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| PB County opens inmate visitation center |
| By Cynthia Roldan , Palm Beach Post Staff Writer, palmbeachpost.com |
| Published: 04/14/2011 |
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Law enforcement officials have long believed that the system for allowing family to visit incarcerated loved ones needed an overhaul. By using phones equipped with video cameras, they saw the potential to provide family members with a better visitation environment. They saw the opportunity to prevent visitors from sneaking contraband into jails. And they saw a chance to save money. Today, the county will debut its new Central Visitation Center, where family and friends can video-visit inmates who are being held at the West Detention Center in Belle Glade. The center will save money by eliminating the costs of building visiting rooms and the manpower it takes to run them. It also will allow families to visit without making the long drive to Belle Glade. "This is a civilian thing," said Fred Wagoner, manager of the visitation center. "This whole thing is here just to make people feel at ease." The center, located on Process Drive, between Southern Boulevard and Belvedere Road, is staffed by 10 people, including Wagoner, three clerks and six correctional support personnel. It cost $5 million to build, and an additional $1.7 million was spent on installing video systems at both the Central center and West Detention Center. The Central Visitation Center's scheduling system allows visitors to make an appointment from any computer. Visits can last up to one hour and can be done twice a week. An electronic clock counts down the remaining time and an electronic message reminds visitors that their conversation is being recorded. If the visit is canceled, the system notifies the visitor. The center will be open to the public from Thursday through Sunday. Currently, the only jail using the video system is the West Detention Center in Belle Glade. Eventually, the county's Main Detention Center, in West Palm Beach, will also be retrofitted with the video visitation system. Read More. |
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