8/14/2008 - By JANELLE STECKLEIN
Herald-Banner Staff

GREENVILLE - On an average day, the Hunt County Jail receives more than 300 calls and inquiries from people seeking information.

Today, all of those calls will be answered by jail employees.

"(The more calls,) the less people you have on the floors," said Jail Administrator Curtis Neel.

But, in late February or early March that will change as those wanting information on Hunt County's inmates or jail will have a new and more efficient way to get that information. Busy signals will be a thing of the past.

"If I'm the public, then I don't want to be put on hold," said Securus Territory Manager Heather White.

That won't be a problem starting in late February or early March as callers and inmates seeking information will use a new system called the Automated Information System.

The system will allow callers to state an inmate's name and then get a variety of public information - including, but not limited to, whether an person is at the Hunt County Jail, when an inmate's next hearing is, when visitation is, what the inmate has been arrested for and what an individual's bail is - by a press of a button.

Each jail can choose what information it wants to release to the public, White said.

"We want to try to get as much information (out to the public) as we can," said Neel.

The system, which is being provided by Securus Technologies, is in about 3,000 jails nationwide, said Jim Sidler, senior director of product management, marketing and communications for Securus. Locally, the Wise County Jail uses the system and in the next few weeks, Rockwall County will also start using the same system, Sidler said.

One of the biggest benefits of the new program, Sidler said, is that people will get information instantly and won't have to wait for a human counterpart to look it up.

"It increases communication," he said, noting that studies have shown the better the communication, the lower the recidivism rate.

Neel said the technology will allow him to have more staff on the floor as most won't be tied up answering hundreds of calls anymore.

But for those that don't like automated machines, there will still be a person available to speak to, Neel said.

The system will also benefit Hunt County inmates.

Instead of the current process of having to write information requests on a piece of paper, inmates will be able to pick up the phones in their cell and make a free phone call to find out information like their commissary balance, how many visitations they have left and what their bail has been set at. The information provided to the inmate can also be determined by jail staff.

The current inmate response process takes three to five days to get a response, while the new process will be instantaneous, White said.

"It's a convenience for them to help keep them happy," White said, explaining that happy inmates lead to a safer and more secure jail.

"It hits everyone in a positive way," she said.

The information system feeds from the jail management system so employees will not have to manually input information about inmates into the new automated system.

"It's really cool," White said. "I can't wait to go live."

Hunt County Commissioners recently entered into a five year $130,000 contract with Securus, said Hunt County Purchasing Agent Carl Nicholl. That does not include the one time set up fee of $6,000, he said.

"We want to get the best system we can to help the inmate, the public and ourselves," Neel said.