Behind bars and online: Computer tablets for inmates seen as tool to educate, improve behavior

A new program to provide computer tablets and a set of headphones to inmates will do just that, he said, both for the people behind bars and the ones on the other side.

Both the Erie and Niagara county jails, as well as other counties in the Western New York region, have contracted with companies that specialize in providing free and paid content to inmates.

Each tablet provides free access to instructional and educational videos, religious programming and thousands of e-books in the public domain. Those in custody can also purchase music, movies and games, and send and receive messages, photos and videograms for a fee.

Niagara County has had its tablet system in place since late 2021 and officials there say the program is working well. Erie County just started distributing its first set of specialized tablets to inmates and detainees two weeks ago. They have become instantly popular with inmates and with jail staff who report a reduction in noise and disputes since the tablets have been introduced, administrators said.

Garcia acknowledged some residents may consider it wrong to give criminal offenders tablets that other law-abiding citizens can’t access or afford. But ultimately, he said, any device that can educate and improve the behavior of incarcerated people, and reduce the strain on jail staff, is one he will endorse.  

“If the inmates are occupied by reading, by bettering their physical and mental health, and they’re not fighting with each other or attacking the staff, it’s a win-win,” he said.

Part of what makes the tablets so attractive to jail management administrators and government leaders is that the tablets don’t cost taxpayers anything. In Erie County, Advanced Technologies Group, a division of Keefe Group, agreed to provide the county 250 tablets and wire both the downtown Holding Center and Erie County Correctional Facility…