PRESS RELEASE
Telecom Engineering Consultants, Inc. (TEC) Completes Installation of Inmate Video Arraignment and Consultation System in Cumberland County, North Carolina
TEC completes installation of the Inmate Video Arraignment and Consultation System at the Cumberland County Courthouse and new State-of-the-Art Detention Center providing a critical component to the County’s requirements for a safe, cost efficient inmate arraignment, interrogation and consultation process.
Miami, FL, June 24, 2003 – Telecom Engineering Consultants, Inc. (TEC) announced the completion of the Inmate Video Arraignment and Consultation System for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The Cumberland County Detention Center is a 568-bed direct supervision detention center, designed to be a safe, secure, and efficient project, providing a positive image to the community while enhancing Fayetteville’s downtown improvement efforts. The video and consultation system supplied by TEC is an integral part of the state-of-the-art jail facility designed to reduce costs and risks by centralizing and automating the inmate arraignment and consultation process. The arraignment and consultation system features video stations installed in a District Court Courtroom, a Superior Court Courtroom, the Public Defender's Office and the District Attorney's Office in the County Courthouse along with inmate arraignment stations located throughout the inmate housing units in the new jail, a quarter mile away. Video arraignment eliminates movement of inmates from the jail to the courthouse and the need for members of the Public Defender's Office or the District Attorney's Office to travel to the jail to deal with inmate related issues, greatly reducing the associated costs and risks while providing inmates due process in a timely manner.
The video arraignment and consultation system provided by TEC incorporates all the features and functions required by the Courts and the Sheriff’s office for quality, performance and aesthetics. The new equipment incorporates new technology identical to the video visitation system previously installed at the jail providing a common operating environment for jail and court personnel. Video arraignment equipment was initially installed inside the jail connecting the jail's in-house courtroom to the inmate housing units. This most recent installation adds the District and Superior courts in a direct connection to the jail. The inclusion of the Public Defender's Office will provide additional efficiencies to the attorney/client consultation process as attorneys from the PD's office will be able conduct their consultations without having to travel to the jail. The District Attorney's Office is also connected to provide a video interview and interrogation capability without the need for attorney's to travel to the jail. Inmate benefit from the new technology with more frequent and less involved access to their lawyers in the PD's office and for a more efficient first appearance process. This technological investment will significantly reduce the number of inmates that need to be transported to court, providing all the inherent cost savings and risk reductions.
County representatives noted that the video visitation system provided by TEC significantly reduces the movement of inmates, attorneys, and other court officials thus eliminating associated cost and security issues. A great deal of attention was paid to providing a high quality video communication system for video arraignment and consultation and to providing all participants with a comfortable video communications.
The video arraignment and consultation system installed by TEC is built around video communications technology from VUGate Corporation, a leading supplier of systems and solutions for the Judicial and Corrections market. TEC is VUGate’s largest Systems Integrator for Video Visitation and Arraignment systems, which feature the use of campus-based video communications coupled with VUGate’s Integrated Attorney Sidebar feature. The system improves the efficiency of the arraignment process and reduces the risks associated with confrontation or escape. The system can be easily expanded to support links to any industry standard videoconferencing systems, including H.320, H.323 and/or H.324 video protocols, which can be used for additional applications such as Telemedicine and Distance Learning.
Michael Black, Vice President for Telecom Engineering Consultants stated, “The demands of a video arraignment and consultation system are effectively accommodated by this system. The system is flexible and extensible, providing the building blocks to support the County’s future expansion requirements with relative ease. VUGate’s Video SuperHub was originally designed to meet the stringent needs of the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency, both of which currently use the VUGate system extensively. This translates into reliable, high-quality, scalable systems that fit perfectly into the high-traffic volume visitation environment found in correctional facilities.”
Telecom Engineering Consultants, Inc. provides turnkey solutions involving the integration of video, data, voice and security technologies. With Headquarters at 9400 NW 25th Street, Miami, Florida 33172, Telecom markets its products and services throughout the US. For more information on the video, data, voice and security solutions available from Telecom, call (800) 447-3213 or visit our web site at www.tec-inc.com.
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