Rather than letting JPay profit off cash transfers and purchases, families will now send money to the accounts using wire and bank transfers and circumvent the programs.īrian Alexander of the Atlantic reported,īy signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.Īs Daniel Hatcher, a law professor at the University of Baltimore, says, “Video visitation is a link in the whole system that sees inmates as a revenue opportunity.” In addition to boycotting the video visitation program used at the kiosks, the families of the 97,000 inmates will also boycott the JPay program used to transfer money to inmate accounts set up by the Florida Department of Corrections. Now, a group representing families of prisoners has vowed to boycott these systems, demanding that funding to allow for in-person visits to be restored: Let’s remember that a disproportionate number of those families are already low-income and under enormous economic and emotional stress.
#Jpay video visits plus#
The tablet families need to connect with their loved one costs $80, plus $2.95 per minute of visitation. They also run a program whereby families can transfer money to inmates. JPay installed kiosks and tablets in the prisons and maintains them at no cost to FDC.
Instead, FDC contracted with a for-profit company called JPay to provide video visitation for inmates and their families. Among other things, say officials, visitors bring contraband. People inside Florida’s prison system are fighting back against cuts that will further isolate them from the outside world. Mary Ellen Klas of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the most recent budget for the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) had a $50 million deficit, but the prison system had a plan which included curtailing such stuff as successful treatment and transition programs for prisoners, and, finally, visiting hours, which the department said it could not safely staff.
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