Nevada lawmakers advanced a plan Thursday that would allow some state prison inmates — who lost the use of personal typewriters starting in 2007 — limited access to the Internet. Story from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Currently, inmates can’t use the Internet but have access to electronic library materials on CD-ROMs. Under AB34, they could get e-mail from approved senders, take online classes and access an electronic law library. They also could videoconference with state Parole Board commissioners for hearings, virtually visit with doctors and buy items such as digital music files. The bill, which provides for monitoring of all e-mail traffic by prison staffers, was advanced to the full Assembly by the Committee on Corrections, Parole and Probation.
The plan is to set up kiosks where inmates could access incoming e-mails from approved senders and download MP3 digital files for a price. State Corrections Director Howard Skolnik said that secure types of kiosks are available on the market and used in prisons in other states. “It’s the new technology,” said Skolnik. “We are aware of at least 14 states that have already implemented this type of programming. It’s bringing us into the 21st century, and I think the 21st century is a good place to be” …
The committee vote on the bill was 10-4. The opponents … questioned whether the change could impact prison security.”
There is more detail in the story at the San Francisco Chronicle.
vericatrajkova Inmate Mail, Nevada
Johnson County MO Jail officials have restricted the kinds of mail that can be sent or received to inmates, according to the Kansas City Star.
It’s too much trouble to check mail at the Johnson County jail, officials say, so as of next month, inmates can’t receive or send letters in envelopes. They will be able, though, to send and get postcards or privileged legal mail, the sheriff’s office announced Monday.
The change followed a study on the amount of mail and contraband associated with it. Every piece of mail coming into or leaving the jail has to be inspected, deputies said, and the amount of mail could more than double with an upcoming jail expansion.
vericatrajkova Inmate Mail
To keep inmates from stealing typewriters and turning them into weapons, Nevada lawmakers are considering a plan that would allow some state prison inmates limited access to the Internet. Report from Fox5Vegas.
Under AB34, the Nevada Prison Board would be [authorized] to set up kiosks where inmates could access incoming e-mail from approved senders, take online classes, download MP3 digital files and access an electronic law library.All the e-mail traffic could be monitored by prison staffers. Prison officials said that secure types of kiosks are available on the market, and used in prisons in other states.Currently, inmates can’t use the Internet, but have access to electronic library materials on CD-ROMs. They have had access to typewriters for documents since 2007. Officials are considering the plan [following] a decision that has led to the confiscation of hundreds of portable typewriters from inmates over the past two years, which could be sharpened into dangerous weapons.
vericatrajkova Inmate Mail, Nevada
The Iowa Department of Corrections has launched a pilot project that allows inmates at the Mitchellville state women’s prison to correspond with family and friends via e-mail.
The 600 inmates won’t be able to send e-mails for now, but prison officials say that could be an option in the future if computer work stations are established using secure software. For now, the staff gets printouts of the e-mails and delivers them to inmates. The test period began on Jan. 1. “This is a pretty big step for us,” Corrections Director John Baldwin told the Iowa Board of Corrections last week. “We will see where it leads us” …
The messages are screened by computer and are held if they fail security requirements. Each e-mail sent to inmates will cost the sender 25 cents, paid through a credit card account. The Mitchellville facility is the only state prison in Iowa to offer e-mail services for inmates.
Much more on this proposal in the Chicago Tribune.
vericatrajkova Female Inmates, Inmate Mail, Iowa
North Dakota’s corrections department is setting up an electronic mail system for inmates this fall, to provide what officials hope will be a cheaper and less troublesome option for keeping in touch.
Three companies are competing for a contract to establish an electronic mail network for North Dakota’s adult prison system, which includes facilities in Bismarck and Jamestown; a county-run women’s lockup in New England; and the Youth Correctional Center in Mandan, which houses juvenile offenders … Pat Branson, deputy warden at the main state penitentiary in Bismarck, said the company that is selected will offer accounts to friends and family members who want to send messages to inmates. Prisoners will be able to write only to people who are on an approved list. Electronic mail messages sent to inmates will be printed on paper and delivered to them, Branson said. The inmates then will use the paper to write or type a reply, which will be scanned and sent to the recipient. The system will not replace traditional mail and phone calls, and it will not give prisoners access to the Internet, Branson said. ”Inmates don’t have computers, nor will they be getting computers,” he said.
… Prison officials prefer electronic mail because the messages to inmates can be checked more easily for coded language or certain words that could indicate illegal activity, Branson said. The paper used to write regular letters also is sometimes permeated with cocaine, methamphetamine or other drugs. With electronic mail, ”we don’t have to open up envelopes, we don’t have to check the inside of envelopes for contraband,” Branson said. ”You don’t even want to know how contaminated the mail is that is going into correctional facilities.”
… One of the three companies competing for North Dakota’s business, Advanced Technologies Group Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa, operates the e-mail system used by federal inmates. The other two are KiteMail.net Inc., of Van Nuys, Calif., and JPay Inc., of Miami.
More details from Minot Daily News.
vericatrajkova Inmate Mail, North Dakota