Weber County Correctional Facility Upgrades Technology Without Taxpayer Expense

Altoona, PA (Vocus) September 1, 2009 -- Weber County, Utah has some of the latest technology in the corrections industry thanks to an innovative solution from Digital Solutions / Inmate Telephone, Inc (DSI / ITI). Through DSI / ITI’s novel “TIP” program (Technology Incentive Program), Weber County has been able to get video visitation and Call IQ for their facilities without incurring any cost to the taxpayer.

“The Technology Incentive Program or TIP, allows our customers to take advantage of the latest in technological advances at little or no cost to the facility,” said Anthony Bambocci, President and CEO of DSI / ITI. “Many of our technology offerings are designed to generate operational efficiencies within correctional facilities which translate to long-term cost savings for our customers.”

The Weber County Correctional Facility has had DSI / ITI’s industry leading Jail Management System (JMS) software, Offender Management System, since 2000 and contracted with DSI / ITI for inmate calling in 2004. In 2008, with their contract up for renewal, Weber County Correctional Facility staff made a recommendation to look into a longer-term renewal in order to secure some of the new technologies that they had witnessed at the prior year’s User Group meeting.

“Our new chief was very interested in video visitation,” said Julia Richesson, Lead Accountant for Weber County Correctional Facility “so Tony (Bambocci- DSI President and CEO) worked out a package that gave us Call IQ and Video Visitation with no increase in the cost of phone calls to inmates or their families.”

Staff at the Weber County Correctional Facility are excited about the two new systems and the resulting capabilities. “With Video Visitation we won’t need to use officers to transport inmates to the visiting room,” said Richesson. “Transporting inmates is always a safety and security issue and by allowing inmates to have visitation directly from the housing pod we will significantly reduce pressure on overworked staff. Further, this will help to eliminate contraband issues, which are a concern even with barrier visits.”

In addition to the increased security provided by the Video Visitation system, the inmates’ family and friends benefit as well, with longer visitation hours that can even be scheduled via the web.

“We’re also very excited about Call IQ,” Richesson stated, “it is a great investigative tool and we are the only one in the state with it- it’s a great boon for Sheriff (Brad) Slater.”

Call IQ is DSI / ITI’s most advanced call-monitoring software package. The system has multiple advanced capabilities including the ability to monitor calls for an ever-changing set of slang or street terminology to better detect and prevent crime.

Richesson said that Weber County was excited to be getting Call IQ as part of their package; “The phone system is a great investigative tool- I’m amazed at what people will say on the phone even though they know they’re being monitored.”

Though the “TIP” program is relatively new, DSI / ITI officials have said that it is being met with great enthusiasm. “Given the current level of budget cuts enacted by many states, we are observing a significant level of interest in the “TIP” program from facilities all over the country,” said Bambocci. “Our “TIP” program is one of the few ways that facilities can improve their technology and security without investing a considerable portion of their budget on new products and services.”

About Weber County Correctional Facility.

The Weber County Correctional Facility is forty miles north of Salt Lake City. The Weber County Corrections Facility has two facilities housing nearly 1,100 county, state and federal inmates. For more information about the Weber County Correctional Facility, visit http://www.co.weber.ut.us/sheriff/index.php

About Digital Solutions / Inmate Telephone, Inc.

Established in 1984 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Digital Solutions Incorporated (DSI) is a privately held technology company that specializes in automating corrections agencies. Its sister company, Inmate Telephone Incorporated (ITI), was founded in 1994 to create and maintain state-of-the-art inmate phone systems for correctional facilities.

More than twenty years of successful implementations in over four hundred agencies has enabled DSI / ITI to become the leading provider of software solutions to the corrections industry. The company attributes much of their success to the practice of involving users in the design phases of the application development process - input that is critical in enabling the company to continually improve, while building a sense of ownership among the communities they serve.

For more company news and information visit http://www.dsiiti.com/about/News_and_Events.shtml

The DSI / ITI corporate web site can be found at http://www.dsiiti.com

Contact:

Thomas Brence, Director of Marketing

Digital Solutions / Inmate Telephone, Inc.

ph. 888.222.3081

fx. 814.949.3307

www.dsiiti.com

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