Madison County Detention Center Implements GTL Services
By CN Staff
RICHMOND, Ky.— GTL recently announced that the Madison County Detention Center in Richmond has installed a new inmate telephone system to increase meaningful connections between inmates and their loved ones.
“Starting today, GTL is the new inmate communication provider for the Madison County Detention Center,” said Jailer Steve Tussey. “This new, intuitive technology not only better connects friends and family members to their incarcerated loved ones, it also provides security and investigation capabilities to the jail that allows us to increase security and safety.”
Over the next few weeks, the Detention Center will also begin GTL’s Inspire inmate tablet program to provide further services to inmates and their loved ones. The tablets will provide communication, entertainment, and other applications, including the ability to participate in on-site and remote video visitation. Remote video visitation, offered in addition to on-site visitation, is an accessible method that allows friends, family, and professional visitors to stay connected to inmates by initiating video chats from the convenience of their tablet, computer, or mobile device. Inmates can answer video chat requests right from their housing unit. Friends and family members of inmates who would like to participate in these visitation sessions may do so by creating an account on GettingOut.
“Allowing inmates to conduct video visits from their housing units decreases the need for inmate movement, which reduces the opportunity for contraband distribution and makes our facility safer and more efficient,” concluded Jailer Tussey. “This new service is safer for my staff and offers convenience to an inmate’s friends and family members, so they don’t have to travel to the facility to visit with their loved one.”
“Studies have shown that increased communication with loved ones lessens the risk of a released inmate reoffending and returning to prison,” said Matthew Caesar, GTL Executive Vice President, Customer Solutions & Information Systems. “We believe that Madison County Detention Center has taken the right steps to increase communication and open up pathways that were not available before by implementing technology that meets the needs of inmates, their friends and family members, and the Detention Center’s staff.”