The county prison is looking to upgrade the jail's phone and technology systems.

A request for proposals recently issued by the prison board calls for vendors to submit proposals by July 8.

Phones and computer tablets that inmates use and software for the jail management system are among the items the board wants to upgrade, Warden Joe Demore said.

“We want to see what else is out there, new technology,” Demore said.

The prison has a contract with Securus Technologies for the phones, tablets and software, he said. The original five-year contract with the Texas company was signed in 2013 and extended in 2018. The extension expires in January 2022.

There are 41 phones that inmates use, but they also use tables for phone calls, video visitation and education programs, Demroe said.

He said the board will evaluate the costs inmates pay to use the phone and would like to reduce it. Inmates are currently charged 27 cents a minute for local calls, but more for interstate and long-distance calls.

The jail management software contains information about inmates, including the criminal charges filed against them and their photos, he said.

Converting the inmate grievance system to digital and eliminating the existing paper system is among the upgrades being sought, Demroe said.

The technology upgrade would not affect any other inmate costs, he added.