CINCINNATI — When the pandemic ended in-person visitation at jails across the nation, inmates at the Hamilton County Justice Center were allowed to rent computer tablets to communicate with the outside world.
How the inmates used those tablets has been a source of controversy — from burning holes in windows by removing the device’s battery to using social media to track down crime witnesses who may testify in court.
Now the fallout from those computer tablets is being felt throughout the jail and the prosecutor’s office.
Hamilton County prosecutors asked county commissioners in September to fund four new paralegal positions next year to deal with the backlog of inmate communications from tablets, including e-messages, phone calls and video visits.
"When the pandemic hit, that caused a backlog in cases. Defendants didn’t have access to jury trials almost for an entire two-year period … so those defendants started piling up inside of the jail," said assistant prosecutor Amy Clausing. "They stopped in-person visitation and instead provided tablets to the inmates … the volume of communication has skyrocketed coming from the jail to the outside."
Prosecutors monitor inmate communication to protect crime victims and witnesses, Clausing said, but they also discover the location of crime weapons and inmate confessions which bolster their cases in court.
"What you have in the jail is a concentration of murderers, rapists, shooters, robbers, gang members — the kind of people who present an actual public safety risk if they’re out of jail," Clausing said. "Their communications coming from the jail to the outside world present a risk to our witnesses, our victims, and our ability to keep cooperation in order to prosecute our cases."
When prosecutors last checked jail records a few weeks ago, there were 150 inmates awaiting trial on murder charges, Clausing said.
"Certain inmates make hours of phone calls a day … (they) are on the phone literally all day long," Clausing said. "And on top of that, they’re spending their other time sending email messages or doing video visits. It really is an insurmountable problem of communications for us to try to track."
But not any longer.
Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey permanently revoked the tablets from all male inmates more than a month ago because of repeated damage to jail windows.
"Finally, I just said that’s it, we’re pulling them. They’re done," McGuffey said. "No male inmate in this jail — and that is some 900 men — will have these tablets."
WCPO first reported on the damaged windows in March, when 38 cells were out of service while awaiting repair from county workers. The county has spent $190,000 for window replacement at the jail, according to spokesperson Bridget Doherty.
"The prior sheriff, Jim Neil, actually introduced these (tablets). He signed the contract. They were already ordered. The policy and procedure were already written and signed by him," said McGuffey, who took office Jan. 4, 2021. "I honored it because I felt like, 'Yes let’s give it a chance and see how it works.' Well, we found out in pretty short order that there were men in these facilities that were not using them appropriately."
Over time McGuffey said she tried different modes of handing out the tablets and new procedures to reduce damage before finally deciding to revoke them from male inmates altogether.
"The bottom line was — one more window and that was it," McGuffey said. "The women, however, the women were using them appropriately."
McGuffey initially removed all tablets from the entire jail but then decided a week ago to return the tablets to 100 female inmates because they had not caused any damage.
The county does not pay for these computer tablets. They are rented by inmates who also pay for video calls and e-messages, and to download many books, music, games, movies and TV shows.
"People who are in this jail are struggling with addiction, they’re struggling with life," McGuffey said. "These tablets, with the women, allow them to communicate and allow them to enrich their minds while they are here. The more we can engage someone who is incarcerated, the less issues we’re going to have when we talk about assaults on officers, when we talk about fights."
Audrey Shoemaker, who was in jail on drug-related charges, said she used the tablet for video visits with her two young children and to do homework with them.
"It’s hard already here. Having our tablets, it doesn’t make the time less harder, it just makes it to where … you can deal with the situation of being in here but still make it," Shoemaker said. "Just to be able to see my kids to make sure they’re okay and doing good. It helps me a lot."
Jayla Wilbon, who was in jail for an impaired driving offense, said the weeks without the tablets before McGuffey returned them to female inmates were difficult.
“Everybody was cats and dogs at each other … Now with the tablets it’s something to do,” said Wilbon, who talks with her son and siblings on the tablet.
Lacey Kelley was in jail for a probation violation and said it is a calmer place with the tablets, noting they help her anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
"We don’t get to go outside so it helps me to escape this place," Kelley said.
McGuffey still does not allow in-person visitation because of COVID, but she would like to resume face-to-face visits for treatment providers, clergy members and attorneys soon. Meanwhile, friends and family can visit inmates for free by using video kiosks in the first floor visiting area. Pay phones are also available at the jail.
McGuffey doesn’t dispute the fact that some male inmates had been using the tablets to communicate for hours a day before they were removed. But not many.
"It probably did happen … it can’t be a tremendous amount of inmates because of the cost involved, because 16 cents a minute adds up. And, you have to have somebody on the outside who’s willing to pay that bill," McGuffey said.
McGuffey said she didn’t know that prosecutors were having a difficult time keeping up with the higher volume of jail communications.
"I will say had I known that was a concern, had anybody called and notified me … I’m happy to collaborate on that and we could change it," McGuffey said. "We could change any of those procedures in this jail that are not fundamental rights and those aren’t fundamental rights, those are privileges."
Will the volume of communication drop now that tablets have been revoked from male inmates?
"Absolutely it will. Because the men in this institution, the 900 or so men in this institution, now have to go back to what they were doing, which is sharing a kiosk, sharing the phone," McGuffey said. "You can only be on there for so long before somebody else has to have a turn."
In the meantime, prosecutors still have a backlog of jail communications that was created during the height of the pandemic to review.
"We don’t currently have any paralegals working on this, which is why it’s such a need. The amount that we’re asking for will really just scratch the surface," Clausing said in an Oct. 10 interview. "The police are just as busy, so having dedicated staff to sit and listen to specific offenders when we have a specific concern will provide important evidence at trial."
County administrator Jeff Aluotto said if the paralegal request moves forward in the budget, the cost could be offset with federal American Rescue Plan Act funding because it is related to the pandemic. County officials are expected to release their proposed budget in November.
