Prison Video Visitation Coming Soon Due to Coronavirus Restrictions

Recent test data released by the Michigan Deparment of Corrections (MDOC) reveal that roughly 10% of the state's prison population have tested positive for the coronavirus. At one facility, voluntary antibody testing revealed roughly 40% of those tested were positive for the coronavirus antibody. This result likely means more than 10% of the state's prisoners have been infected with the virus at some point. 

In total, at least 68 state prisoners have died from the coronavirus. Current positive infection numbers are quite low (around 10 prisoners), but the risk for a resurgence among prisoners is very high. As a result, the department continues to restrict transportation between prisons, currently forbidding prison-to-prison transfers. Some recently incarcerated prisoners have transferred to select prisons from the state's prison entry point (ironically called "Quarantine") in Jackson, Michigan after testing negative to the virus and experiencing a period of isolation. 

Because of the heightened risk of viral infection in a prison environment, the MDOC is unlikely to resume prison-to-prison transfers or in-person visitation for prisoners and their loved ones until prisoners have received a vaccine against the virus. The department expects this will be no sooner than after the first of the year, if not later. 

In the meantime, the MDOC recently announced its intention to roll out video visitation on a trial basis at seven facilities within three months. These facilities include: Women's Huron Valley, G. Robert Cotton, Chippewa, Richard A. Handlon, Newberry, and Ionia Correctional Facilities, as well as the department's hospital, Duane Waters Health Center. The reported cost for video visitation will be the same as phone calls at 16 cents per minute, still on the high side due to MDOC "kickbacks." Although kickbacks were outlawed by the Michigan legislature, the MDOC has used a workaround to pocket the difference between the state's contracted telephone rate of 4.5 cents per minute and the cost prisoners or their loved ones pay of 16 cents per minute. Technical details of how video visitation will work, and whether any additional fees will be charged (very likely), are not yet known. After the initial roll-out, if all goes well the department expects video visitation will be made available statewide. 

With in-person visits currently unavailable in Michigan's prisons, phone usage has been way up. It is unclear exactly how much telephone usage has increased, but anecdotal evidence suggests close to a doubling in call volumes. As a result, many prisoners are finding it difficult to get time on the phone with their loved ones. Average wait times for phone availability at MTU are currently around 45 minutes. It is unclear whether or not the state will add additional phones and if video visitation phones will be numerous enough to meet the anticipated demand. 

Many prisoners are anxious to resume in-person visits with their loved ones; nevertheless, while video visitation is better than phone calls, a general concern among prisoners is that after the quarantine is lifted that the department will find a way to use video visitation as an excuse to further limit in-person visits going forward. Nevertheless, Chris Gautz, the department's spokesman, told the Detroit Free Press that the department has no such plans (7/24/20 13AA).