The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office now has a partnership with Securus Technologies which will bring technology to the inmates at the Adult Detention Center. The launch of this technology aimed at preparing the incarcerated with 21st century skills to help them have a successful future. Inmates are now able to use tablets to help advance their education, and gain new skills while they are incarcerated.
The sheriff’s office is equipped with a digital toolkit made up of the SecureView® Tablet as well as Digital Mail Center and in August, will be adding eMessaging, all from Securus Technologies. Securus offers the community tablets for free, and Sheriff Lamb says they occupy the time of the incarcerated in productive ways and allows inmates to have access to better opportunities. One example is the job search application, which is powered by Securus’ Jobview application. This tool is intuitive and requires no staff intervention. In addition to the job search, it also has applications that give those access to the phone, education, mental health, and the law library.
The SecureView® Tablet Make Mine program helps improve facility efficiencies by providing personal access to make phone calls and search for jobs as well as giving greater access to books, educational materials and other content. The educational offerings are the top interest of facility leadership. PCSO believes having a healthy and strong support system is a good way for offenders to get back on the right path. So being able to keep in touch with their children and loved ones is so important. The tablets have the capability to make phone calls allowing a better opportunity to stay in touch with loved ones and adds that regular communication also helps reduce stress in the jail population.
From a security standpoint - the threat of contraband is one reason why the Pinal County Sheriff's Office looked for an alternative to regular mail. For example, Sheriff Lamb explains that fentanyl is now more prevalent with drug dealers and the cartel. Synthetic fentanyl is sold illegally as a powder, which can be inhaled or airborne and put officers in danger who are hand inspecting paper mail.
Pinal County also introduced Securus’ eMessaging. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office’s Adult Detention center houses an average of 500 inmates a day. The tablets are monitored and the inmates are aware that their activities and all forms of conversations are monitored, which is standard practice at all detention facilities.
