Jails are replacing face-to-face visits with video conferencing screens and are passing the costs on to inmates and their families. In some cases, these costs are up to $1 per minute.

Questions:

1. Where do most videoconferencing companies make their money?
2. Who are the industry giants in prison videoconferencing?
3. Explain the last statement of the article in terms of the videoconferencing offered in prisons: ”What’s being billed as a curb against recidivism could also keep the jails full.”
4. What Federal Communications Commission (FCC) past and proposed regulations have and may soon intervene on telephone and videoconferencing profits?
5. Develop a cost/benefit analysis of the use of videoconferencing for prisons. What is your conclusion?

Source:
Murphy, T. (2015). Prison Phone Companies Have Found Yet Another Way to Squeeze Families for Cash. Mother Jones, Feb. 24 (Retrievable online at http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/01/jail-prison-video-visitation)