Allowing inmates in a harsh and alienating jail setting to see and touch a loved one is the right thing to do»
Aproposal to allow in-person visits at Denver’s jails — forbidden for years — ought to be a no-brainer for a progressive city like ours. In the Office of Independent Monitor’s newly filed semi-annual report, Nick Mitchell argues for the needed reform and we embrace the logic and the humanity of the request.
As The Denver Post’s Noelle Phillips reports, Mitchell is raising the question as the Denver Sheriff Department prepares to finalize a $1.4 million contract with a video visitation provider for the next five years.
Denver’s jails haven’t allowed in-person visits, relying instead on the video technology, since 2005. Johnny Cash must be rolling in his grave.
“The reason to encourage inperson visitation — particularly between parents and children — are powerful,” Mitchell writes in his report. “So before any contract is finalized, we need to talk about whether depriving kids of in-person visits with their parents is consistent with our values as a city.”
The sheriff’s department isn’t keen on the idea. Its spokeswoman, Daelene Mix, told Phillips the city’s jails aren’t set up for in-person visits, adding that entering a debate on the question is possible in the future.
Jails provide two primary roles: holding those awaiting trial, who are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty, and those convicted of lesser offenses. We don’t see that video-only visits are appropriate for either population.
Yes, in-person visits invite trouble. Domestic violence has occurred. Visitors can and do succeed in bringing in contraband that makes running a safe jail difficult.
But screening out problems is hardly outside the ability of our public safety professionals. Inmates convicted of serious and violent crimes who spend their days in Colorado’s prisons are allowed in-person visits, and certainly concerns over violence and contraband exists in those settings as well.
While prison inmates serve much longer sentences than those in jails, some awaiting trial can remain in jail for weeks, and jail sentences also can run weeks or months.
Allowing in-person visits could help keep families together, and remind those behind bars of their personal incentives to rehabilitate, possibly reducing recidivism.
Another problem with video visitation is the cost to vulnerable populations. Depending on a jail’s policy, visits that occur on site can be free, while visits conducted online or by phone through the video system can cost up to $1.50 a minute — easily a tough expense for poor families.
We wonder whether private video providers see in-person visits as a threat to profits. A study conducted by the Prison Policy Institute in 2015 of 500 prisons and jails found that 74 percent of them stopped in-person visits once video visitation was installed.
This is a chance for Denver to lead by setting a better example. Many jails along the Front Range don’t allow in-person visits.
And Colorado lawmakers should take note. Texas has approved a requirement that jails offer at least two visits a month. Washington, D.C., is reinstating in-person visits and New Jersey is considering similar requirements.
Allowing inmates in a harsh and alienating jail setting to see and touch a loved one is the right thing to do, and aligns with the intent and soul of our nation’s constitutional protections. The members of The Denver Post’s editorial board are William Dean Singleton, chairman; Mac Tully, CEO and publisher; Chuck Plunkett, editor of the editorial pages; Megan Schrader, editorial writer; and Cohen Peart, opinion editor.