King County to allow video jailhouse visits
Jun 18, 2014, 8:00 AM
The county is putting in a $1 million video system that will allow remote jailhouse visits. (MyNorthwest.com Photo/File)
(MyNorthwest.com Photo/File)
King County could be on the verge of eliminating in person jailhouse visits. A new video system is being installed.
The county is putting in a $1 million video system that will allow remote jailhouse visits.
The Seattle Times reports people approved for visits will be able to download free software to their home computers to access the remote video system.
Inmates will sit in visitation rooms for the video chats. The sessions will be recorded just like phone calls. Each inmate will get one free 25 minute session a week. Additional chats will be $12.95.
The county hopes to extend the service to smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.
This would be a cost-saver for the county because supervising in-person visits is expensive.
The system should be up and running in a few months.
