Video-only prison visits to be introduced in Texas jails?

ADDISON, Texas - A Texas company has found profit in replacing face-to-face prison visits with video-only visitation that charges callers by the minute, reports CBS Houston.

Securus Technologies markets its video system as a convenient tool for distant family members to interact with incarcerated members of their family.

The Texas Observer reports that the company charges callers as much as a dollar a minute for its video services, with the jails receiving a 20 to 25 percent cut of the revenue. Several prisons reportedly plan to eliminate face-to-face visitation altogether, replacing them with the video visitation system.

In Austin, however, the technology is already causing problems. A lawsuit against the Travis County Jail claims Securus was unlawfully recording conversations between prisoners and their attorneys - and then leaking the video to the prosecutor's office, according to CBS Houston.

On Sept. 9, the Dallas County Commissioners Court unanimously rejected a proposal that would have ended all face-to-face visits with prisoners at the Dallas County Jail after a series of complaints from prisoners' rights groups.

"It is very important that we do not profit on the backs of inmates in the jail," says Commissioner Elba Garcia, according to the station.

A report from the Grassroots Leadership and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition notes that personal visits improve jail security and lower recidivism rates, reports the station.

"Video-only visitation policies ignore best practices that call for face-to-face visits to foster family relationships," the report argues. "They advance arguments about security that are dubious, not rooted in research, and may be counter-productive."

According to the station, the Commissioners Court has renewed contract negotiations with Securus at the Dallas County Jail.