PA County Jail Gets New Phone System
The good news for Monroe County PA Correctional Facility inmates is they will pay less for phone calls. The bad news, as far as inmates are concerned, is that it will be easier for law enforcement to detect discussions of illegal activities.
The Monroe County Commissioners agreed Wednesday to award a new inmate phone system contract … including a new capability to pick out key words from recorded conversations. That feature will make life easier for detectives at the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office who routinely review inmate recordings. It’s legal and admissible in court. When they make calls, inmates are warned their conversations will be recorded. Calls to attorneys about their criminal cases are exempt; inmates provide staff with a list of those numbers.
Currently detectives spend hours each month listening to calls recorded on software. But the new system is capable of picking out key words, such as references to drug use or possible threats of physical harm. “It will search any kind of street name for drugs,” MCCF Sgt. Will Searfoss said during a Monroe County Prison Board meeting earlier this month. “It learns the dialect of the prisoner.”
… The recording systems — the current one and the approved upgrade — don’t cost taxpayers anything. It is paid for from inmate funds posted to cover phone calls and other items they purchase at the Snydersville jail.