US008929525B1
`
`(i2) United States Patent
`Edwards
`
`(io) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 8,929,525 B1
`Jan. 6, 2015
`
`(54) ON-DEMAND VIDEO COMMUNICATION
`FOR CONTROLLED-ENVIRONMENT
`FACILITY RESIDENTS
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`(71) Applicant: Securus Technologies, Inc., Dallas, TX
`(US)
`
`(72)
`
`Inventor: Adam C. Edwards, Fort Worth, TX
`(US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Securus Technologies, Inc., Dallas, TX
`(US)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl.No.: 14/323,582
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Jul. 3, 2014
`
`(51)
`
`(2006.01)
`
`Int.Cl.
`H 04M 15/00
`(52) U.S. Cl.
`CPC ...................................... H 04M 15/61 (2013.01)
`USPC .................... 379/114.21; 348/14.01; 379/188
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`CPC .... H04M 3/2281; H04M 3/38; H04M 15/00;
`H04M 15/47; H04M 15/68
`USPC .................. 379/114.21, 114.23, 114.24, 188;
`348/14.01, 14.08
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`2005/0031092 A l*
`2013/0227149 A l*
`2014/0267547 A l*
`2014/0273929 A l*
`* cited by examiner
`
`2/2005 Um em uraetal............. 379/88.13
`8/2013 A thluretal....................... 709/227
`9/2014 Torgersrud et al............ 348/14.02
`9/2014 Torgersrud ...................... 455/406
`
`Primary Examiner — Quoc D Tran
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm — Fogarty, L.L.C.
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`During a voice call from a resident of a controlled-environ-
`ment facility to another party, a selection of an option by the
`resident or the other party to convert the voice call to a video
`communication between the resident and the other party may
`be made. Whereupon, a controlled-environment communica­
`tions processing system may confirm that the other call party
`agrees to convert the voice call to a video communication, and
`may query a controlled-environment facility administration
`and management system to confirm that the resident may take
`part in a video communication. Thereafter, such as in
`response to confirmation both parties agree to convert the
`voice call to a video communication and/or that the resident
`may take part in a video communication, a video communi­
`cation link may be established between a communication
`device in use by the resident and a communication device in
`use by the other party.
`
`25 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
`
`100
`
`110
`
`CONTROLLED-ENVIRONMENT FACILITY
`
`VIDEO
`VISITATION
`SYSTEM
`170
`
`165
`/
`ROUTER
`
`CONTROLLED- ENVIRONMENT
`FACILITY COMMUNICATIONS
`PROCESSING SYSTEM
`105
`
`ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
`
`RESIDENT ACCOUNT
`MANAGEMENTSYSTEM
`185
`
`175
`N,_____
`
`-180
`
`GTL 1001
`PGR of U.S. Pat. No. 8,929,525
`
`0001
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 6,2015
`
`Sheet l of 3
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`US 8,929,525 B1
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`FIG. 1
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`-180
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`175
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`185
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`MANAGEMENTSYSTEM
`RESIDENT ACCOUNT
`
`n u
`
`ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
`
`120
`
`105
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`FACILITY COMMUNICATIONS
`CONTROLLED- ENVIRONMENT
`
`PROCESSING SYSTEM
`
`170
`SYSTEM
`VISITATION
`
`VIDEO
`
`ROUTER
`
`165
`
`145
`T-
`s/w
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`CONTROLLED-ENVIRONMENT FACILITY
`
`110
`
`/
`
`A.
`115
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`-F!
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`100
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`0002
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Jan. 6, 2015
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`Sheet 2 of 3
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`US 8,929,525 B l
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`200
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`205
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`210
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`215
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`220
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`325
`
`FIG. 2
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`300N
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`305
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`310
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`320
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`FIG. 3
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`0003
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`US. Patent
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`Jan. 6, 2015
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`Sheet 3 of3
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`US 8,929,525 B1
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`400
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`405
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`410
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`CONNECT A VOICE CALL
`
`FROM A RESIDENT OF A
`CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT
`FACILITY TO ANOTHER PARTY
`
`ACCEPT A SELECTION OF AN OPTION
`
`BY THE RESIDENT OR THE OTHER
`PARTY TO CONVERT THE VOICE
`CALL TO A VIDEO COMMUNICATION
`
`CONFIRM
`
`
`THAT THE OTHER CALL
`
`
`NOT CONFIRMED
`PARTY AGREES TO CONVERT
`
`THE VOICE CALL TO A VIDEO
`
`COMMUNICATION
`
`
`
`CONFIRMED
`
`
`CONFIRM
`
`
` NOT CONFIRMED
`THAT THE RESIDENT MAY
`
`TAKE PART IN A VIDEO
`
`COMMUNICATION
` CONTINUE WITH
`VOICE CALL
`425
`
`CONFIRMED
`
`420
`
`
`
`ESTABLISH A VIDEO
`COMMUNICATION LINK BETWEEN
`A COMMUNICATION DEVICE IN
`
`USE BY THE RESIDENT AND A
`COMMUNICATION DEVICE IN USE
`BY THE OTHER PARTY
`
`430
`
`FIG. 4
`
`0004
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 6, 2015
`
`Sheet 3 of 3
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`US 8,929,525 B l
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`400
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`405
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`410
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`430
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`420
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`F IG . 4
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`0004
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`

`

`1
`ON-DEMAND VIDEO COMMUNICATION
`FOR CONTROLLED-ENVIRONMENT
`FACILITY RESIDENTS
`
`TECHNICAL FILED
`
`The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods
`for providing communication services to residents of con-
`trolled-environment facilities, more particularly to providing
`video communication for such residents, and specifically to
`providing on-demand video communication for controlled-
`environment facility residents.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`According to the International Centre for Prison Studies,
`the United States has the highest prison population per capita
`in the world. In 2009, for example, 1 out of every 135 U.S.
`residents was incarcerated. Typically, inmates convicted of
`felony offenses serve long sentences in prison (e.g., federal or
`state prisons), whereas those convicted of misdemeanors
`receive shorter sentences to be served injail (e.g., county jail).
`In either case, while awaiting trial, a suspect or accused may
`remain incarcerated. During his or her incarceration, an
`inmate may have opportunities to communicate with the out­
`side world.
`By allowing prisoners to have some contact with friends
`and family while incarcerated, the justice system aims to
`facilitate their transition back into society upon release. Tra­
`ditional forms of contact include telephone calls, in-person
`visitation, etc. More recently, technological advances have
`allowed jails and prisons to provide other types of visitation,
`including videoconferences and online chat sessions.
`To enable these various types of communications, a jail or
`prison may install communication devices in different parts
`of the facility. Such communication devices are dedicated to
`provide inmate contact with the outside world. These devices
`are located in different areas throughout the facility. Tradi­
`tionally controlled-environment facility communication ven­
`dors have provided services that allow residents of a con­
`trolled-environment facility to initiate phone calls and
`conduct voice communication with non-residents of a con­
`trolled-environment facility. This is typically referred to as an
`inmate outbound call. Alternatively, non-residents of a con­
`trolled-environment facility can pay for a scheduled video
`visitation event to occur where both the resident and the
`non-resident log into a video visitation application at the
`scheduled time to have a video conversation.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`The present systems and methods are directed to providing
`on-demand video visitation for controlled-environment facil­
`ity residents. In accordance with embodiments of the present
`systems and methods, a voice call from a resident of a con­
`trolled-environment facility to another party may be con­
`nected by a controlled-environment facility communications
`processing system. The other party may be a non-resident of
`a controlled-environment facility, or in accordance with some
`embodiments, a resident of the same or different controlled-
`environment facility. The controlled-environment facility
`communications processing system may offer the resident
`and the other party an opportunity to convert the voice call to
`a video communication, and/or the controlled-environment
`facility communications processing system may accept a
`selection of an option by the resident or the other party to
`convert the voice call to a video communication between the
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`US 8,929,525 B1
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`2
`resident and the other party. Thereafter, the controlled-envi­
`ronment facility communications processing system may
`establish a video communication link between a communi­
`cation device in use by the resident and a communication
`device in use by the other party.
`Also, in accordance with various embodiments, the con­
`trolled-environment facility communications processing sys­
`tem may confirm, prior to establishing the video communi­
`cations link, that the resident or other party, who did not select
`the option to convert the voice call to a video communication,
`agrees to convert the voice call to a video communication.
`Additionally or alternatively, prior to establishing the
`video communications link, the controlled-environment
`facility communications processing system may confirm that
`the resident may take part in a video communication, such as
`by querying a controlled-environment facility administration
`and management system.
`Further, prior to establishing the video communications
`link, the controlled-environment facility communications
`processing system may accept payment from the resident or
`the other party for payment of the video communication. For
`example, by charging a resident communications account
`maintained by the controlled-environment facility for the
`benefit of the resident for payment of the video communica­
`tion, such as maintained by a controlled-environment admin­
`istration and management system and/or a resident account
`management system. In embodiments wherein the other party
`is a resident of the same or different controlled-environment
`facility a community communications account maintained by
`at least one of the controlled-environment facilities for the
`benefit of both of the residents may be charged for payment of
`the video communication, such as maintained by a con­
`trolled-environment administration and management system
`and/or a resident account management system.
`In various embodiments, one or more of the techniques
`described herein may be performed by one or more computer
`systems. In other various embodiments, a tangible computer-
`readable storage medium may have program instructions
`stored thereon that, upon execution by one or more computer
`systems, cause the one or more computer systems to execute
`one or more operations disclosed herein. In yet other various
`embodiments, one or more systems may each include at least
`one processor and memory coupled to the processors,
`wherein the memory is configured to store program instruc­
`tions executable by the processor(s) to cause the system(s) to
`execute one or more operations disclosed herein.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`Having thus described the invention in general terms, ref­
`erence will now be made to the accompanying drawings,
`which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
`FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of an example com­
`munications environment, wherein an example embodiment
`of the present systems and methods for providing on-demand
`video communication may be employed, according to some
`embodiments;
`FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example process for on-demand
`video communication for controlled-environment facility
`residents, in accordance with some embodiments;
`FIG. 3 is a flowchart of another example process for on-
`demand video communication for controlled-environment
`facility residents, in accordance with some embodiments ; and
`FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a further example process for
`on-demand video communication for controlled-environ­
`ment facility residents, according to some embodiments.
`
`0005
`
`

`

`3
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`US 8,929,525 B1
`
`The invention now will be described more fully hereinafter
`with reference to the accompanying drawings. This invention
`may, however, be embodied in many different forms and
`should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set
`forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that
`this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully
`convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
`One skilled in the art may be able to use the various embodi­
`ments of the invention.
`This description is directed to systems and methods for
`providing communication services to residents of controlled-
`environment facilities, more particularly to providing video
`communication for such residents, and specifically to provid­
`ing on-demand video communication for controlled-environ-
`ment facility residents. The present systems and methods
`provide embodiments that during a voice call from a resident
`of a controlled-environment facility to another party, a selec­
`tion of an option by the resident or the other party to convert
`the voice call to a video communication between the resident
`and the other party may be made. Whereupon, a controlled-
`environment communications processing system may con­
`firm that the other call party agrees to convert the voice call to
`a video communication, and may query a controlled-environ­
`ment facility administration and management system to con­
`firm that the resident may take part in a video communication.
`Thereafter, such as in response to confirmation both parties
`agree to convert the voice call to a video communication
`and/or that the resident may take part in a video communica­
`tion, a video communication link may be established between
`a communication device in use by the resident and a commu­
`nication device in use by the other party.
`Various types of controlled-environment facilities are
`present in today’s society, and persons may be voluntary or
`involuntary residents of such facilities, whether temporarily
`or permanently. Examples of controlled-environment facili­
`ties may include correctional institutions (e.g., municipal
`jails, county jails, state prisons, federal prisons, military
`stockades, juvenile facilities, detention camps, home incar­
`ceration environments, etc.), healthcare facilities (e.g., hos­
`pitals, nursing homes, mental health facilities, rehabilitation
`facilities, such as drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities,
`etc.), restricted living quarters (e.g., hotels, resorts, camps,
`dormitories, barracks, etc.), and the like. Such correctional
`facilities present numerous difficulties in areas such as secu­
`rity, surveillance, financial transactions, communications,
`visitation, investigation, budgetary, etc.; which in turn make
`technological implementations uniquely challenging in those
`environments. For convenience of explanation, various
`examples discussed herein are presented in the context of
`correctional facilities, orthe like. For instance, in some of the
`embodiments discussed below, a controlled-environment
`facility may be referred to as a correctional facility, jail or
`prison, and its residents may be referred to as inmates, arrest­
`ees, or detainees. In many cases, technologies that are used
`outside of correctional facilities are not immediately appli­
`cable to the correctional environment without significant
`changes and modifications. Moreover, correctional facilities
`may have specific needs that are not particularly relevant
`outside of those environments. However, it should be under­
`stood, that the systems and methods described herein may be
`similarly applicable to other types of controlled-environment
`facilities and their respective residents (e.g., a hospital and its
`patients, a school dormitory and its students, etc.).
`Typical systems and methods do not allow or provide on-
`demand video communication services between residents
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`and non-residents. As noted, video visitation is typically a
`scheduled event. In accordance with embodiments of the
`present systems and methods, a resident using an IFD (Intel­
`ligent Facility Device), which may be a video phone particu­
`larly adapted for use in a controlled-environment facility or
`an IID (Intelligent Inmate Device), similar to a tablet device
`or smartphone places an outbound call to a non-resident
`(friend or family member). One orbothparties realize, orthey
`may be prompted, that video communication is available to
`them. They have already paid for the voice call. However,
`either party can select an option on the phone/device and
`allow the other party to accept the request to turn the call into
`video, such as for a reduced fee compared typical video
`visitation. Once they both accept, one of the parties provides
`payment for it, and they are automatically connected to com­
`municate via video communication, instead of only voice.
`This may operate to promoting usage of video communica­
`tion, improving revenue, and at the least “upsell” the commu­
`nication service from a phone call to a video communication.
`Hence, embodiments of the present systems and methods,
`will allow either party to turn a voice only call into a video
`communication session. It is intended that the same levels of
`control and restriction would apply. That is, if the resident is
`not allowed video communication, this should not be a
`mechanism for him to skirt the security controls, further
`limitations, controls, allowed and block lists, etc. would also
`apply to the video communication.
`FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of example commu­
`nications environment 100, wherein example embodiments
`of the present systems and methods for providing on-demand
`video communication may be employed, according to some
`embodiments. As shown, communication processing system
`105 may provide telephone services, videoconferencing,
`online chat, and other communication services to controlled-
`environment facility 110. In some cases, as illustrated com­
`munication system 105 may be co-located with controlled-
`environment facility 110. Alternatively, communication
`system 105 may be centrally or remotely located with respect
`to one or more controlled-environment facilities and/or may
`provide communication services to multiple controlled-envi­
`ronment facilities. More generally, however, it should be
`noted that communication system 105 may assume a variety
`of forms, and may be configured to serve a variety of facilities
`and/or users, whether within or outside of a controlled-envi­
`ronment facility.
`Residents may use more-or-less conventional telephones
`115 to access certain communication services. In some facili­
`ties, residents may also use a personal computer wireless
`device, such as a tablet computing device or smartphone 120,
`which may have been adapted and/or approved for use in
`controlled-environment facility. Such a device may be
`referred to as an Intelligent Inmate Device (IID), or the like,
`in a correctional institution embodiment. Also in some facili­
`ties a resident may use a video communication device 125, or
`the like, to place voice calls, as well as for video communi­
`cation. Such a video communication device may be referred
`to as an Intelligent Facility Device (IFD), which may be a
`video phone particularly adapted for use in a controlled-
`environment facility. Generally speaking, video communica­
`tion device/IFD 125 may be disposed in a visitation room, in
`a pod, as part of a kiosk, etc. As will be appreciated, IID 120,
`IFD 125, or other similar devices have video conferencing
`capabilities, or the like, to enable a party to participate in
`video communication sessions with other call parties, such as
`non-residents of the controlled-environment facility, via
`video communication, secure online chat, etc.
`
`0006
`
`

`

`5
`As noted, IID 120 may be a tablet computing device or
`smartphone adapted and/or approved for use by residents of
`the controlled-environment facility (within the controlled-
`environment facility). Each IID 120 may be particularly
`adapted for use in a controlled-environment. For example, in
`a correctional institution, jail, or the like, such an IID may be
`“stripped-down,” particularly from the standpoint of what
`applications programs (apps) are provided or allowed on IID
`120, and/or connectivity afforded IID 120. For example, such
`an IID may be adapted to only connect to a network provided
`by the controlled-environment facility, and/or in only certain
`locations, within the controlled-environment facility, such as
`may be controlled by availability of Wi-Fi access, or the like,
`only being available in certain areas, as discussed above. That
`is, for example, where access may be compartmentalized,
`leveraging the structure of the controlled-environment facil­
`ity for example limiting the availability of a Wi-Fi signal
`providing the stream through the placement of wireless
`access points, antenna directionality of such wireless access
`points, and/or the like. Also, the IID may have a few fixed
`apps pre-installed on the device, and installation of further
`apps on the device may be forbidden (i.e. prevented by modi­
`fications to the device’s operating system, or the like) and/or
`restricted, such as by requiring permission from a facility
`administrator, or the like. Apps provided on IID 120 might
`include apps of particular interest to residents of the con­
`trolled-environment facility. For example, IID 120 provided
`to inmates of correctional facilities, might include apps that
`may be of particular use to an inmate, in general, such as
`access to a legal research service, or of more specific interest,
`such as providing an inmate nearing release, access to
`employment searching apps or the like. Fience, such IIDs may
`be used to help soon to be released inmates transition. For
`example, the IID may be used to communicate with a future
`employer, or the like. As such, IIDs may be sponsored, or
`otherwise subsidized by organizations or companies, assist­
`ing with the transition of inmates into society.
`In some embodiments, video communication devices 125
`may be implemented as a computer-based system. For
`example, each of video communication devices 125 may
`include a display, camera, and handset. The display may be
`any suitable electronic display such as, for example, a Liquid
`Crystal Display (LCD), a touchscreen display (e.g., resistive,
`capacitive, etc.), or the like, whereas the camera may be any
`suitable imaging device such as, for instance, a video camera
`or webcam equipped with Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs),
`Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor
`(CMOS)
`active pixel sensors, etc. A handset may be similar to a tradi­
`tional telephone handset including an earpiece portion (with
`a loudspeaker), a handle portion, and a mouthpiece portion
`(with a microphone). During a video communication session,
`video communication devices 125 may be configured to cap­
`ture a video image of a resident to be transmitted to a non­
`resident using the camera, and to display a video image of the
`non-resident to the resident using the display. Video commu­
`nication devices 120 may also be configured to capture an
`audio signal from the resident to be transmitted to a non­
`resident using the mouthpiece portion of the handset, and to
`provide an audio signal from the non-resident to the resident
`using the earpiece portion of the handset. Additionally or
`alternatively, audio received from the non-resident may be
`reproduced via a loudspeaker, and audio provided by the
`resident may be captured via a microphone. In some cases,
`video communication devices 125 may assume the form of
`any computer, tablet computer, smart phone, etc., or any other
`consumer device or appliance with videoconferencing capa­
`bilities. For example, in a correctional facility environment a
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`US 8,929,525 B1
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`6
`tablet computing device may be mounted on a wall, in a
`hardened case as a video communication device.
`To access communications services, a resident may initiate
`telephone services by lifting the receiver on telephone 115 or
`IFD 125, and/or otherwise initiating a call, such as by launch­
`ing an applications program (app) on IID 120. At which time,
`the resident may be prompted to provide a personal identifi­
`cation number (PIN), other identifying information or bio­
`metrics. An interactive voice response (IVR) unit (not shown,
`but which may be integrated into communications processing
`system 105) may generate and play a prompt, or other mes­
`sages, to the resident on device 115, 120 or 125. Under the
`control of communication processing system 105, devices
`115, 120 and 125 may be capable of connecting to a non­
`resident’s (i.e., a person not incarcerated or otherwise com­
`mitted to a controlled-environment facility) device 130 or
`telephone 135 across a publicly switched telephone network
`(PSTN) 140. For example, device 130 may be a mobile
`phone, whereas telephone 135 may be located at a non-resi­
`dent’s home or office, at a resident visitation center, etc.
`Switch 145 in communication processing system 105 may be
`used to connect calls across PSTN 140. Additionally or alter­
`natively, the non-resident may communicate using devices
`150 or 155, which may be connected through an Integrated
`Services Digital Network (ISDN), Voice-over-IP (VoIP), or
`packet data network 160, such as, for example the Internet.
`Router 165 of communication processing system 105 is used
`to route data packets associated with a call connection to
`devices 150 or 155. For example, a non-resident party may
`have a personal or laptop computer 155 with a webcam, or the
`like, or device 150 may have an integrated camera and display
`(e.g., a smart phone, tablet, etc.). A network connection
`between the parties may be established and supported by an
`organization or commercial service that provides computer
`services and software for use in telecommunications and/or
`VOIP, such as SKYPE®. Additionally or alternatively, the
`correctional facility and/or the destination may use videocon­
`ferencing equipment compatible with ITU H.323, H.320,
`H.264, and/or V.80, or other suitable standards.
`Video communication system 170 may be configured to
`provide, schedule, and manage communication services to
`residents and non-residents of a controlled-environment
`facility. Video communication system 170 and/or communi­
`cation system 105 receive and/or manage video visitation
`signals via network 160. Video communication system 170
`may be coupled to PSTN 140 and/or network 160 in a manner
`similar to communication processing system 105 by also
`including one or more gateways, switches and/or routers (not
`shown). Accordingly, video communication system 170 may
`be configured to communicate with one or more residents of
`the controlled-environment facility via devices 115, 120 or
`125 and with one or more non-residents via devices 130,135,
`150 or 155. To this end, video visitation system 170 may
`include one or more media gateways, multimedia servers,
`and/or the like, which may facilitate not only video commu­
`nications but also conversion of a voice communication to a
`video communication, in accordance with various embodi­
`ments of the present systems and methods. For example,
`video visitation system 170 may tear down an original voice
`call after, or while, setting up the video communication, such
`as under direction of a media gateway controller, which may
`be separate from or integrated with video visitation system
`170 and/or its media gateway(s), multimedia server(s), etc.
`Although video communication system 170 is shown in FIG.
`1 as being located with controlled-environment facility 110
`and separate from communication processing system 105,
`
`0007
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`US 8,929,525 B1
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`7
`video communication system 170 may be located outside
`facility 110 and/or integrated within communication process­
`ing system 105.
`In addition to providing certain visitation and communica­
`tion operations, communication processing system 105 may
`attempt to ensure that a resident’s calls, video conferences,
`online chats, etc. are performed only with non-residents
`whose identities, devices, email addresses, phone numbers,
`etc. are listed in that resident’s Pre-Approved Contact (PAC)
`list. Each resident’s PAC list may be stored, for example, in
`database 175 maintained by controlled-environment Admin­
`istration and Management System (AMS) 180. In addition to
`PAC list(s), AMS 180 may also store Resident Profile Data
`(RPD), as well as communication and/or visitation rules
`applicable to each resident. As an example, in the context of
`a correctional facility, AMS 180 is referred to as a Jail Man­
`agement System (JMS). Within the AMS or JMS 180, data­
`base 175 may include information such as balances for resi­
`dent trust and calling accounts; trial schedule; conviction
`data; criminal record; sentencing data, such as time served,
`time remaining to be served, and release date; cell and cell­
`mate assignments; resident restrictions and warnings; com­
`missary order history; telephone call history; call recordings;
`known or suspected gang or criminal affiliations; known or
`suspected affiliates, accomplices, or gang members; and any
`other information that may be relevant or useful to correc­
`tional facility staff to house and maintain residents. Con­
`trolled-environment facility resident account management
`system 185, which may be a separate system, or which may be
`a part or function of AMS 180, as illustrated, may maintain
`resident accounts to the benefit of the respective resident,
`such as a resident communications accounts, which may be
`used to pay for communications, such as phone calls, video
`visitation, internet chats, emails, text messages, or the like.
`Such communications accounts may in some embodiments,
`include community communications accounts maintained by
`controlled-environment facility resident account manage­
`ment system 185, administration and management system
`180, and/or the like, of at least one controlled-environment
`facility, to the benefit of a number of residents of the same of
`different facilities for payment of communications.
`In some implementations, communications processing
`system 105 may be configured to perform video communica­
`tion monitoring operations configured to monitor and or
`record video communication sessions (e.g., as electronic
`video files). In scenarios where communications processing
`system 105 is located within the controlled-environment
`facility, it may have direct access to AMS or JMS 180. In other
`embodiments, however, communications processing system
`105 may be located remotely with respect to the controlled-
`environment facility, and access to AMS or JMS 180 may be
`obtained via a computer network such as, for example, net­
`work 160.
`In accordance with embodiments of the present systems
`and methods, controlled-environment facility communica­
`tions processing system 105 may include at least one proces­
`sor and a memory coupled to the processor(s), storing pro­
`gram instructions executable by the processor(s). Controlled-
`environment facility communications processing system 105
`may function in accordance with embodiments of the present
`systems and methods, to provide communications processing
`services to facility residents, such as to connect a voice call
`initiated by a resident of the controlled-environment facility
`to another party. This other party is typically an outside,
`non-resident party. However, in accordance with some
`embodiments of the present systems and methods, the other
`party may be a resident of controlled-environment facility
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`n o or another controlled-environment facility. Hence, simi­
`lar to traditional systems and methods, communication from
`a controlled-environment facility may be initiated by the resi­
`dent to the non-resident. The resident would lift the handset
`receiver of devices 115, 120, 125 or press an icon on the
`screen of device 120 & 125. By lifting the receiver or select­
`ing the icon, controlled-environment facility communica­
`tions processing system 105 will initiate communication
`setup processes to the resident (initiator) of the communica­
`tion event. The controlled-environment facility communica­
`tions processing system will walk the resident through lan­
`guage selection, communications type selection (i.e. collect
`call, debit call, calling card call, etc.), may require the resident
`to enter identifying information such as a PIN or Password,
`may validate a biometric print (e.g., a voice print) to validate
`the PIN or Password against a pre-enrolled voice file, or the
`like, and collect the telephone number or email address to be
`called or emailed. Once the resident has completed the setup
`process, the controlled-environment facility communications
`processing system will validate the information and verify
`that the communication is allowed to continue. The con­
`trolled-environment facility communications processing sys­
`tem will then process the communication to the non-resident
`of the controlled-environment facility. The non-resident will
`receive admonishment information such as rate quotes, posi­
`tive acceptance of the communication, balance information,
`etc. Once the non-resident accepts the communication
`admonishments, the resident and the non-resident are con­
`nected into an established communications event (i.e., a voice
`call)
`However, in order to provide on-demand video co