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In This Issue
Cell Phones/Inmate Telephone Issues
Drug/Alcohol
Electronic Monitoring
Video Tele-presence
Information Technology
Offender Computer Use
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Welcome to the May, 2013 issue of the Corrections Technology Center of Excellence monthly Newsletter. 


If you would no longer like to receive this newsletter, there is an unsubscribe option at the bottom of this email.

 Cell Phones/Inmate Telephone Issues

 

The National Institute of Justice's 2013 Technology Institute for Corrections will be held on August 27-29, 2013, in Annapolis, MD.  This Institute is dedicated to the issue of contraband cell phones in correctional facilities.  For more information and to apply please click here: 

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The  Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently released a notice of proposed rulemaking which includes a number of steps intended to remove barriers to the deployment and viability of existing and future technologies used to combat contraband wireless devices.  Feedback on the proposed rulemaking is desired.

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According to this report online at  WSBTV News, a Georgia inmate, already convicted once before for organizing armed robberies using a contraband cell phone while incarcerated, is suspected in another crime again facilitated by a cell phone.

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The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has implemented a managed access system at the Metropolitan Transition Center, according to this report in the Baltimore Sun.  The prison is adjacent to the Baltimore City Detention Center which is under scrutiny following indictments alleging that gang leaders organized a lucrative smuggling ring from the jail, placing orders and receiving payments using contraband cell phones.  

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The Ohio Department of Corrections wants the state to approve the purchase of 33 free-standing cell phone detectors.  According to this article appearing in the Columbus Dispatch, the agency wants to buy the CellSense detectors to help find contraband cell phones in its facilities. 

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According to this NBC-Connecticut report, the Connecticut Department of Corrections is using K-9's to combat contraband cell phones.

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Inmates across the country are blatantly using contraband cell phones to make posts on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.  

 

This Baltimore Sun article describes such activity that appears to have been generated by an inmate at the Baltimore City Detention Center.

 

According to the WSMV-News website, the Tennessee Department of Correction launched investigations in 14 prisons and disciplined 70 inmates following a news report that showed inmates using drugs and partying behind bars and showing it off on Facebook.

Drug/Alcohol

The 24/7 Sobriety Program has made quite a bit  of news recently.  The program, which keeps alcohol-related criminals out of jail and instead subjects them to daily breathalyzers or mandates them to wear an alcohol monitoring anklet was first implemented in South Dakota and has been successfully adopted by other states. 

 

This article appearing in the Sioux City Journal  describes the success in South Dakota, where the program was first established in 2005.

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The Wyoming Star Tribune reports that Wyoming legislators are interested in implementing the 24/7 Sobriety Program in their state. 

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According to the Belgrade News, the program has been a great success in Gallatin County, Montana since it began one year ago.  Originally targeting DUI offenders,  new legislation has passed to expand the 24/7 Sobriety Program to other offenses where alcohol was a contributing factor.

Electronic Monitoring

  

According to this article appearing on NewsNet5, a parolee in Ohio tracked with an offender monitoring device was captured in a store surveillance video during a burglary.  The parolee's device has since linked to more than 20 crimes based on his location data.  


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Citing concerns over how well the technology works, Wisconsin legislators have erased the Governor's plan to expand GPS monitoring for domestic violence offenders statewide.  The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the state's budget committee instead voted to dedicate a much smaller amount of funding to counties to create pilot programs to test how well GPS works for domestic violence offenders.  The committee has already voted to require the state's Legislative Council to study the effectiveness of the existing GPS program which primarily tracks sex offenders.

 

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The 140 sex offenders under life-time electronic monitoring in South Carolina will have an opportunity to appeal their sentence.  This
Associated Press  article discussed the state Supreme Court's ruling that allows offenders to petition for relief a decade after their sentence and every five years thereafter.

 

 
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Orange County (FL) has restored its GPS monitoring program for pretrial defendants according to  13 News.  The program, previously operated by a private provider,  was suspended in April after two defendants separately committed serious violent crimes and it was later determined that the provider did not provide timely notice of violations to the courts.  The father of one of the victims is outspoken in his criticism of the technology.

Video Tele-presence 

 

The Colorado Department of Corrections and Denver Health Medical Center are launching a telemedicine pilot program in June for incarcerated patients.  According to this article appearing in  Government Technology consultations in the areas of rheumatology, infectious disease, orthopedics and general surgery will occur using high-definition video conferencing instead of office visits.

 

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Researchers from Yale University, working in conjunction with the Association of State Correctional Administrators, recently released the findings from the first fifty-state survey of prison visitation policies. The research explores the contours of how prison administrators exercise their discretion to prescribe when and how prisoners may have contact with friends and family.  The use of video-visitation is specifically addressed.
Information Technology

Parole officers in Georgia are using technology to transition from brick and mortar offices to mobile-based offices.  This Gainesville Times article describes how officers are using laptops, portable printers and smart phones to get their work done in the field.

Offender Computer Use

The American Probation & Parole Association is presenting a webinar on Managing the Risks Posed by Probationer/Parolee Computer Use.  The webinar will be held on June 5 from 2:00 - 3:00pm Eastern Time.   For more information and to register please follow this link:

 

http://www.appa-net.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?webcode=IIIB_TSO-Detail&Reg_evt_key=b3e530e7-a09d-4392-9310-e728d057af30