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Welcome to Renovo Software

Renovo Software is a leading developer of software solutions for the video communications industry. Renovo designs, develops and supports software solutions that schedule, automate and manage complex video networks. Applications include video visitation, courtroom arraignment, distance learning, telemedicine  and business videoconferencing.

Inmate Video Visitation		Video Conference Scheduling Software

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What is inmate video visitation?

Brief History of Inmate Video Visitation Systems

Inmate video visitation is defined as the use of video, audio, and networking devices to connect visitors and inmates to one another.  Inmate video visitation was invented in the 1990s, and has since grown into a multi-million dollar industry. Initial inmate video visitation systems began as complete analog systems, using only analog video, audio devices to connect stations together. Inmate video visitation stations were often connected to one another using a touchscreen application and PBX or analog switches.

As  technology has advanced and as  the price of digital encoding and decoding devices have dropped, many modern inmate video visitation systems began to utilize IP-based devices to connect  inmate video visitation stations together. Much like the television transition from analog to digital signals, the same kind of revolution is happening in the video visitation market today.

Modern inmate video visitation systems are comprised of some of the same components as older systems (cameras, monitors, handsets); however, correctional facilities no longer utilize expensive and non-scalable analog and/or PBX switches.  Instead, IP-based inmate video visitation systems use devices called encoders and decoders (when they are one device they are known as codecs) which encode the audio and video feeds as digital signals. These signals, or data packets,  are sent via the correctional facility’s IP network infrastructure to another station where they are decoded.

Differences in IP-based Inmate Video Visitation Systems

The codecs that are used inside each of station can be made by several manufacturers; some use proprietary algorithms to encode data, while others use standards-based algorithms. H.264 is the standard that is used by many IP based video and audio systems. Even though these IP devices use H.264, that doesn’t mean that the devices made by different manufacturers can communicate with one another. The handshaking that allows for these devices the ability to exchange video and audio capabilities is H.323. H.323 is a standard in videoconferencing systems that allows devices made by different manufacturers to communicate with one another and what allows devices manufactured by Polycom, Tandberg, VCON, Aethra, and Lifesize to connect to one another.

The same H.323 devices are being used in video visitation systems today to allow correctional facilities to expand the capabilities of their inmate video visitation systems. With H.323, facilities can connect their video arraignment, telemedicine, distance education and public defender systems with their inmate video visitation system — providing greater utilization of the system and better return on investment. Another, significant benefit of H.323 is that if a manufacturer stops manufacturing a specific codec, a correctional facility can replace it with a H.264 and H.323-compliant device and connect stations together just as before. This prevents system obsolescence and further improves return on investment.

Inmate Visitation Management Software

Along with the transition to more sophisticated IP-based inmate video visitation systems, so too has there been a movement to more sophisticated correctional facility inmate visitation management systems. Before, many analog systems were controlled using simple  touchscreen applications; nothing more than telling one station to connect to another. Now, IP-based inmate video visitation systems can be controlled using advanced inmate visitation management systems, such as VisManager from Renovo Software.

Advanced  inmate visitation management systems allow correctional facilities to control their entire visitation environment — whether face-to-face or video visits. Inmate visitation management software such as VisManager enables facilities to configure the system to meet their needs, rather than the other way around.  Facilities are able to import policies, restriction, quotas, housing units, time blocks and visitation center times into the system, and allow the system to manage their environment automatically. In addition, such modern systems are able to integrate with inmate management systems, so that double entry does not take place and inmate movements are automatically tracked — verifying whether visits can take place.

Advanced inmate visitation management systems also provide correctional facilities with a number of options for setting-up or scheduling visits. Renovo’s VisManager Inmate Video Visitation System is one such system that offers the capability for internet registration and scheduling, as well. Such features put the responsibility of scheduling visits with those who desire the visit, so that correctional facility staff can focus on other, more productive tasks.

Beyond these features, systems such as Renovo’s VisManager Inmate Video Visitation Management System let correctional facilities more adequately manage their inmate visitation environment; offering a suite of features that simply were not available before.

Video Visitation: Evolving Revenue Streams

May/June 2009
CORRECTIONAL  NEWS — MAY/JUNE 2010
www.correctionalnews.com

By Timothy J. Eickhoff

As correctional facilities continue to deal with locked-down budgets, converting conventional, face-to-face visitation to remote, video visitation has emerged as a way to reduce operational costs.

The question of whether video visitation systems actually save money and reduce or eliminate contraband flows has been answered definitively in the field: Yes. Today, a related question is emerging among corrections professionals, “How can we find the capital to deploy a solution, and how quickly will it pay for itself?”

Value-Added

The conventional deployment of video visitation systems creates payback in three primary ways:

1. Labor savings occur as a result of no longer having to escort inmates to and from housing units to the visitor area, and manage the public in the visitor area. Depending on a facility’s policies, procedures and building design, this savings can be immediate and potentially significant.

2. Labor and vehicle transportation savings occur as a result of no longer having to transport inmates to and from a facility for professional visits (e.g. courtroom arraignments, medical consultations, etc.)

Savings also occur associated with a reduction in contraband flows and the increased safety and security of staff and inmates.

3. The efficiencies and cost savings noted above are widely accepted as avenues for achieving return on video visitation investment. A more subtle benefit, relates to the reduction in disruptive behavior of inmates and more positive public relations that accrue from providing the opportunity for additional visits.

Moving beyond the area of cost savings, as video visitation technology continues to evolve, there is a growing interest in utilizing the technology to generate revenue as well.

Progress often comes at the expense of great debate and experimentation.

There are currently multiple methodologies and philosophies on the revenue-generation side of the technology, not all of which are proven or provide advertised results in the field.

Revenue Stream

The most obvious way to generate revenue from video visitation is to charge for visits. Although there are some agencies that would like to charge for every visit, such a practice would violate visitation requirements in almost every jurisdiction.

However, if a jurisdiction is required to provide two visits per inmate per week, there is rarely any restriction on charging for additional visits. Fees for these visits, including a cancellation policy/penalty, vary greatly by jurisdiction, and may be set by a facility at its discretion.

Another methodology for generating revenue through visitation is perhaps best referred to as “the Convenience Factor,” which can be used in conjunction with the above-mentioned standard income generation model to further increase revenues.

A simple concept, under the convenience model, the agency can provide multiple visitor centers from which visitors can participate in the remote visitation. Visitors can choose the most convenient location from the list of alternative centers, and be charged a fee for the service and convenience.

Individuals can decide for themselves whether a “free” visit at the facility, where the inmate is housed, merits the potential expense, such as time off work, drive time, gas, hotel, etc., or pay for service delivery at a more convenient time and location. Simply stated, this model grants the public the power of choice.

A wide variety of properties are currently being discussed and operated as remote convenience visitor centers, including local law enforcement sub-stations, other jails and prisons in the region, and Salvation Army locations and churches in the community.

When considering what to charge for visits, the obvious goal is to arrive at an optimal amount, before returns begin to diminish. The benefit comes from creating a revenue stream from stations that may otherwise be sitting idle. In the case of “the Convenience Factor” methodology, fees can typically be higher based on the potential for significant convenience.

Beyond the Visit

One of the more interesting and polarizing methodologies for utilizing video visitation to create additional revenue streams involves using dormant visitation stations as advertising billboards. The concept is simple: When a visitation station/kiosk is idle, an advertisement for a bail bondsman, lawyer or media products, to name but a few, can be displayed on the screen. Industry reaction has thus far been equally simple — the idea is either loved or hated.

Correctional facilities can also increase revenue from video visitation by creatively utilizing the inmate visitation scheduling system. Another simple concept — and this one performs as advertised: Responsibility for scheduling video visits can be transferred to the inmate and carried out from a scheduling interface on a kiosk.

Self-scheduling conserves labor, and reduces costs by eliminating staff involvement in the scheduling process and, more important, causes the inmate to pick up the phone or send an e-mail informing the visitor of the scheduled visitation.

While attitudes in corrections are as polarized by this practice as they are the notion of utilizing dormant stations as billboards, the ability of self-scheduling to increase revenues has been demonstrated in the field.

Clearly, video visitation is here to stay, and its value is greater than the sum of its parts. But exactly what that value is, how far the concept and technology can be pushed to generate revenue, remains unclear.

A video visitation system will pay for itself in labor, transportation and security savings — and it can be an excellent source of incremental revenue. However, at this time, the revenue captured for visits is in no way proven to offset the investment associated with installation of the network, equipment and other related costs.

Timothy Eickhoff is co-founder and managing partner of Minneapolis-based Renovo Software, which specializes in the development of video communications software solutions.

CORRECTIONAL  NEWS — MAY/JUNE 2010 www.correctionalnews.com