Industry-first feature allows friends and family members to see an inmate’s “status,” enabling more frequent communication and lowering recidivism rates
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Reston, Virginia (PRNewsWire) – September 26, 2017 – GTL, today announced the release of Request2Call™, an industry-first feature that allows an inmate’s friends and family members to submit a call request to the inmate.
“Inmates can only make calls out to their friends and family members, they cannot receive calls,” said Eric Gonzalez, GTL Executive Director, Inmate Telephones and Intelligence Tools. “Without knowing when to call, inmates may give up on connecting with their loved ones after a number of failed attempts. Request2Call deals with this issue and aids successful communications between an inmate and their support network, which can help with reducing recidivism.”
Studies have shown that inmates who keep in contact with their support network are less likely to reoffend and be reincarcerated. With that in mind, GTL created the innovative Request2Call feature, which combines GTL’s industry-leading Inmate Telephone System (ITS) and Inspire® tablet. The feature enables communication by allowing friends and family members to use the GTL ConnectNetwork® website or mobile applications to submit a call request to an inmate using a GTL Inspire tablet. Status indicators inform a friend or family member of an inmate’s availability, ensuring a timely response.
“GTL is constantly innovating and investing in our customers and in our technology—like this industry-first feature—in order to help inmates and their friends and family members connect easily and efficiently,” said Mark Meleski, GTL Vice President of Consumer Experience. “As a company, we are not only dedicated to offering the best technology, we are dedicated to offering the best technology that enables connection over various mediums, promoting communication, which helps combat recidivism.”
As soon as a friend or family member initiates a Request2Call to an inmate, the inmate receives a message that a call request has been made. The message comes through as a visual and audible alert, including information about who is making the request. At that point, the inmate can initiate a call or dismiss the message.
Even though this new feature is directed at inmates and their loved ones, the safety and security of correctional facilities is always at the forefront. Facility staff have complete visibility into all requests, including whether they originate from the website or a mobile app, as well as what calls are completed by the inmate in response to requests. The safety features of GTL’s ITS, such as call recording, monitoring, reporting, voice biometrics, and more, are in place through the entire process from call request to call completion.
“Inmates have long been able to make telephone calls on Inspire tablets. This innovation will help reduce the stress of inmates and their loved ones worried about being available for a call. It’s a game-changer for inmates and their friends and family members looking to use increased contact to drive rehabilitation and a more successful reentry after release,” concluded Mr. Gonzalez.
GTL continues to strengthen its position as the corrections technology leader with the introduction of Request2Call, the first time an application with this functionality has been available in our industry, and holds U.S. Patent No. 9,621,714 on this notification system in addition to the 14 patents for ITS and 17 patents for the Inspire Tablet that have all been issued in the last 12 months.
Corrections professionals wanting to learn more about bringing GTL’s ITS, Inspire tablets, and Request2Call into a facility are invited to contact GTLtoday. Friends and family members of an inmate should visit ConnectNetwork to determine if Request2Call is available at the correctional facility where their loved one is incarcerated.
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About GTL
GTL leads the fields of correctional technology, education, and government payment services with visionary solutions and customized products that integrate seamlessly to deliver security, financial value, and operational efficiencies while aiding inmate rehabilitation and reducing recidivism rates. With the recent acquisition of Telmate, GTL has strengthened its suite of solutions for the corrections industry and expanded its community corrections portfolio with Telmate Guardian, a smartphone-based GPS monitoring solution. As a trusted industry leader, GTL provides services to over 2 million inmates in more than 2,500 correctional facilities in the United States and Canada, including 33 U.S. departments of corrections, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and many large city/county/provincial facilities. GTL is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more about GTL, please visit www.gtl.net or our social media sites on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
About ConnectNetwork
GTL’s ConnectNetwork is the one-stop resource for friends and family members to connect with their incarcerated loved ones. Friends and family can deposit money into an inmate’s accounts, schedule and conduct video visits, and send messages. To learn more about ConnectNetwork, please visit www.connectnetwork.com or social media sites on Facebook and Twitter.
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