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| Computers Give Inmates New Lifeline |
| By Tampa Bay Online |
| Published: 08/15/2005 |
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Once arrested, a new jail inmate realizes quickly it's better to learn the ropes from an old-timer so all that time behind bars goes as smoothly as possible. It can mean such things as knowing which corrections officers are tough task masters and learning whether the chicken casserole really tastes like chicken. At the Hillsborough County, Fla., Sheriff's Office's Falkenburg Road Jail, Elias Morales learned something he didn't expect from fellow inmate Jose Ortiz: how to use a computer program. Morales is serving a 364-day sentence for car theft and aggravated fleeing. After a stint in lockdown, he was moved three weeks ago to Falkenburg's housing unit 4-Alpha. There, the department has placed one of two touch-screen computers inside kiosk cabinets in a pilot program. Jan Bates, the inmate programs manager, said it is unlike any other in the country. Some jails and prisons allow inmates access to electronic prison libraries or to order commissary items, but none have installed anything quite like this program, she said. Launched March 30, the two computers relieve corrections officers stationed in the two 72-person pods of digging up answers to endless questions about what criminal charges an inmate faces, what's on the menu, making canteen orders and scheduling visitations. The existing paper form system takes days to deliver an inmate's items from the canteen. The kiosks cut that time to about a day and a half and instantly track and display an inmate's available canteen funds. The software was written by the department's in-house programmer, Mark Horvath. He was inspired by touch- screen computers he had seen at restaurants and theme parks. The package is ``antiquated, but unique,'' he said, adding that inmates cannot access the computer's base Microsoft Windows operating system or the Internet. Initially, inmates in the two pods were trained by a corrections officer. Afterward, the inmates were left to train one another. By the end of 2006, the department intends to operate about 64 kiosks, or one in each pod at Falkenburg, the Orient Road Jail and the work release facility on Orient Road. Bids for cabinet construction will be accepted beginning this week. The computer equipment to be purchased falls under an existing government contract. Each unit should cost about $2,000. The project has taken nearly four years to bring together. One of the simplest tasks performed by the kiosks, displaying menus, makes mornings easier for those who want to sleep in, Morales said. They can check the breakfast menu the day before. Inmates can read updated lists of local bond agents, register for jail job skill programs or educational classes and order religious reading materials. They log in to the system using their booking number and the last four digits of their Social Security number. As of Aug. 4, inmates had logged in 24,393 times. About half either ordered items from the canteen or checked their ``gain time,'' days deducted from a sentence for labor performed at the jail. Applications to be installed will enable inmates to request nonemergency medical visits, get information on community services available after release and e-mail their public defenders. Inmates are allotted 15 minutes per day at the kiosk. After that, the system logs them off.. |
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