3rd Party Remote Call Monitoring Feature

The issue of calls from jail has long been a difficult one. The balance of protecting people from the potentially illegal activities mentioned in calls against the value of inmates being able to call family and friends is tough to strike, and technology has only gone so far. A report from Hanover, Pennsylvania, news outlet The Evening Sun describes how Adams County Adult Correctional Complex is turning to a new tool from phone system provider DSI-ITI in a bid to help strike this balance more effectively.

DSI-ITI and the Adams County Adult Correctional Complex have been working together for more than 10 years now, reports noted, and now, the facility is set for a fairly substantial upgrade. As described by DSI-ITI business manager Alyssa Harris, all those tools that have been in use for the last five years are set to be upgraded, including a new call monitoring system designed to hunt for specific key words in conversations. DSI-ITI describes how just under four percent of recorded calls are actually checked by authorities, meaning that a lot of potentially valuable information is going by the wayside.

With the new software, though, specific words can be spotted and alerts can be routed to officials for further action as required. This is said to be unrelated to an incident involving an “active shooter” at the facility, and reports note that the five-year extension to current agreements is valued at around $44,000, all told.

There's seldom anything wrong with adding call recording to an operation, especially one like this. Having the necessary tools to monitor conversations is an important part of jail operations, particularly when it can be reduced down so far. Conversations aren't really monitored this way, but rather, checked for specific terms in advance by software. That actually helps inmate calls have more privacy; a call home that doesn't contain specific terms won't be heard by human ears other than those involved in the conversation. Yet at the same time, it helps address that 96 percent of calls going unmonitored, and that's a welcome development. It may not be a help, though, now that it's publicly addressed; code words could easily go in place of certain things. Substitute “recliner” for “murder” and suddenly a whole potential line of inquiry is lost.

We know the value of allowing inmates to make phone calls. That contact with the outside world reminds said convicts that there's a world waiting for same to return to, and as such, it often encourages better behavior and the necessary motivation for change. Impeding this valuable tool in any way strips it of its value, and represents a major loss of opportunity. But it needs to be done in a fashion where it's not an invitation to carry on criminal behavior, and so some degree of monitoring needs to take place.

The balance between protecting others and allowing for contact with the outside world is one that's always been tough to strike, but with tools like this in place, we could be a lot closer to a much more effective balance than previously seen.