A new service in Fairbanks will help prison inmates, their family and friends, stay batter connected. “Video Visiting” provides audio and video interface between a designated site in Fairbanks and a Colorado prison, where many Alaska inmates are serving time. The Tanana Chiefs Conference and the State Department of Corrections worked together to set up the program in Fairbanks. A large portion of Alaska’s prison population is Alaska Native, and T.C.C. Justice Task Force Chair Shirely Lee says “Video Visiting” is an outgrowth of a long running effort to house inmates closer to home.
T.C.C. will offer Video Visiting between the Al Ketzler Senior building in downtown Fairbanks and Colorado’s Hudson Correctional Facility by reservation, three afternoons a week. Up to 4 prison approved people can participate in the video sessions with an inmate. The 30 minutes sessions are monitored by the prison. Video Visiting with the Hudson Correctional Center is already offered by other organizations in several Alaska locations.
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Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
