6/17/2008 - By Justin Cox
Killeen Daily Herald

Inmates at the new Bell County Jail may get upgraded phone service as part of the accommodations provided by their hosts from the Sheriff's Office.

At a workshop session of the Commissioner's Court on Monday, Sheriff Dan Smith and jail administrator Bob Patterson briefed the court on a new feature they'd like to have implemented in the coming months, one that would provide an automated information system for any persons looking to gain access to jail records.

The service would be provided by the company Securus, which specializes in secure information systems.

Patterson said this upgrade could provide a great break from a lot of routine calls for information to the jail, which amount to about 90 percent of the calls to the department.

"We routinely get calls about status, bond information," Patterson said. "For the last three years, for inmate service requests, we get about 55,000 to 60,000 calls each year, and we estimate three- to four-minutes per request."

Smith said the service would cost about $60,000, but would help save $200,000 in man-hour costs through the automated system. That, he said, would allow those deputies to be patrolling rather than answering phone calls.

"We estimate this will save us about eight people a year, at $25,000 a year starting salary," Smith said. "It would save on future request for personnel."

Heather White with Securus said the service costs will be based on the number of inmates.

"It's based on population, so it's not going to change unless your numbers change," White said. "It's just a service for the inmates designed to ease the burden on you guys."

Smith said the company will request an amendment to the current contract the county has with Securus.

"They have experience doing this kind of phone automation," he said. "Though they always will have a need for human contacts on the phone, this service would be a very useful implementation with the area continuing to grow."

The service also would work with active inmates, who would be able to access their commissary allowance from the inside, receiving a special pin number per inmate.

Patterson said the company is offering to waive a $10,000 fee if the service is implemented by June 30.

White said it empowers detainees to serve themselves, and the information is accessible more quickly.

"It's our intent with this program to stretch our personnel the best we can," Smith said. "It will allow us to go longer without asking for more ."

Contact Justin Cox at jcox@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7568.