Traditional arraignments, in which prisoners are paraded in and out of a courtroom in almost assembly-line fashion, have a number of inherent problems. These include:
- Security and safety concerns
- Inefficient use of personnel
- Increased escape opportunity
- Increased transportation costs
- Unavoidable delays in proceedings
- Overcrowding of holding facilities
- Contact with potentially contagious diseases
Video arraignments alleviate, not one or two of these concerns, but virtually all of them. How?
During booking, each prisoner is escorted into a separate room within the jail facility. The arraignment judge, who may be physically located at a different site, connects to the arraignment room (via either the LAN or the Internet) and charges the prisoner with the offense. While prisoners are escorted back to their cells, the judge connects to the next video arraignment room, safely and efficiently processing the day’s docket load. The District Attorney’s and Public Defender’s offices also connect via LAN or the Internet to supply legal representation.
While video arraignments are one of the most common uses for this type of system, it can also be an effective resource for:
- Initial appearance
- Plea-bargaining
- Parole hearings
- Psychological evaluations
- Pre-trial conferences
- Line-ups and interviews
- Sensitive testimony (e.g. abuse victims, children, undercover officers, etc.)
To learn more about our video arraignment systems, which offer significant advantages over the video conferencing systems often used for this type of application, please contact us today.