June 05, 2008

Videoconferencing isn’t just for corporate meetings anymore. Now inmates at the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla can attend court hearings miles away without ever leaving the prison. 

It’s all part of Westchester County’s efforts to use technology to save money and improve efficiency and security. The county has so far conducted five electronic court appearances since it began holding the hearings last week.

“It’s really a win, win situation for everyone,’’ said County Executive Andy Spano. “Inmates don’t have to be transported to local courts for routine hearings. It saves on the cost of transportation, of paying police and correction officers to take the prisoners to court, and its safer for the local courts, which in many cases don’t have secure facilities to deal with prisoners.’’

Spano thanked Town Justice Robert J. Ponzini of Mount Pleasant Town Court for making the partnership possible. The county has been working with the judge and the Town of Mount Pleasant for more than a year to prepare for the new electronic court appearance system.  The county also received the approval of the state’s Office of Court Administration to go ahead with the project.

“The advent of video conferencing will improve the security of the court setting, reduce costs for Mount Pleasant Courts, and at the same time preserve the rights of the attorneys and defendants who must appear before the court,’’ said Judge Ponzini. 

The system allows the judge to see and hear the inmate and the inmate to see and hear not only the judge, but proceedings in the entire courtroom. This was accomplished by installing four wall-mounted, remote-controlled cameras in the Mount Pleasant courtroom. The cameras, which are controlled by the judge, provide the inmate with a view of the prosecuting attorney, the defense council and the gallery and overall courtroom.                                                                                

All four views can be displayed at once on the monitor or separately. Wireless microphones and an audio system allow the inmate to hear the proceedings. Cameras and video monitors and an audio system were also installed at the jail so the judge and other court parties can see and hear the inmate as well. 

The project was coordinated and installed by Dimension Data, a telecommunications and IT specialist, using systems developed by Cisco Systems and York Telecom. It was made possible by a fiber optic network installed by Optimum Lightpath as part of a county initiative to interconnect government, schools and other public facilities.

The county projects that using electronic court appearances instead of transporting prisoners to Mount Pleasant will save about $25,000 a year. The savings will come from gas and not having to pay escorts from the Department of Public Safety whose time could be used more productively elsewhere. In 2007, Department of Public Safety police officers transported approximately 300 prisoners from the Westchester County Jail to the Town of Mt. Pleasant Court, an average of about six a week. Aside from cost savings, electronic court appearances are safer for the officers who have to transport inmates and safer for the public since many local courts do not have lockup areas for the prisoners.

Mount Pleasant was chosen as a pilot for the electronic court appearances because it has an established relationship with the county Department of Corrections. It is the court where inmates must appear if they commit crimes while in jail.  Before starting the hearings, Westchester not only worked with Mount Pleasant to establish a procedure, but conducted a demonstration for Legal Aid attorneys who routinely represent jail clients to familiarize them with the new system.  

Westchester County is the second county in the state (besides Erie County) to use electronic court appearances. New Jersey and all five boroughs of New York City currently conduct electronic court appearances. Section 182 of the NYS Criminal Procedure Laws authorizes electronic court appearances in 25 counties including Westchester.