Posted on 02/01/2018 5:32:26 PM PST by markomalley
Under a new state contract, all inmates in New York State prisons will receive free tablets.
The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) is partnering with JPay, a company that specializes in inmate and corrections-related services. JPay is providing the tablets at no cost to the state or inmates, and DOCCS is not taking commissions for the tablets.
The tablets will be preloaded with educational content and DOCCS plans to make additional services available through the tablets, such as Prison Rape Elimination Act reporting, Grievance filing, and the potential for placing commissary orders.
According to DOCCS, JPay will get money from transactions that happen via the tablets (ebooks, music, videos). The tablets are only part of a larger contract with JPay who are also handling commissary and care packages sent from families to inmates.
The tablets will not be able to connect to the internet, but inmates will be able to use the tablets to purchase music, e-books, videos, and other entertainment. There will also be controlled kiosks where inmates can plug their tablet in to send emails to an approved list of recipients. Inmates will only have supervised access to the kiosks at scheduled times.
State corrections officials say they believe using the tablets will help inmates stay in touch with their families and be better prepared to reenter into the community.
The tablets have sparked debate since the program was announced. Many are critical of the program, but some say it can give inmates an opportunity to better adapt when they get out of prison.
Pastor James Giles is on the latter side. He has ministered in a re-entry program for newly-released prisoners for 23 years. He also served time behind bars for six years. He says the tablets will prepare inmates for life after their sentence.
"It's going to open up a huge, vast array of opportunities for inmates that they didn't have before," Giles said.
Republican State Assemblyman from Batavia Steve Hawley is adamantly against the program. So much so that he is contacting Governor Cuomo and DOCCS demanding an end to the program. 7 Eyewitness News will continue to provide updates online and on the WKBW app as more information comes in.
LOL, yeah..., they should have to bring their tablet from school/home.
This is just crazy to me.
If I could make do with pencil and paper, they could.
What’s to stop these inmates from using the tablets to threaten someone on the outside?
NYS is $4 bil in the hole and we’re spending money on this...
It is incredible how people can’t get stuff done without a calculator (including those on a cellphone or computer); calculators don’t teach theory, they provide a shortcut.
Then again, I’ve hear some kids can’t tie shoes because they’ve only had those with Velcro across the top, and some can’t tell time on a regular clock face...
A little portable radio can give you a lot of news, though even that is probably not allowed in a SCIF; but catch as catch can ;-)
Probably no such plans though, just more insane liberal spending so they can lock in a 'profit' for the politically well-connected supplier.
I have Kobo, but it is probably the same as Kindle. I am so amazed with it and about how much I have read books since I got it (*eyes down* I steal books by pirating). But it has made me a better man and I think these guys could also use some reading.
From what I read from the article the device won’t have wifi and the only way to have internet is to plug it in somewhere.
"JPay will get money from transactions that happen via the tablets (ebooks, music, videos)."
Convicts already extort other convicts for commissary and packages. Could be a possibility of extortion...forcing an inmate to purchase items they don't really want. All the extortionist would have to do is take the tablet to watch or listen to the products the other inmate was forced to purchase, then return the tablet to the extorted con when he's done. And it would happen over and over. Having worked 25 years in that prison system, it wouldn't surprise me if that happened.
archive.org and Gutenberg are great places to find good, old books for free. They’ve been a boon to me; I’m not much interested in modern books anyway...
They’re ordering a batch. They can say “don’t put a wifi chip into it” and it will be cheaper because no money paid to the wifi chip maker.
But maybe it cause some to read books and that can be only good.
I must defer to your judgement as I know nothing about the prison system, but I add that my optimism about it comes from my own life. After I bought my Kobo reader I started to read books and I was on a much worse road than a book reader before.
I left a prison job at the state of ga.two years ago and inmates received their tablets six months prior.unless they were lifers,they get to take the tablet home with them.was the last straw for me.
It don't work that way. On mobile devices, like phones and tablets, they use SOCs (System on a chip) that combine the CPU, GPU, and connectivity.
For example, you can review the specs for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 series.
They would have to redesign the entire board.
I would like a free tablet, my laptop is 15 years old and does not work very well.
BBB Customer Review rating is 91% negative reviews. 380 customer complaints.
I can understand that.
In your six months remaining after they received them, did you notice any positive results?
NY State inmates have well-stocked libraries and law libraries at every prison. They would get the new book releases long before my local library did. The library also subscribes to newspapers and magazines, plus inmates can subscribe to an approved list of newspapers and magazine themselves. They're definitely not wanting.
Cyanide?
Do they have computer skill classes for inmates? It seems to me that this would be very useful for many who will need to come out of prison, perhaps after years, and find a way to join the workforce.
Yes, they did when I retired in 2003. They also used to be able to get college degrees paid for by grants and tax payer dollars. When I first started, I was assigned to Auburn, which is a maximum security prison. Inmates there could get a 4-year degree from Syracuse University for free, while the rest of us would have given our eye-teeth to be able to send our kids there. Thank God George Pataki eliminated that program.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.