NCJ Number
105281
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 56 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1987) Pages: 19-24
Date Published
1987
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The success of Alaska's program that uses remote television or video systems for criminal arraignments instead of transporting prisoners from the jail to the courtroom suggests the possible usefulness of such a system in other jurisdictions.
Abstract
Such a system saves times and resources, improves public safety and courtroom security, speeds the release from jail of people bailed out and released on recognizance, and virtually eliminates the possibility of civil liability resulting from incidents during prisoner transport. However, establishing such a system requires appropriate laws as well as interagency support and cooperation. The system established in Fairbanks, Alaska, arose from awareness of the need to improve efficiency and lower costs during a time of declining public revenues. The Fairbanks courtroom and the jail are located a mile apart. Each has a television camera, a 23-inch television monitor, a 5-inch< television monitor on which participants view themselves, microphones, and a telephone for attorney-client conferences. The courtroom also has a 40-inch television for the attorneys and audience to view the defendant. A video recorder playback unit plays a prerecorded tape advising defendants of their rights at the beginning of the day's proceedings. Each day, the jail uses a facsimile machine to transmit a roster of the defendants to the court. Details on the system's operation, cost savings, possible other uses, photographs, figures, and 6 footnotes.