The vendor is required to provide that phone and video visitation system for on premise visitation and remote visitation from any web connected device.
- department is currently an 8-building campus style facility where inmates are held during pre-trial waiting or while awaiting placement in long-term facilities after being sentenced.
- combine state-of-the art equipment and technology with the highest level of support and cooperation from the selected vendor to best meet the needs for the SCSO
- all equipment, line costs, installation, and maintenance throughout the term of the contract to include replacing any broken or damaged equipment on a 1 for 1 basis.
- The telephone system is to provide the following types of call service from inmates in the SCSO: collect, direct billing, advance paid, debit and credit card.
- Inmate Phone System Equipment:
• All telephones must meet approved guidelines for correctional facilities and include as a minimum:
i. Vandal resistant heavy gauge steel housing
ii. Lexan type handset cords with metal lanyard
iii. Hearing aid compatible
iv. Coinless operation
v. Equipped with calling instructions
vi. Line powered
• Include manufacturer’s specifications, including pictures and dimensions, of the proposed telephone instruments.
a. All calls shall be processed by an automated operator and shall not allow access to a live operator at any time.
d. After the dialing sequence, the inmate shall be put “ON HOLD” and not be permitted to monitor call progress and shall not be allowed to communicate with the called party until the call is positively accepted.
e. The system shall be capable of informing the called party of the charges that will be billed for the call prior to acceptance of the call.
f. The system must provide a recorded announcement informing the called party that the call is a collect call from the SCSO and identify the inmate initiating the call. Describe the type of announcements available and the procedure that the called party must following in order to accept the call.
g. Describe the capability of the proposed system for a special broadcast message to be recorded by the Chief of Correction to be played when the called party answers the phone in addition to the standard message.
h. Describe the capability of the proposed system to allow SCSO Administration to play a prerecorded message over all active calls to announce that the system is going to be shut down in a specific time frame (e.g., 15 seconds) in lieu of abruptly ending all active calls.
i. The system should have the ability to allow selected pre-programmed numbers at no charge and in confidence.
j. Multi-lingual voice prompts must be available for both the inmate and the party called the languages available and how the options are presented to both parties.
k. The system must be programmed to deny operator access, third party billing, and incoming calls and only allow one call per connection:
i. System must be programmed to deny access to 800, 888, 877, 411, 555- 1212, 900, 911,
950+1, 976 or 1010XXX numbers.
ii. System must allow the blocking of specific telephone numbers such as victims, witnesses, judges and County staff.
l. The system must process all inmate calls on an outgoing, station-to-station and prepaid basis.
m. the proposed system handles an attempt by an inmate to use three-way calling through an outside party.
n. It is the vendor’s responsibility to check for distance restrictions and make Sullivan County aware of any potential problems.
o. Vendor must provide a TDD unit for use during the contract period and training on the device.
p. It is the vendor’s responsibility to provide adequate surge protection and battery backup for no less than 60 minutes on all equipment.
- Phone System Monitoring and Recording:
• the proposed system includes an integrated capability to monitor, record, store and retrieve inmate phone conversations on a real-time basis.
• the proposed system is equipped to alert SCSO personnel when calls are made to restricted numbers
• any provision to disconnect calls while being monitored.
• the means of recognition in recorded calls for key words
• the proposed system’s capability to forward live calls or recorded calls to other phones, inside or outside the facility, for monitoring.
• Specifically address the system’s ability to simultaneously call a predetermined outside number, to allow real-time monitoring of the call, when an inmate places a call to a specific number.
• the proposed system’s capability to allow security level access from outside the facility for monitoring of live or recorded calls.
• Provide information regarding the medium used for recording calls and storage of the calls.
• The proposed system must have the capability of storing recordings on-line for the entire contract term with the option to archive to USB.
• Provide intelligence gathering services where they will listen to all the calls made by the inmate population and from those calls provide a daily intelligence report as to any events or information that could be of interest.
• Also provide cell phone data retrieval up to and including Chip-Off data retrieval.
• Provide voice biometric evidence gathering and investigative analysis tool.
- Hardware Requirements:
a. Sullivan County is requesting a total of seventy-six (76) visitation terminals with the ability to add more as needed. The terminals shall include, at a minimum:
i. A detention grade hardened steel enclosure
ii. A shatterproof fifteen (15) inch or larger LCD touch screen monitor
iii. A web capable camera
iv. One (1) detention grade audio handset per terminal, or two (2) detention grade audio handsets per terminal for visitor terminals in the lobby
v. H.264 standards-based videoconferencing Encoder/Decoder
vi. Must be assembled from non-proprietary, off-the-shelf computer components
vii. Detention grade hardened steel wall mounted enclosure
b. The terminal must prevent spills from entering the enclosure.
c. The enclosure shall not have any openings exposed to the user. This includes all wiring and ventilation holes.
d. The enclosure shall not have any external hinges.
e. The terminal shall have a shatterproof touch screen LCD display.
f. The terminal shall have a built-in camera that is height adjustable.
g. The terminal shall have a built-in notification indicator that automatically activates during video visitation sessions and automatically ends when the video visitation session completes.
h. The terminal shall have the option for one handset, two handsets, and handsfree device.
i. The terminal shall be powered by POE.
j. The terminal shall utilize standards-based videoconferencing CODEC (Encoder/Decoder) based on the H.264 video conferencing compressions.
k. The terminal must be assembled from non-proprietary, off-the-shelf computer components.
l. The terminal must have heat vents and fans located in the back of the terminal in order to allow for proper cooling.
m. The enclosure shall not have a physical on/off switch, instead must be powered on/off using a magnet.
n. The terminal must be secured to the wall using a mounting bracket with a minimum of four (4) screws/bolts.
o. The terminal must then secure to the mounting bracket using no less than two (2) security screws.
- Software Requirements:
a. The video visitation scheduling, user management, and policy management, must be web-based and allow for Sullivan County to administer visitation sessions and visitation operations based on Sullivan County policies.
b. The video visitation solution shall include the following scheduling: automation, policy management, and usability functionality.
c. The proposed system must assign a unique identification number to each inmate
and user.
d. Multi-lingual inmate interface (e.g., English and Spanish at a minimum).
e. Web-based visitation scheduling for authorized users (designated staff, attorneys, the public).
f. Inmate terminal must display their own pending visits.
g. Web-based scheduling system must allow users to easily and simply schedule a visitation session.
h. Web-based scheduling system must require visitors to provide photo ID or a visitation session ID.
i. Web-based scheduling system must only display timeslots that meet SCSO policies.
j. Web-based scheduling system must conduct all conflict checking and only display times that are available.
k. Web-based scheduling system must allow users to easily change their personal information.
l. Web-based scheduling system must send and email to the visitor when a visit is scheduled, modified, or cancelled.
m. If a scheduled visit is cancelled, the timeslot should become available for scheduling.
n. Web-based scheduling system must assign a unique visitation identification number for every visit for reporting and tracking.
o. System must use set durations for each visit and can be adjusted by the staff.
p. The system shall provide a notification to all users that the session is being recorded. The system will also require said users to “acknowledge” the notification prior to the start of the session.
q. The system shall provide a visual warning message to inform the visitor that the visit will be ending in “5” minutes.
r. The system shall provide different levels of functionality to users based on their user type. For example:
i. Administrators: create/manage/edit – users, schedules, etc.
ii. Users: create/manage/edit their own schedules; read-only user: can only view scheduled     
s. Each user will require a unique username and password that will dictate their level of functionality.
t. The system must provide an audit trail of all system activity
u. The system must provide a solution for employees providing classification services to schedule and engage with inmates over the visitation system to facilitate a safer interaction.
v. The system shall allow for integration with or data retrieval from the county’s Jail Management System.
w. The system must provide a minimum of two (2) year data retention period past the contract expiration.

- Contract Period/Term: 4 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: February 19, 2025