What does an agency do when faced with a large technology expenditure that requires more bells and whistles than it can afford?

It looks within itself for a homegrown solution.

The Yakima County, Wash., Corrections Department participates in a regional contract to house inmates from other parts of the state, but as part of that participation the DOC also needed to install video visitation technology.

"We got together and did some research on what was available and we found a video conference unit. [But], we didn't feel it was appropriate to leave it where prisoners could get their hands on it," said Jim Barber, Network Operations Manager for Yakima County.

And here in lay the problem.

The county was already paying close to $600 each for the video units, which will ultimately number 300 across several facilities. On top of that, the high-end security cabinets for the units cost upwards of $10,000 each.

The DOC needed a cost-effective solution and looked to one of its own.

Corporal Joe Smith, who has a background in audio and video installation and his own cabinetry business, was selected to design secure, tamper-free cabinets to house and protect these video visitation units.

"Before I worked for the DOC I used to build machinery and I know how to put things together and how to design things. My prior experience is in building things. I have my own workshop where I do welding," Smith said.

Smith became part of a creative solution that will allow offenders to visit with their families and friends hundreds of miles, and over a mountain range, away.

Choosing the Technology

According to Barber, the video visitation equipment that will eventually be installed in 71 booths within DOC's facilities is provided by Polycom and includes a camera, computer and mouse. Cisco Systems provided the infrastructure backbone for the technology project.

"There are a couple of companies out there, but the problem was we didn't have the budget to be able to afford those systems. We were put in the position of doing it ourselves. We spent probably less than half [of what] it would have cost to purchase a turnkey system," said Barber.

Polycom's product, according to its Northwest Territory Manager Candace Johns, has previously been used for video arraignment and for telehealth remote diagnostics, but this was the first time the company provided equipment for jail video visitation.

Johns said the visitation process involves the visitor registering on their end at a computer as the contact is being set up through a call center and operator.

Barber explained that after visitors are confirmed through the system, then the operator locates the inmate and the officer in the unit escorts the offender to the visitation booth on the jail side and the visit begins.

But in order to make the booths complete, the jail needed special cabinets to protect the expensive equipment.

"The first thing these guys want to do is shake something off the wall or throw it. My experience in security tells me how strong these guys are. I've seen them break safety glass," said Smith.

The Design Process

Smith was involved with the video visitation project early on and knew the goals that his superiors had in mind.

"We all came together and after our first meeting I brought in a wooden model to scale with a computer and camera. They were like, "That is so cool,'" he said.

From there, Smith got started.

Each cabinet was designed and built in lightweight aluminum with a passive venting system. It has adjustable shelves so the computer or video screen can be moved as computer designs change and the glass is designed especially for this application. The tempered glass has two layers with clear plastic laminate in between.

"It had to be functional and very tough and there was nothing out there we could use. We went with some parameters -- it's not designed to be [grab-able] because of the oblique angles. There are stealth shapes that have sloped angles,' he said.

In addition, Smith built small "collectors" inside the cabinets that could hold liquid and move it away from the equipment inside if someone tried to pour it on the cabinet and damage the system.

Also, because he knew the population that would be using the visitation booths, Smith chose an exterior color and material that was lead-colored and textured, so that pencil marks and other graffiti would be difficult to draw on the surface.

In addition, Smith made some small modifications to the video visitation units for the Seattle locations where visitors would come. Smith sad those cabinets would be used by the public and needed the keyboard and mouse accessible, so he designed a small access hatch for those pieces of equipment.

Finally, to enhance the security of the audio components, the design modified the telephone handsets in the pay phone style with stainless steel encased cables to reduce potential tampering.

Smith said that the visitation booth project was the first extensive one he had done for the DOC and it seems to be successful thus far.

"They are working quite well. There hasn't been anyone [who has broken] into them. It's a lot of fun and I was thrilled to work on it," he said.

Resources:

Polycom, Candace Johns - 360-424-6828

Jim Barber - 509-574-1995

Joe Smith - 509-965-7596