Court Video Conference
The costs of handling, transporting and arraigning prisoners in a timely fashion are high. Many counties have enabled video conference technology to save time and taxpayer dollars. VIA3 from VIACK allows local and federal courts to hold live and secure proceedings over the Internet using video conference technology. Learn how court video conference systems can alleviate county budgets and safety concerns.
Court Video Conference Saves Tax Payers Money
In 2004 there were 1.5 million inmates in prison. As the number of people in the prison systems continues to increase, the costs related to transporting and arraigning inmates has soared to astronomical levels. Fortunately, leading court video conference technologies can ease these costs for justice departments, by providing secure and affordable real-time communication between attorneys, defendants and judges – all without transporting detainees to court sites.
According to the county sheriff in Chatham County, GA, more than 14,000 inmates were transported during the previous year. By implementing a court video conference solution, the county realized savings in time, money, gas and resources. Furthermore, time spent by deputies who used to restrain inmates and transport them to and from the court site could use their time for more productive activities.
During the first months of the program, department officials have already experienced significant benefits. Arraignment, a process that used to take more than an hour, could now be done in less than 20 minutes.
Savings were also realized in the state of West Virginia, where technical staff explored using court video conference software because the regional jail system was spending millions of dollars transporting inmates for initial court room appearances. On average, it took four to nine staff hours to transport a prisoner from the jail to the magistrate court. Within the first year of using court video conferencing, the Supreme Court saved the state $30 million in transportation costs.
In addition to using the audio and video capabilities, courts can use online file cabinets that are offered by leading collaboration vendors to share and store private data on the detainee. Instead of faxing papers from the courts to the prison, these documents are now stored electronically and can only be accessed by those who have been granted permission.
Court Video Conference Improves Courthouse Safety
At a federal level, it’s actually a law - the 1996 Prison Litigation Reform Act—that federal courts, "to the extent practicable," conduct prison condition pretrial proceedings "in which the prisoner's participation is required or permitted" by telephone, video conference, or other telecommunications technology, without removing the petitioner from the prison facility. With the phenomenal increase of Internet use after the law went into effect, online court video conference tools can now be included in that list.
At jails, for example, detainees can sit in a dedicated and secure conference room, with a computer equipped with a real time secure communications tool, and communicate online with the judge located back in his/her office, at home or traveling with a laptop. The jail brings the hardware (computer, headset, and camera) into the conference room so the hearing can occur with full audio, video and information sharing.
Not only does a court video conference solution save tremendously on transportation costs, it eliminates the physical security threat that such a transport can cause; makes it convenient for the judge to participate in the hearing regardless of location; and protects the detainee’s dignity by receiving his/her hearing with all communication and related documentation protected from unwanted detection or intrusions.
Benefits of using online collaboration for routine court proceedings include:
- Reducing potential safety concerns
- Mitigating the risk of potential inmate escapes
- Reducing costs of transportation
- Allowing for reallocation of police and law enforcement resources whose time could be applied to stopping crimes or saving lives
- Protecting and maintaining the rights of individuals
- Speeding up the legal process
Learn more about how your local court system can utilize online video conference software to save time and money. To find out more about VIA3 from VIACK, its security features and capabilities, contact us today.
