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Amy Barnes
Professor Baird
English 1010-093
25 March 2014
Prison Visits Through Webcast
Have you ever had to visit someone in prison? What feeling do you get when you go
their? Do you feel safe when youre their? There is a newer way of communicating with people
that are incarcerated without having to physically to the jail. Since about ten years ago prisons
have been trying out a new form of visitation. In this visitation communication is all through
voice over or video chat. This new form of communication brings a couple questions to mind. Is
it cost effective? Will it be safer by not physically going to the prisons? Most of all, is it more
beneficial for lovers and kids to see the inmates in person or does it have the same impact on the
inmate to see their loved ones through video chat?
Bourgois Philippe, Comfort Megan, Grinstead Olga, Knight Kelly, McCartney Kathleen. You
Cant Do Nothing in This Damn Place :Sex and Intimacy Among Couples With an
Incarcerated Male Partner. Jornal of Sex Research. 42.1(FEB 2005): 3-12.Print.
Many people say that for lovers to see their inmate in prison is too much of a hassle.
When you go to visit someone in prison they have many rules such as how you can dress, what
you can bring in, which ways you can touch the prisoner, how long you can talk to the prisoner
and when you can see them to name a few. In the article You Cant Do Nothing in This Damn
Place:Sex and Intimacy Among Couples With an Incarcerated Male Partner.( Bourgois,) they
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talk about how when visitors come to see the inmates the feel like the prison system is to strict. It
is too hard to have a spouse or a partner in prison itself. They are already not able to see they for
very long. They are only able to hold hands for the most of the visit and can hug twice once at
the beginning of the visit and once at the end of the visit. As far as kissing goes one peck like
kiss is permitted in the visit. A reason that the us prisons are so strict is because incarcerated men
have higher hepatitis rates and sexually transmitted disease rates than the general public. By
being strict on the ways that lovers can interact with each other can eliminate the ways that the
Sexually transmitted disease can be transited.
This particular source is extremely creditable. They had surveyed many visitors, inmates
in the San Quentin prison as well as prison guards over a five month period. They interviewed
over 6000 inmates also which told them that the strict regulations during prison visits are
frustrating. The interviews with the visitors said the same thing and haw in a way they felt still
detached from their partner since they were limited on what they can do. Also they were being
watched every second of the prison visit. The source is convincing since so many people were
interviewed and all said the same thing.
This is an important source to my research since it shows how important it is for lovers to
have the physical contact, even if it is something as small as a kiss. This particular article makes
me see how even though prisoners are in jail for doing something they should not have done,
they still have feeling and so do their partners. It shows that even though they are in jail they still
need to have that physical and emotional contact with their loved ones. This article shows the
importance of the physical connection people need to have and I dont think for this type of
contact, video chats would give them the feeling of closeness that the prisoners and visitors long
for.
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Connolly Norma."Mong Kok video link takes legwork out of prison visits. South China
Morning Post 29 Jan 2007, Print.
In Mong Kok many relatives, friends and partners gather together in one room and
prepare to video chat with inmates in Hong Kong. The way the video chat works is it allows
people to go to the closest prison to them and chat with their loved ones anywhere in Hong
Kong. It can be hard to see inmates in person due to age, money, pregnancy or even disability so
video chats can replace the hardship that many people have to travel far to see the prisoners. In
these types of visits three people can go into a room at once and video chat with an individual for
20 minutes which is similar to face-to- face visits. This allows the prisoners to see their family
and friends more than they would be able to if the visitors live farther or cannot travel as much.
This author is not very creditable since I did not see much examples or statistics of how
the video chats are benefiting both prisoners and visitors. The only hard evidence was the writer
of this column visits prisons twice a year and hears the inmates concerns and the inmates seem to
like the video chats. Other than that there is not any opinion of the ones visiting the prisoners on
if they think it is beneficial or not. The other sources that I had in this paper have more hard
evidence and examples than this particular article did.
The source is important as far as giving the knowledge on how the video chat work in
Hong Kong. It shows that we as a world are expanding our technology to benefit more people in
different ways for instance giving us easer ways of communicating. This document relates to the
video chats since it gives the back ground on how it works. It also shows that the prisoners think
this type of communication is beneficial.
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Casey-Acevedo Karen, Bakken Tim, and Karle Adria. "Children Visiting Mothers in Prison: The
effects on Mothers Behavior and Disciplinary Adjustment." The Australian and New
Zealand Journal Of Criminology 37.1 (2004): 418-430. Print.
The article . "Children Visiting Mothers in Prison: The effects on Mothers Behavior and
Disciplinary Adjustment ." by Casey-Acevedo Karen, Bakken Tim, and Karle Adria. Talks
about the behavior mothers in prison have while incarcerated when the get visits from their
children and also when they dont get visits from their children. In here is suggests that getting
visitation from family will make the family bond stronger and will improve the behavior of the
incarcerated mothers. In the article it suggests that separated children have a larger risk of
offending because of the factors surrounding the mothers criminal status, are often placed in
abusive homes as they await their mothers release.(Casey-Acevedo Karen) I would definitely
think that if a child is placed in abusive situation that they would disobey and get into more
trouble. Generally placing the child with a family member or allowing them to see their mother
in prison will help them obey their care giver and be compliant. Research has shown that even
though it is a bitter sweet for the mother to see their children, there is a pain of separation that
goes along with it. This can lead to depression or anger (Casey-Acevedo Karen). What about
when the caregiver cannot afford to take the child to see the mother due to financial reasons? An
answer to this might be through video chat. It will allow the mothers to see the children more
frequently and if they can see that the child is doing well then the mother might behave better.
The author is creditable since she shows how much research has been done and shows
evidence in how the visitation affects the mother and child. The article is convincing since it
goes in depth on how the separation can affect the children and mother and also how it helps
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build the bond. The article shows that it is important to keep that family bond close so when they
are realized from prison the mothers can successfully maintain in society.
This article is very important to weather the video chat would be beneficial. It shows that
both mother and child need that nurturing aspect in life. Since the mother is in prison there are
limitations on how they can nurture their children. I think that the most beneficial in this case is
face-to-face visits however if that is not an option video chats can definitely help. Before I used
to think that children should not see their parents in jail but this article shows me that it is better
to visit them instead of not see them at all.

McClatchy."Video Visits in Prison/ Fees are Troublesome." Tribune Business News, 18 Jan
2012. Print.
The passage "Video Visits in Prison/ Fees are troublesome." By McClatcy shows that
while video visits may be beneficial there is also a down side to them. In the jails the inmates are
required to pay 10 dollars for 20 minutes to talk to friends or 15 dollars to talk to their lawyer.
The jails say that since there is already a strict budget the money coming in from the video visits
can help the jail pay for its expenses. It also uses less surveillance from guards so it allows the
other guards to do other things. The video chat is a good thing for the ones visiting since they
dont have to travel so far and they can talk to the prisoners more often. However this is still
hurting the prisoners. When your incarcerated how are you supposed to pay for the visits you
normally dont have a job. If they do have a job in prison they get paid less than minimum wage.
Also why are they being charged more to talk to a lawyer than their familys.
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I think this is a creditable source. It brings up many problems to think about. Such as how
will the inmates pay for the video chat? Why are they paying for the chats when Skype and other
video chat programs out there are free? Also the mark up is too much. The prison is getting to
keep 46 percent revenue from this. It is convincing it shows that we need to either lessen the cost
of video chat or find another option.
The source is important since we should always consider all obstacles when
implementing a news system. Its good to see the benefits that video chat will have for the
visitors but also how it impacts the prisoners. This article comes from a different standpoint than
the other articles. It shows more of the cost behind the video. Where the other articles only talk
about how emotionally visits affect the prisoners.
McClatchy. "Smart Move on ending face-to-face inmate visits." Tribune Business News.
12 Aug 2008. Print.
In the article "Smart Move on ending face-to-face inmate visits." By McClatchy it
suggests that video visits are a good way to go and that the public stands behind it. It explains
how with budget cuts in the jail it will free up guards to do other things. Also that with video
chats the prisoners will no longer need to be searched after the chat like they used to be when
visitors would see them face to face, which also will give guards time to get other things done.
By ending face-to- face visits it will lessen the amount of contraband that is smuggled into the
jails during visits. This will also allow inmates how have medical problems to now have the
option to get video chats. Many people say by eliminating the face-to-face visits it will fracture
the family bond and make it harder to transition into society when it is time for them to be
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released. However studies show that there are more visits now with the video visits have
increased since the family can go to the closest jail location by them for the visits.
The author of this article is creditable because she shows how stopping the face-to-face
visits will help contraband in todays jails. She also shows different options on the good reasons
for this change also how it could hurt the inmates. The source is convincing since it has proof
that visits have been on the rise since the video visits option has started.
All of these articles have influenced my way of thinking about video chats. I see that they
are some pros and cons that come into place however over all I believe that the video chats are
more beneficial than face-to face chats since it removes many bad obstacles that come into place
with prisons such as eliminating the amount of contraband is smuggled into the prisons. Also It
will help with the amount of STDs that are transferred between the prisoners and the outside
world.
In this paper we have covered how prison visits are good and how they impact everyone.
It showed how important it is to keep the communication lines open between mothers and their
children. Also how important it is for lovers and spouses to have that physical touch they need,
when someone is incarcerated and how they feel about the prison visits they now have. We also
talked about the cost benefit and harm it can do to some people. How it will limit what bad
things are brought into the prisons from the outside world. Also how more people are now able
to visit through video chat than ever before. In my opinion I think video chat is a great idea for
those people who are not able to travel. Care givers who are not comfortable bringing children in
a room with a bunch of prisoners. However I do not think it should replace the face-to-face
visits. There is a connection when you see someone face to face that you dont get over a
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computer screen. I also think the video chats a much more beneficial than only having in person
visitations because it allows longer and more frequent visits. It also is more cost effective for the
jail. It limits how much drug can be smuggled into the jails. It also is more cost effective for the
jails. It can help limit the amount of STDs that are spread to ones outside prison walls. It also
influences the relationships that prisoners have with the outside world.