, has generated 11.18 million job searches over the past 12 months. Securus considers all user feedback to be instrumental. “Engaging with all of our stakeholders, including incarcerated individuals, is instrumental to our business, helping us improve or adjust our products and services, drive technology innovations and simply ensure they feel valued and heard,” says Abel. “We are here to serve incarcerated individuals, their family and friends as well as government officials, our facility partners and investors. All voices share the same weight in importance.” CF CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEBER/OCTOBER 2020 33
BY PERLA JOHNSON PROFILE FROM SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES, NO. 4 IMPROVING LIVES FROM THE INSIDE OUT
Digital Opportunities Inspire Career Plans
This profile series will feature interviews with incarcerated individuals who have been empowered with educational technology and communication tools provided by Securus Technologies to help prepare for successful reintegration to society upon release. This fourth profile focuses on Joseph Wallenberg. Joseph Wallenberg was interviewed when he was an incarcerated individual at Kendall County Sheriff's Office in Illinois. Currently, he is serving a six-year sentence at the Menard Correctional Center of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Sheriff Dwight Baird has made it his mission to change the culture of his jail. He set out to change the environment, which was surrounded by an abundance of arguments and problems. He now offers his population, learning and opportunities with Securus Technologies SecureView® Tablet. “Idle time could lead the incarcerated individuals into trouble. I felt they should have structure and the opportunity to have occu34 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
pied time. The SecureView® Tablet was a natural fit,” he stated. Wallenberg enjoys a variety of the content, especially the mental health and spiritual programs, which he says will give him an optimistic outlook on his release. “They give me positivity to stay away from negativity,” he stated. “The stress isn’t there,” Sheriff Baird added. “The focus is on the opportunities the tablets offer that the incarcerated residents never would’ve had the chance to learn what is in the real world without this technology.” Wallenberg keeps busy with business courses and Securus Technologies’ JobView. This app had over 10.5 million job searches in 2019 and is available on
the SecureView Tablet. The employment platform helps incarcerated individuals locate job openings to better prepare for successful reentry. “I found a couple of jobs ten minutes from my house,” Wallenberg said. He feels JobView gives him a realistic look at what skills are needed for the positions. “It’s important because I need to support myself, and I want a forklift job.” He explains that he has 15years of warehouse experience. But for Wallenberg, his goal is more than just a career. “I want to get a job, so I can move on. And I look forward to being with my family,” he explained. Wallenberg stays connected to his loved ones through Securus Technologies eMessaging. “Before eMessaging, it was difficult like when it came to writing letters,” he explained. “Also, I like getting pictures of my family through eMessaging.” Additionally, he stays connected with Securus Video Connect.SM
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Joseph Wallenberg, an incarcerated individual, can speak with loved ones, friends and public officials through the mySecurus Video ConnectSM program. Here he is interviewed for this story.
These scheduled video sessions allow loved ones and public officials to communicate with an incarcerated individual from anywhere with internet access using a smartphone, tablet or PC. Wallenberg adds the video sessions are more convenient for his
mother and son. Video Connect has given him the opportunity to keep in touch. “My son is 21 now. He’s doing everything he should be doing. He has a good job,” he added. His family is also aware of Wallenberg’s own hard work on
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improving his business skills with the community tablet along with his diligent job search. His mother and son are the ones that keep Wallenberg strong and make up his support system. “My loved ones are behind me all the way,” he concluded.
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BY DONNA ROGERS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Behind the Scenes at the Virtual ACFSA Annual International Conference & Vendor Show Seminars, keynote speakers, panels, exhibit hall, even a networking lounge— all but the coffee—are accessible to food service professionals— right from the comfort of one’s home or office computer.
The ACFSA created an interactive way to attend the food service conference virtually.
Behind the scenes, when it became clear earlier this year that meeting in person was not safe, the Association of Correctional Food Service Affiliates leadership team and board discussed their options and realized that they had to come up with a way for members to all meet and provide 36 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
educational sessions, networking opportunities and a trade show. To that end, they created the first ever professional correctional food service Virtual Conference that took place over the same dates as their original conference, September 13-15. Designed to bring buyers and
decision makers in the food service market “the best opportunity in a different kind of year to meet face-to-face (virtually),” the online conference has a surprisingly “live” feel! As one enters the web site, the online landing page serves as the convention lobby (sorry no free swag) where attendees can click on different tabs—whether it is General Session, Education, Networking Lounge or the Exhibit Hall. Attendees can tune into general session keynote speakers such as Richard Cunningham’s The Magic in Living and Learning and attend education sessions on Leadership Styles, Professional Boundaries, Foodborne Disease Outbreaks or a Dietician Panel. One seminar that got strong interest was The COVID-19 Pandemic in Corrections: Past, Present, and Future. It discussed how the correctional food service professionals are dealing with the coronavirus
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The virtual booths allowed vendors to showcase their launches using links to promotional materials, videos and social media.
and adapting to new procedures. After attending a session, attendees could head over to the Networking Lounge, a Zoom Room that was open throughout the show and where speakers could conduct a Q&A following their session. The exhibit hall’s landing page allowed attendees to search booths by product/service categories or by alphabetical listing to find what they need to source. Up to 10 tabs linked to promotional material, videos, brochures as well as social media links. The organization notes that, as always, the main focus of the conference is to provide training and education opportunities. In
fact, up to 12.5 ANFP credits were available for attendees to earn during the show.
A Way to Engage CF caught up with Jon Nichols, ACFSA’s executive director, in the weeks prior to the conference. He explained that they had looked at other online trade shows but didn’t feel any one particular format met all of the needs of ACFSA membership. As they sought a creative way to get the educational and informational messaging across, they considered how it could be affordable for the associ-
The Networking Lounge is a Zoom Room open throughout the show where attendees could interact with speakers. VISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET
ation, be attractive to vendor members and to cover all the bases to provide educational programming. “Our IT guy took it as a challenge,” he says, and the result was everything they wanted. “We’ve had great feedback on what looks like—the graphics and how interactive it is.” He adds that it caters to both the older and younger generations—it’s not too overwhelming to those that aren’t highly tech savvy. “The greatest benefit is that our people can engage at a time they’re not getting those stimuli,” he believes. “From the landing page they can jump into the Networking Lounge, have interaction with friends they haven’t seen in a while, get info from colleagues, and then start to visit the education sessions,” he says. “In all of the virtual meetings that we have done these past few months, we are seeing spikes in participation and take that to mean that people are hungry and eager to engage at a time they’re not getting that,” he continues. “Being able to engage has been a driving force, with the Zoom sessions and the like. Our goal is to meet the educational programming, and give people the networking [they crave]. “As far as exhibitors and their partners,” Nichols furthers, “this gives them opportunity to show off their products, meet in a Zoom Room to do a private session, add a video demonstration, and not have to wait two years, if and when, we get back [to a live show].” “Networking is key,” says Nichols. “There’s no other place [in the correctional food service industry] that provides the opportunity to engage with peers and colleagues. You can’t necessarily talk to someone working at a supermarket with regard to what it takes to work in a correctional facility.” Here are some of the options in food service being offered to corrections customers. CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEBER/OCTOBER 2020 37
Latest Food Service Options National Food Service and Commissary Distributor
Vistar is a leading distributor of food service and commissary products from its national network of distribution centers. The company stocks and distributes thousands of products across dozens of product categories (including PPE), to serve the needs of correctional commissaries and food service operations. The company helps correctional agencies improve their operations by providing a broad array of food and non-food products unique to corrections, which range from fresh and frozen food items to disposables and janitorial/sanitation non-food products. Vistar distributes from its national network of 24 OpCos in 23 states (see map), and operates a company-owned fleet of temperature-controlled trucks, making it uniquely positioned and dedicated to serving the correctional industry. 1.888.358.8696, JennyServiceCSR@pfgc.com
offerings, Federal Supply USA will be showcasing all its new innovative PPE solutions! Pictured is its new hands-free, foot activated sanitizer pump station. Each station comes with one case (4 gallons) of gel hand sanitizer, drip tray and tether. These stations are stainless steel and are able to be
bolted to the ground so they remain stationary. Make sure to stop by our booth to see many more new products! 888.623.4499, info@federalsupply.com, www.federalsupply.com
Food Waste Transformers Totemic provides multiple options to reduce and beneficially reuse food waste for any size facility. The firm has successfully installed dozens of food waste dehydrators that reduce the
weight up to 90% and now provide Big Hanna In-Vessel Composters that transform wasted food into usable compost. These self-contained machines will seamlessly fit into current kitchen operations and are simple to operate. GSA schedule and four offices nationwide. tgilardi@totemicsolutions.com, 804.728.0971, www.totemicsolutionsllc.com
New Convenience in Meal Delivery System A new five-compartment selfstacking tray seals off each compartment—no lids needed. The trays are paired with small,
Foot-activated Sanitizer Pump In addition to their substantial kitchen equipment and supplies 38 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
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medium or large heavy-duty, corrections-grade carts that fit a surprisingly large number of trays, and come with long-lasting casters. Optional is a heat box that can be added right away or later, if needed. For an informative video see below. Tracey Zachrich, 740.651.4318, traceyz@joneszylon.com, www.joneszylon.com/Media/JonesZylon-ServeSmartProducts.mp4 (video), www.joneszylon.com/ServeSmart/
Correctional Market Distribution New England Food is a sales and distribution company that specializes in servicing the food service industry nationwide. Almost 90% of its customers are correctional accounts, making
tance. Unified Brands has partnered with Purafil to provide a new air filtration solution to the food service industry backed by scientifically proven technology. The new Purafil/Unified Brands partnership helps food servers get back to “normal” while providing their customers and employees peace of mind by removing harmful aerosols from the air entering the filtration units. (Ed. note: No representation made herein is intended to make claims about the effectiveness of the PURA 400/ 800/1200 against SARS-CoV-2. Laboratory testing demonstrated 99.99% removal of aerosols carrying MS2 from air entering the unit. Copies of the full test reports are available upon request.) While traditional precautions, such as sanitization, face masks and social distancing, are key in the transition to healthy indoor food service, food service operations want to control potential
hazards in the air as well. The new PURA 400™, PURA 800™ and PURA 1200™ units give inmates and staff peace of mind by using a multi-stage filtration process that includes patented technology and is shown to remove 99.99% of aerosols carrying viruses from the air entering the unit during independent third-party laboratory tests. The mobile units feature 360degree air circulation and purification, and emit minimal noise. The four-stage filtration process includes a pre-filter, chemical filtration to remove inanimate contaminants, patented antimicrobial technology to protect the filter, and a HEPA final filter. There are no washable parts and filters are replaced approximately every six months, depending on model and usage. Jefferson Kenney, jeffke@unifiedbrands.net, 888.994.7636, ext. 6492, www.unifiedbrands.net/ purashield-air-purification/
this market segment its primary focus. Through its main distribution center in Taunton, Massachusetts, the company can fully service New England and the Eastern United States from this central location. Because they are a small, family-owned business, the firm notes, its overhead is kept low, and it allows them to offer the most competitive prices. As a small business, they say, we are nimble, flexible, and responsive to the needs of our customers. Matt Fitzgerald, director, Business Development, matt@nefood.net, 781.573.8806, cell: 508.728.4146, www.nefood.net
Mobile Air Filtration As the food service industry returns to serving in enclosed spaces, the overall issue of air quality is of increasing imporVISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET
CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEBER/OCTOBER 2020 39
AD INDEX Page No.
Black Creek Integrated Systems Corp. .......4, 11 Bob Barker....................43 California Coast University ..................26 Centurion .......................2 Endur ID Incorporated .............12 Institutional Eye Care ...42 Jones Zylon ....................... Keefe Group .................41 Key Storage ....................9 Keytrak, Inc...................15 Kiesler Police Supply ....42 Medi-Dose Company....23 Medi-Dose Company........4,6,14,26 Microtronic US .............35 OraLine, Inc. .................27 Reveal ...........................17 Securus Technologies ...29 StunCuff Enterprises, Inc. ..........6 TBN 2nd Chance ..........31 Totemic.........................42
Continued from page 14 In-vessel composters are also self contained and will efficiently turn food waste into compost within the vessel. These units require minimal electricity and have few moving parts to allow a long life. These systems have been around for over 20 years, and there are nine standard models with capacities that range from 350 pounds to 12 tons per week. Managing food waste also eliminates a pathway for vermin. In urban areas there is naturally the concern of maggots, flies, rats, and mice. In rural settings, there is also the matter of bears. On a hygienic matter, garbage when bagged still has moisture and seeps bacteria that can spread and be tracked into the facility causing other problems, a scenario that can be eliminated with a dehydrator or an in-vessel composter, notes the company. The people operating either system are receiving hands-on training in the fast growing green-collar job industry. Each system provides a different but natural product that can replace a petroleumbased fertilizer. Facilities can use it as a good will gesture and either sell it or give it to the public. The overall theme is that they are taking waste and turning it into something beneficial. If a facility has a greenhouse or a farm, the by-product can be used right on the premises. 804.728.0971, contact@totemicsolutions.com, www.totemicsolutionsllc.com/
TrinityServices Group, Inc. ..................5 Vistar Corporate ...........13 Western Detention.......21 Western Union ...............7 Wexford Health Sources ......................25 This advertisers index is provided as a service to our readers only. The publisher does not assume liability for errors or omissions. 40 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
Decontaminate Tainted Evidence Human mules bringing contraband to prisons has been an issue since the dawn of incarceration. Drugloo enables officers to recover banned substances from the feces of detainees without contamination of evidence and protect them from exposure to unpleasant substances. Its three options of Banned Substances Recovery
Equipment retrieve contraband as safely, hygienically, and benevolently as possible: Drugloo Ranger (portable), Drugloo Covert (hidden), and Drugloo Evolution (retrofit). John W. Baker, managing director of Drugloo International, says that while Drugloo units were originally designed to process drugs found in human mules, they now offer a wider range to law enforcement agencies and are used for drugs, weapons, explosives, mobile phones, SIM cards, diamonds, money, communications, and keys. With the Evolution, all aspects of the recovery procedure are controlled from the beginning of the sequence to the washing and retrieval of the packages. The operator does not have to manually handle any of the recovered substances. The interior of the recovery chamber is clearly visible at all times to maintain continuity of evidence. Discharged contraband is automatically transferred from the WC bowl/toilet into the washing/recovery chamber, and can be separated and recovered in a sanitary manner. The equipment compromises five pre-fabricated parts, which are easily bolted together on site: The Ranger portable banned substances recovery equipment is compact enough to be transported in a light van. This battery powered equipment has built-in water and waste tanks. It can be easily deployed and used in places where water, electricity, or waste services are not available. It offers hands-free washing and recovery similar to that of the Evolution. This provides maximum protection to the operative while allowing the contraband to be sterilized prior to recovery. The DrugLoo Covert was designed to be installed surreptitiously behind a standard WC and accessible from an adjoining room or large service duct. The design of this unit permits the WC to be used as normal but can
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be simply modified to intercept all items flushed down the WC/toilet. These can then be inspected and the items recovered. This unit is equipped with a water pumping and sanitizing unit to provide all the protection offered by the rest of the Drugloo range. (44) 01206 377300, sales@drugloo-international.com, www.drugloo-international.com/usa/
Secure OC Spray Cabinet Thomas Kaika, president of Key Systems, Inc. announces the release of the OC Spray Station, which will launch in September 2020. It was developed specifically for the detention market. The system allows correctional personnel to store and measure pepper spray, a problem facilities that have contacted KSI have faced. The questions floated regarding canis-
restrict access. KSI also offers the KSI® Smart ID Monitoring Devices so a facility’s assets can be monitored, thus providing peace of mind and safety. By adding these electronic ID capabilities to a facility’s assets, personnel can watch, secure, and inventory products with the Security Asset Manager™ cabinets and GFMS software. They also have the ability to manufacture custom smart attachments to fit a device. Capabilities include adhesion technology, shelf tracking systems, electronic access to assets, securing laptops, temperature monitoring, and antenna clamps tracking radio presence in lockers. 800.888.3553, web-sales@keystorage.com, www.keystorage.com
ters include: Where did they go? Who’s been using them? Are they full? The OC Spray Station is a solution for prisons and correctional facilities that rely on the safe handling and control of assets such as pepper spray. This station allows control over the distribution, storage, and removal-from-service for pepper spray canisters. Each station is network ready for remote access and provides real time updates to Global Facilities Management System™ (GFMS) software. The unit was developed like a key cabinet into which a person inputs a code to open it. Before the canister goes back in, it must be weighed. The unit is high tech with full access control software and can work from a computer, a server, or the cloud. All KSI products can be integrated, and access control can include various options including requiring a thumbprint. Cabinets are available for various sized canisters, including MK4. Dispensary and disposal cabinets are available in 24, 48, or 80 canister capacities. The OC canister is weighed on return by an integrated scale and then evaluated for return to dispensary or disposal cabinet. The KSI 2D bar codes allow for individual canister tracking. In addition to monitoring usage, GFMS™ software allows for the creation of quantity limits, time zones, and a variety of other functions to VISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET
CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEBER/OCTOBER 2020 41
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Silicone Games Available in Dominoes, Checkers and Chess • Flexible pieces don’t cause a loud noise when slammed onto a surface • Can’t be melted down and turned into other shapes • Lightweight pieces are a low risk for creating blunt force weapons
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PairIt Sandal Interchangeable to fit right or left foot comfortably • Lightweight 100% EVA material reduces the risk of being used as a weapon • Allows for easy bulk storage by size and quick distribution, no need to store pairs together • Mark-resistant, slip-resistant and water resistant 1-800-334-9880 www.bobbarker.com
42 CORRECTIONS FORUM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
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