Key West The Newspaper

Detention Centers in the Florida Keys will be offering video visitation beginning next week. Families and friends of inmates in the county jail facilities will be able to visit via video by coming into any of the three detention centers in the Keys. Even better, they will be able to visit with an inmate from home for a fee of $9.95 per 25 minute call.

Beginning November 1st, the video equipment will be available and people can begin visiting via computer. The visits must be scheduled at least 8 hours in advance and can be scheduled up to two weeks in advance. There will be no charge for this service for those who wish to come into one of the Sheriff’s Office detention centers. Anyone wishing to visit from home will be charged a fee. Between November 1st and November 7th, there will still be in-person visits at the detention centers. As of November 7th, all visits will be virtual visits whether a person goes into the Detention Center, or visits from home.

“There are a number of really positive aspects to this change,” said Major Tim Age. “It will allow for more flexibility in visitation hours for all inmates; the visitation from home will help those who have children they don’t want to bring into our facilities and will also help with those who currently have to travel long distances to visit. From a law enforcement standpoint, it will mean less contraband coming into the jail and will mean less movement of inmates around the facility – always a good thing for security,” he said.

The Florida Keys is unique due to the driving distance sometimes required to visit inmates. An inmate whose family lives in Key Largo may currently have to drive to Key West to visit. Once video visitation is put in place, the family has more options. They can visit from home, or they can drive to the Plantation Key detention facility and visit for free from the video visitation terminal located there. And due to the large tourist population in the Keys, we have many inmates from other states. Now, their family members can utilize video visitation to see their loved ones as well.

Visitation days on site will be offered Sunday through Thursday and from home, every day of the week. Hours for on-site visiting will be from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 1 -4 p.m. Visitation hours from home will be 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., 1 – 4 p.m. and 7:30 – 11 p.m.

The Sheriff’s Office will receive a percentage of the fees paid for home visitation. That money will go into the Sheriff’s Office Inmate Welfare Fund. This fund is used to pay for jail programs that benefit inmates, such as educational programs, work release and drug treatment programs.

Information about the new video visitation can be found on the Sheriff’s Office web site at www.keysso.net. People can also visit the ICSolutions web site to set up an account or to schedule visits at www.ICSolutions.com. You can also call ICSolutions at 888-506-8407 to schedule appointments over the phone. You can go to the Key West Detention facility Sunday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. to book an appointment on the computer available for this purpose. If you have any questions, you can call the main Detention Center number at 305-293-7300.