Tidal Wave Telecom’s SecureVRS specifically provides jails and prisons with a corrections grade “video front end” which protects the public from unauthorized calls being made by deaf and hard-of-hearing inmates.
Westbrook acknowledges one of the biggest fears of any organization or department is implementing a new platform. But new interface technology allows facilities to utilize all their existing systems—CMMS, building management systems, financial systems, payroll, etc. “Their existing programs are rolled up into one interface that analyzes the information created by these varied systems. While there may be some adjustments in what or how data is captured, the major disruption and expense of retraining is avoided.” He furthers, “As these data integration systems make information easier to gather, problems become evident earlier and are easier to address. Additionally, facilities’ operations teams will spend less time proving there is a problem and, therefore, will be able to focus effort on process improvement to eliminate the problems.” Improving processes is the underlying enhancement to offender management systems (OMS) that serve new directives. “Legislative trends are contributing to a decline in the numbers of persons under institutional confinement and are resulting in more persons paying their debts to society under community supervision programs,” says John Lowry, senior product manager, Product Management at GTL. The more significant trends include sentence adjustments, addressing the specific needs of each offender, and putting emphasis on education and reentry planning. He explains that 30 CORRECTIONS FORUM • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
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