SC inmates to get tablets for movies, phone calls

Officials hope the devices will curb the amount of contraband cell phones being smuggled into facilities

January 22, 2019 01:52 PM

New Hampshire Department of Corrections Officer Glen Dinning puts a tablet back into a charging cabinet at the Corrections Transitional Work Center, a low risk security section at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men, in Concord, N.H., Monday, July 23, 2018. Inmates across the country are getting access to technology via tablets in an effort to help their education, keep them connected to family and reduce noise and violence in prison.

By Corrections1 Staff

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Officials hope giving inmates tablets will help combat the dangers of illegal cellphones behind bars.

South Carolina Corrections Director Bryan Stirling is unveiling a program to provide tablet computers to inmates, Fox News reports.

The devices will allow inmates to make calls home at a cheaper rate than pre-existing phone call programs as well as provide access to preloaded educational materials, movies and music services through a secure Wi-Fi network.

“This will go directly to that cell phone problem,” Stirling said. “This is going to make our prisons safer.”

Contraband cell phones are smuggled in the state’s institutions by the thousands. Corrections officials hope the tablets will make the idea of smuggling cell phones less attractive to inmates.

Sterling has referred to cell phones as the primary security threat in his prisons and has made eradicating them a top priority.