If you are in Seminole County please call your state senator and representative to express your concern about the rights of the families who have loved ones in this facility.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-seminole-county-jail-mail-20190111-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3YhVlYIZa2oPyeq6XJzEep-Z7F44kPdZrbhkocnQxM0UyQWjwPEZrJI5o

Jail inmates can no longer handle letters or pictures mailed by family and friends as a new system requires those incarcerated to view digital copies of their messages.

Under an agreement between the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and Smart Communications Holding Inc., a Tampa-based company, the jail also plans to replace all in-person visits at the jail with a video-visitation system.

As of Dec. 21, letters meant for inmates must be sent to a post office box in Pinellas Park, where they are opened and scanned. Scans are sent to the jail, where inmates view them using a digital kiosk. Inmates are not charged for the scanning and still can send mail.

The contract allows inmates to send and receive electronic messages instantly — similar to text messages or emails, but monitored by jail staff — for a fee.

“We know most young people are messaging instead of writing letters so this program allows inmates to communicate with friends and family using new technology,” said Laura Bedard, the jail’s corrections chief. “… This program improve[s] communication between inmates and their families in an effort to increase successful community re-entry.”

A Sheriff’s Office spokesman said no specific incident prompted the policy change, but Bedard said there were several instances last year of drugs being sent to the jail via postal mail.

The Seminole County Jail is the only corrections facility in Central Florida that has eliminated postal mail for inmates. Lake, Osceola and state facilities use physical mail and electronic messaging. The Orange and Brevard county jails only use standard mail.

Under the three-year contract, the Seminole Sheriff’s Office pays nothing for the service and receives a 10-percent commission of gross revenue from the electronic messages and photographs. The money goes toward “expenses for inmate programs and re-entry initiatives,” Bedard said.

The new procedure came under fire from Raymer Maguire, manager for the ACLU of Florida’s Criminal Justice Reform Campaign, who said the Sheriff’s Office “makes money off the backs of the most vulnerable members of our community.”

“Keeping connection to family, friends and loved ones is one of the most important factors of reducing recidivism,” Maguire said. “We feel like every roadblock that makes that harder is going to increase recidivism.”

In response, Bedard stressed the electronic-messaging service is optional — inmates can still send standard mail and receive scanned letters without charge — and noted that most people who aren’t in jail also pay for services such as text messaging.

In order to send electronic messages, inmates and their families or friends must purchase “credits” at 50 cents apiece. Each credit is worth one message. Sending a picture costs two credits, or $1.

Two free credits are given to those in the jail each week “to satisfy the needs of indigent inmates,” the contract says. Inmates won’t have the option to print the material while they are incarcerated. Bedard said there is one kiosk available for every six inmates.

The exception to the electronic policy is legal mail sent between attorneys and their clients, which will be processed “as it always has been,” meaning the mail will be opened at the jail and inspected before the inmates can read it, Bedard said.

Smart Communications is responsible for maintaining the electronic systems and is required to retain messages, pictures and copies of letters sent to inmates — which the Sheriff’s Office can request — for seven years.

“The retention of these communications promotes the security and safety of the facility,” Bedard said. “This is for our employees as well as those in our care.”

Benjamin Stevenson, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Florida, said he has no problem with the jail inspecting incoming mail but called the record-retention clause “disturbing.”

“It’s further compounded by the fact that it’s not the government retaining it, but a private company retaining it,” Stevenson said. “If the purpose is to stop the introduction of illicit communication, why is the retention of documents necessary? Simply because the info exists and it’s cheap to retain it, doesn’t mean we should retain it.”

As part of the contract, the jail eventually will eliminate in-person visitation — currently held over the phone, with Plexiglas separating visitors and inmates — by switching to visits conducted over video in 15- or 30-minute blocks.

Bedard hasn’t said when the jail will switch to video but “implementation for full video visitation will be announced.” The Orange County Jail already uses video visitation.

Families won’t be charged for video visits conducted at the jail, Bedard said. Any visits outside the jail will cost $3.75 for a 15-minute visit and $7.50 for a 30-minute visit. In addition to a commission received from the messages and pictures, the Sheriff’s Office will receive a 10-percent commission of the revenue from the video visits.

The record-retention clause also allows the private company to keep a list of visitors for seven years. Audio recordings will be kept for 180 days, while video recordings will be kept for 90 days, according to the contract.

Stevenson derided the idea of video visitation, saying there are “intangible benefits of seeing a person … that are hindered through the use of video communication.”

“There’s a connection you don’t get by seeing it on the screen,” he said.