TurnKey Corrections Video Visitation Highlighted by Twin Cities Media Outlets

March 10, 2012 - PRLog -- TurnKey Corrections was highlighted by two media outlets in Minneapolis / St. Paul today for one of its' newest features, off-site video visitation, being utilized in a suburban Twin Cities county.  While still in test mode in Dakota County, TurnKey is confident that this solution will provide inmates improved access to family and friends.  The feature is live in over 10 facilities across the country currently with several more existing and new TurnKey facilities joining in this new technology over the next few months.

"We started working on this technology a few years ago" cites TurnKey CEO Todd Westby.  "Last year, we went to China and had lots of trouble communicating back to the USA with the exception of using the video visitation software we had developed.  That motivated us to put it in production and give our client facilities access to it.  And we are more than pleased with what it has done for our clients and the inmates family and friends" Westby added.

TurnKey is based in Hudson, Wisconsin, a suburban town just across the border from St. Paul, Minnesota.  KSTP-TV, the ABC affiliate in the Twin Cities, highlighted this new feature in a piece aired on March 9.  To view this segment, click on this link:  http://kstp.com/news/stories/S2531837.shtml?cat=1.  Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows stressed the importance of keeping inmates connected with friends and familiy as a key to giving inmates a better chance of staying out of jail once they are released.  Furthermore, visiting from home provides family members a positive setting to stay in touch vs. bringing young adults and children to a jail facility.

"Reducing repeat inmates is one of our goals" cited TurnKey President Patrick McMullan.  "We were motivated by a speech by one of our clients in Lincoln County Oregon, Sgt. Tom Graham".  He stressed the mission of Sheriff Dotson in Lincoln County to reduce the number of repeat offenders.  "If we provide them the avenues to stay in better communication with friends and family, we may drop our repeat offender population 10%, maybe more, and that means 40, 50 or even more, inmates who return to society as productive citizens.  Our community and these citizens are better for it."  

And the mission in Lincoln County mirrored what was outlined in an article written by This Week Live, a Twin Cities based publication (click on this link to see the full article: http://www.thisweeklive.com/2012/03/09/dakota-county-jail...).  Lt. Lawrence Hart of the Dakota County Sheriff's Department cited the intense focus on programs designed to reduce repeat offenders.  All revenue earned from the program is returned to programs aimed at bringing inmates back as productive citizens.  Dakota County has won numerous awards for its' jail programs.

To learn more about TurnKey Corrections, go to www.turnkeycorrections.com.  Located in Hudson, Wisconsin, TurnKey has been providing solutions to the corrections industry since 1996.  All of the technology provided by TurnKey is developed and maintained exclusively by the TurnKey Corrections staff.

# # #

We are a leading provider of technology and supplies to the corrections industry. Based in Hudson, Wisconsin, a suburban town of Minneapolis / St. Paul, TurnKey provides commissary, video visitation, phone, messaging, accounting, cash management and other services to the corrections industry. Through its' subsidiary American Institutional Supply, TurnKey is a one-stop source for correctional facilities.