Erie County Prison Remote Inmate Video Visits

Erie County Prison

Address:
1618 Ash Street
Erie, PA 16503-2168
Phone:
814-451-7500

Schedule a Video Visit with an Inmate at the Erie County Prison - Remotely or at the Jail

The Erie County Prison believes in the importance of their inmates having an opportunity to have visits from family and friends. When an inmate is released he or she needs to return home, and closeness to their family is one of the strongest reasons that keeps them from getting in trouble again.

One way that Erie County Prison is able to accomplish this is with Smart Communications remote video visitation. Remote visiting allows loved ones to use their phone or computer to connect directly with their inmate via a video kiosk in the jail or using tablets, all in a joint effort between the facility and Smart Communications.

The benefits of video visitation are:

• It keeps inmates happy.
• Allows the inmates to stay in touch with friends, family and children.
• It saves on staff time, thus money.
• Allows the jail to partake in a revenue share.
• Keeps viruses from spreading.
• Keeps contraband from entering the facility.

For more information on Smart Communications video visits and video messages, call the facility at 814-451-7500 or scroll down for a complete section of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers.

Remote Video Visitation with an Inmate

Erie County Prison uses Smart Communications for Remote Video Visitation between inmates and their loved ones.

How Video Visitation Works
SmartJailMail.com provides a two-way, real-time video visitation system which can be used to speak to your loved ones directly in their housing location within the jail.
At some locations you may also use a lobby kiosk at the facility to visit for free when scheduling a local / on-site visit.
Remote visits from home cost 50 cents per minute and are scheduled in 15 or 30 minute increments.
To schedule a video visit you must first open a Smart Communications account.

Remote Video Visits From Home
Once you are connected with an inmate you can use the visitation section of the website to schedule a visit.
Remote visits from home are billed on a credits-per-minute model and are scheduled in 15 or 30 minute blocks.

Local / On-Site Video Visits
Once you are connected with an inmate at a location where you have a visitation kiosk in the lobby, you may use the visitation section of the website to schedule a visit.
Local / on-site visits are provided free of charge.

This link explains everything you need to know about Smart Communications Video Visitation.

Erie County Prison ON-SITE (at the jail) VIDEO VISITATION SCHEDULE

1618 Ash Street
Erie, PA 16503-2168
814-451-7500

Schedule Video Visits online with Smart Visit

• On-site Visits are free.
• Visitation schedule subject to change.
• Inmates are allowed four 30-minute visits per week.
• You must arrive 15 minutes prior to the visit.
• A maximum of one adult and one child are allowed per an on-site video session.
• Only one infant (under 1 year of age) will be allowed per visit and will not be counted as a visitor
• All visits must be made at least 24 hours in advance.
• Any person visiting must not have been incarcerated within the past 180 days.

ON SITE VISITATION SCHEDULE

Erie County Prison REMOTE (at home) VIDEO VISITATION SCHEDULE

Schedule Video Visits online with Smart Inmate

• All visits must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance.
• Remote visits are charged a fee.
• Visitation Schedule subject to change.

REMOTE VISITATION SCHEDULE

Attorneys have access to their clients during the following times:

8:00 AM - 9:00 PM

• Inmates cannot be seen during mealtimes, lockdowns and emergency situations.
• Attorneys may call 814-451-7500 for questions or appointments.

Frequently Asked Questions about Remote Video Visits

What is a video visit, and how do they work?

Who are the companies that facilitate video visits?

What is a video visit, and how do they work?

Video visitation, also known as remote visitation, is quickly becoming the preferred method for visiting an inmate in jail or prison for the following reasons:

•    It requires little to no staff, versus the staff required to move inmates to and from the visit and watch over the visit. It saves the Erie County Prison money.
•    It removes any opportunity for contraband (drugs) to enter the facility.
•    It can become a profit center for the facility, given that the revenue generated by visits is shared with the jail.
•    While inmates prefer to see family and friends in person, video visitation allows them to visit with them more often, and on a whim.
•    Video visitation gives the inmates and their visitors the feeling of more privacy.

Video visitation from the perspective of the visitor allows them to visit from their home, their car, at work, and even allows them to take their device to a family or religious gathering. It allows them to give their inmate the feeling of belonging and not being forgotten.

Video visitation can take place on a computer, a tablet or a phone. 

Video visitation saves time. Instead of spending hours driving to the jail, checking in, filling out paperwork, potentially being searched, waiting, and then having a 15–30-minute visit, if it isn’t cancelled at the last minute, the visit can be done from anywhere during a short break in the visitor’s day.

If the visitor does not have access to a phone or computer, they can make an appointment ahead of time and use terminals in the lobby of the jail.

You must also be on the inmate's approved list, even for a video visit.

Who are the companies that facilitate video visits?

There are several different companies that contract with all the jails and prisons that allow video visitation:

These are the companies in alphabetical order:

CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Correct Solutions Group
Correct Pay
Ctel
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Canteen
Inmate Sales
iwebvisits
JailATM
Jpay
Gettingintouch (netvisit)
NCIC
Prodigy Sales
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Tiger Services
Visitel
In addition, some jails use Microsoft Meeting and Zoom.