Benefit #3 – Courtroom video conferencing saves money

Do you know how much your justice system spends on transporting inmates to and from court appearances? The logistics, manpower, security, transportation, insurance, and time involved in planning these arrangements can put a serious dent in an already strained budget. Having the ability to keep inmates inside prison walls, but with access to tamper-proof courtroom video conferencing, will also help to increase the number of hearings a courtroom can handle in single session.

Conferencing systems can also ease the budget of litigants in your courtrooms.  Travel and lodging is expensive, and when attorneys want to have an expert witness take the stand, it gets even more expensive for involved parties.  Conferencing eliminates the need for travel and extra time and expenses for individuals who may not be able to afford it otherwise.  This also allows for more access to justice for individuals who are underprivileged.

Have you ever needed to provide a translator for someone in your courtroom?  Courtroom conferencing systems can handle remote interpretation scenarios as well.  With a few simple add-ons, your courtroom video conferencing system can allow you to utilize interpreters from around the world.  This gives courts access to translators that normally would be very difficult or expensive to retain, but also prevents a local translator from monopolizing and taking advantage of a courtroom’s budget.

Benefit #2 – Conferencing saves time, for everyone

Time Savings – Yes, it costs a lot of money to transport prisoners to and from courtroom appearances, but it also takes a great deal of time and effort for several people to work out the logistics of the transports, the security to and from the courtroom in transit, not to mention the time that officers must spend away from their normal duties to ferry inmates back and forth. Even if courts didn’t see a huge savings in time during the actual proceedings, the savings for the officers and logistical staff justifies the implementation of a quality courtroom conferencing system for things like remote arraignments. We all know that time is money, and by freeing up staff and corrections officers to focus more time on their jobs, agencies are realizing savings on those all-important budget figures.

Benefit #1 – It increases the safety of court staff, officers and the public

Increased Safety for Everyone – Ask anyone involved with inmate transportation, and they’ll tell you that it is time-consuming, stressful, and most of all dangerous.  Courtroom outbursts can lead to very dangerous situations for judges and court personnel, but corrections officers have to contend with the threat of violence for the entire trip, and they have to consider not only their safety, but the safety of the public that is in the vicinity of the inmates, as well as the safety of the inmates themselves.

“We saved a lot of staff hours by not having 2 officers offsite driving to, during and driving back from the monthly parole hearing site an hour away. Transporting from 1-10 inmates each parole hearing. Less escape, staffing or medical risks by remaining in the jail…The money spent for the system could easily be justified. Reducing transportation costs, staff time off site and increased security by keeping inmates in the jail.”

– Joe Blue, Hopkins County Jailer (Ret.)