Support for in-person visitation continues to grow

From state and federal legislation to the press, support for in-person visits continues to grow.

by Bernadette Rabuy, February 1, 2017

In a January 2015 report, we discovered that 74% of jails that adopt video visitation go on to ban in-person visits. Fortunately, the movement to protect in-person visits from video technology has continued to grow. Here are some recent developments we wanted to share:

• New Jersey legislation, A4389, that would protect in-person jail visits and require that video visits cost no more than $0.11/minute unanimously passed the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee.
• An editorial from Maine’s Bangor Daily News called on Maine to follow Texas’ lead and ensure that jails maintain in-person visits, for the benefit of prisoners and their families, and, ultimately, the state.
• Fifty-two organizations nationwide signed on to support the Video Visitation in Prisons Act introduced by Senator Tammy Duckworth. The Act would require the Federal Communications Commission to regulate video visits. It would also require that the Bureau of Prisons continue to provide in-person visits and only use video technology as a supplement to in-person visitation.

  Additionally, over 40,000 individuals have signed a Care2 petition in support of Senator Duckworth’s Video Visitation in Prisons Act. You can still sign.