# Are there jails/prisons which allow 'skype-like' video conferencing with inmates? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177 "2017-09-12T16:45:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/1 "2017-09-12T16:45:29Z")
Are there ways that friends and family can easily video conference with prisoners? I know that prisoners have access to phones and they can have visitors at the prison, but it seems like it would also be beneficial if it was easier for the family to keep in touch. Visiting at the prison seems like a huge hassle. First you have to travel to the prison, then you have to wait and go through the search process. I’m sure that puts a strain on the family, and kids especially are likely to not want to keep in touch. If there was a way to communicate more easily, I would think it would help keep those relationships strong. I have heard of some prisons having on-site video conferencing between prisoners and visitors, but that’s to keep them physically separated. Both video terminals are at the prison and the the visitor still has to travel to the prison to access the video terminal. Of course, there would be lots of issues to work out. It might be a problem if visitors were allowed to connect from anywhere using their own devices. But it seems like there could be video terminals in government locations like police stations, courthouses, social services, etc. This would allow family to stay in touch with much greater convenience. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/2 "2017-09-12T18:32:47Z")
The only time I ever saw a prisoner participating in a video call was for legal purposes like a hearing. I never saw it being done for social contact. That said, I retired eight years ago. Maybe things have changed. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/3 "2017-09-12T19:05:54Z")
In some jails the systems that allow you to have a video visit from inside the jail also allow you to connect from home for a price. > **[Video Calls Replace In-Person Visits In Some Jails](https://www.npr.org/2016/12/05/504458311/video-calls-replace-in-person-visits-in-some-jails)** > > Video visitation is growing in popularity at U.S. jails, but there's a catch: Many jails have ended in-person visits between inmates and their families as they adopt the new technology. > [@](#): > > Jails stand to make a profit by adopting this type of visitation. If families do a video visit at the jail, it’s free, but if they do it from their home computer, it can cost $1 per minute. Securus promised the Cheshire County Jail a 20 percent cut of the thousands of dollars those fees bring in — that cut totaled $2,500 for the jail last year. The county paid $30,000 to install the video system ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/4 "2017-09-12T19:52:50Z")
Yes indeed. I’ve seen it in action at the Indianapolis Women’s Prison. The system they used was called J-Pay, which also allowed for (screened) emails. It’s sort of a scam in that it costs much more than a free person would pay for the same service. Same with the special radios/TVs they make prisoners buy–they must have a clear case so that contraband can’t be hidden, but you’re still paying well above a store price. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/5 "2017-09-12T21:57:55Z")
Yes, the prices for prison phone service are outrageous. But it’s the free market at work. The state puts the program up for public bidding and private companies bid for the right to manage the program. The state takes whichever company offers the most money. Would you want the state to accept a lower bid? Of course, a company that submits a high bid is planning on recouping its costs by setting prices high. That’s how capitalism works. Back when I started working, the prisons ran the phone programs directly. It was part of the general phone system and prisoners paid the same amount of money for phone calls that anyone else would pay. But then people decided privatization was a great idea and prisons should contract out for services. The result is a lot of private companies are not making a profit out of doing things prisons used to do cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/6 "2017-09-12T22:09:10Z")
I’ve seen it in our sole urban prison. Family members can go to that site and visit via skype-style setup with their loved ones who are housed at prisons far removed from that city. I know no further details about it though. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/7 "2017-09-12T22:19:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Of course, a company that submits a high bid is planning on recouping its costs by setting prices high. That’s how capitalism works. Monopolies and price gouging are also how capitalism works without regulations against them. In the example I linked it says that the private company requires the prison to agree not to allow any in-person visits as part of the contract. All visitation has to be done through their system at a buck a minute. I can’t think of a more literal example of a ‘captive audience’ than prisoners and their families. Of course going to prison is all about losing some personal liberties, but when you add a profit motive to the equation it starts to look less like punishment or rehabilitation and more like taking advantage of prisoners and their families because they have no other choice. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/8 "2017-09-13T03:07:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Would you want the state to accept a lower bid? > . Here’s a Wikipdedia article about [Straw Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man) arguments. what I would like is for the state to specify reasonable contract conditions, which aren’t destructive and unjust. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/9 "2017-09-13T05:15:14Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Here’s a Wikipdedia article about [Straw Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man) arguments. > > what I would like is for the state to specify reasonable contract conditions, which aren’t destructive and unjust. How is this a straw man argument? I’m describing what actually happens. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/10 "2017-09-13T05:21:48Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Monopolies and price gouging are also how capitalism works without regulations against them. In the example I linked it says that the private company requires the prison to agree not to allow any in-person visits as part of the contract. All visitation has to be done through their system at a buck a minute. > > I can’t think of a more literal example of a ‘captive audience’ than prisoners and their families. Of course going to prison is all about losing some personal liberties, but when you add a profit motive to the equation it starts to look less like punishment or rehabilitation and more like taking advantage of prisoners and their families because they have no other choice. I agree it would be wrong if a private company was able to dictate terms like forbidding visits or requiring prisoners to make a mandatory number of calls each month. But that doesn’t happen in New York. The state sets up the parameters of the phone system it wants; a certain number of phones per prisoner, how many locations will have phones, how many hours of service must be available, service contracts, etc. Then once the state had described what it wants, private companies look over the description and submit bids on how much they will pay to provide the service as described. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/11 "2017-09-13T14:36:14Z")
It’s good to hear there are some video conferencing options, but it’s too bad that they are so expensive. The people who could most benefit from using it likely can’t afford it. While I can understand the benefits of having a private company manage the whole thing, why isn’t something more off-the-shelf used? Why not something more like what we all use all the time for our own video conferencing–regular computers and tablets over the internet with Skype? ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/12 "2017-09-13T16:30:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Yes, the prices for prison phone service are outrageous. But it’s the free market at work. The state puts the program up for public bidding and private companies bid for the right to manage the program. The state takes whichever company offers the most money. Would you want the state to accept a lower bid? > (snipped) That is a terrible example of “free market”. The fundamental of a free market is providers compete for the consumer. The consumers in this case are the prisoners (and their families) and I don’t see them having any choice at all. How is this free market? This is the very definition of a command economy. The government chooses the only provider that benefits themselves - not the consumer. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/13 "2017-09-13T16:33:47Z")
> [@ashtayk](#): > > That is a terrible example of “free market”. The fundamental of a free market is providers compete for the consumer. The consumers in this case are the prisoners (and their families) and I don’t see them having any choice at all. How is this free market? > > This is the very definition of a command economy. The government chooses the only provider that benefits themselves - not the consumer. Yes, the state using its mandate power to sell a monopoly is the very opposite of free market. (In fact, reminiscent of the sort of behavior that led to the American revolution) Plus, one has to ask what is involved in qualifying to bid for the option. I suspect the barriers to entry are such that it also creates the opposite of free market. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/14 "2017-09-13T18:31:57Z")
The reason to use a specialized system is for security. The machines are out in the open so it’s a little hard to imagine what secrets might be passed in a video chat, maybe a little easier to see how email might be used to communicate in a bad way unless it is monitored. Still seems to me there’s a price-gouge happening, but I don’t know the economics of it. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-jails-prisons-which-allow-skype-like-video-conferencing-with-inmates/796177/15 "2017-09-13T18:50:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But it’s the free market at work. LOL. Yeah, the free market, alright! “Bid for this contract, and if you win, you will have a (literally) captive audience, with no competition and no incentive to improve services.”