Alarm control for inmate call monitoring

• US 10,027,797 B1
• Filed: 09/11/2017
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Global Tel-Link Corporation
• Original Assignee: Global Tel-Link Corporation
• Inventors: Hodge, Stephen L., Darring-Collins, Catherine Rose, Marino, Dominick
• Primary Examiner(s): BEZUAYEHU, SOLOMON G
• Application Number:
  US15/700,850
• Time in Patent Office: 309 Days
• Field of Search: 379 8801- 8819, 379189
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/256 comprising a service specific user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/551 Call history recording a computer conference H04L12/1831
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/558 Databases
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/20 with means for interrupting existing connections; with means for breaking-in on conversations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an inmate call monitoring station including a processor and/or circuit configured to display data regarding a plurality of inmate communications occurring in a correctional facility on a display, wherein each inmate communication includes a participating inmate from among a plurality of inmates in the correctional facility, receive, from a monitoring server, a first notification indicating detection of a predefined event in a first inmate communication, play audio of the first inmate communication through an output device in response to receiving the first notification, receive, from the monitoring server, a second notification indicating activation of an alarm in response to the detection of the predefined event, wherein the alarm is activated to emit a sound in an area of the correctional facility until the alarm is manually turned off, and transmit, to the monitoring server, a request to suspend the first inmate communication.

Claims

1. An inmate call monitoring station comprising:

a display;

an input device;

an output device;

a network interface device configured to communicate with a monitoring server and an alarm; and

a processor and/or circuit configured to;

display data regarding a plurality of inmate communications occurring in a correctional facility on the display, wherein each inmate communication includes a participating inmate from among a plurality of inmates in the correctional facility;

receive, from the monitoring server, a first notification indicating detection of a predefined event in a first inmate communication;

play audio of the first inmate communication through the output device in response to receiving the first notification;

receive, from the monitoring server, a second notification indicating activation of the alarm in response to the detection of the predefined event, wherein the alarm is activated by the monitoring server to emit a sound in an area of the correctional facility until the alarm is manually turned off; and

transmit, to the monitoring server, a request to suspend the first inmate communication, wherein the request is generated by the input device.

2. The inmate call monitoring station of claim 1, wherein the data regarding the plurality of inmate communications occurring in the correctional facility comprises a name of a participant of the first inmate communication, an identification number of the participant, a dialed phone number, a name and identity of a call recipient, a date, time, and a call duration for each inmate communication in the plurality of inmate communications.

3. The inmate call monitoring station of claim 1, wherein the predefined event in the first inmate communication comprises a three-way calling event, a call forwarding event, extra dialed digits in the first inmate communication, or a dialed phone number not in a list of phone numbers approved for the first inmate.

4. The inmate call monitoring station of claim 1, wherein the first notification indicating detection of the predefined event comprises data regarding an identity of the first inmate, a dialed phone number in the first inmate communication, time and duration of the first inmate communication, dates and times of prior communications of a participant of the first inmate communication, a list of violations from prior communications of the participant of the first inmate communication, and audio of the prior communications of the participant of the first inmate communication.

5. The inmate call monitoring station of claim 1, wherein the alarm is unable to be turned off manually by an administrator of the correctional facility until after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

6. The inmate call monitoring station of claim 1, wherein the area of the correctional facility includes the alarm and the inmate call monitoring station.

7. The inmate call monitoring station of claim 1, wherein the first inmate communication is suspended by the monitoring server in response to transmission of the request to the monitoring server.

8. A method for inmate call monitoring at a monitoring station in a correctional facility, the method comprising:

displaying data regarding a plurality of inmate communications occurring in the correctional facility on a display of the monitoring station, wherein each inmate communication includes a participating inmate from among a plurality of inmates in the correctional facility;

receiving, from a monitoring server, a first notification indicating detection of a predefined event in a first inmate communication;

playing audio of the first inmate communication through an output device of the monitoring station in response to receiving the first notification; and

receiving, from the monitoring server, a second notification indicating activation of an alarm in response to the detection of the predefined event, wherein the alarm is activated by the monitoring server to emit a sound in an area of the correctional facility until the alarm is manually turned off.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting, to the monitoring server, a request to suspend the first inmate communication, wherein the request is generated by an input device of the monitoring station.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting, to the monitoring server, a request to bridge a user device of an investigator to the first inmate communication, wherein the request is generated by an input device of the monitoring station.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the data regarding the plurality of inmate communications occurring in the correctional facility comprises a name of a participant of the first inmate communication, an identification number of the participant, a dialed phone number, a name and identity of a call recipient, a date, time, and a call duration for each inmate communication in the plurality of inmate communications.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the predefined event in the first inmate communication comprises a three-way calling event, a call forwarding event, extra dialed digits in the first inmate communication, or a dialed phone number not in a list of phone numbers approved for the first inmate.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the first notification indicating detection of the predefined event comprises data regarding an identity of the first inmate, a dialed phone number in the first inmate communication, time and duration of the first inmate communication, dates and times of prior communications of a participant of the first inmate communication, a list of violations from prior communications of the participant of the first inmate communication, and audio of the prior communications of the participant of the first inmate communication.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the alarm is unable to be turned off manually by an administrator of the correctional facility until after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

15. A computing device for monitoring inmate calls in a correctional facility, the computing device comprising:

an input device;

an output device;

a network interface device configured to communicate with a monitoring server and an alarm system; and

a processor and/or circuit configured to;

monitor data regarding a plurality of inmate communications occurring in the correctional facility, wherein each inmate communication includes a participating inmate from among a plurality of inmates in the correctional facility;

receive, from the monitoring server, a first notification indicating detection of a predefined event in a first inmate communication;

play audio of the first inmate communication through the output device in response to receiving the first notification;

receive, from the monitoring server, a second notification indicating activation of the alarm system in response to the detection of the predefined event, wherein the alarm system is activated by the monitoring server to emit a sound in an area of the correctional facility until the alarm system is manually turned off; and

transmit, to the monitoring server, a request to bridge an investigator to the first inmate communication, wherein the request is generated by the input device.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the data regarding the plurality of inmate communications occurring in the correctional facility comprises a name of a participant of the first inmate communication, an identification number of the participant, a dialed phone number, a name and identity of a call recipient, a date, time, and a call duration for each inmate communication in the plurality of inmate communications.

17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the predefined event in the first inmate communication comprises a three-way calling event, a call forwarding event, extra dialed digits in the first inmate communication, or a dialed phone number not in a list of phone numbers approved for the first inmate.

18. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the first notification indicating detection of the predefined event comprises data regarding an identity of the first inmate, a dialed phone number in the first inmate communication, time and duration of the first inmate communication, dates and times of prior communications of a participant of the first inmate communication, a list of violations from prior communications of the participant of the first inmate communication, and audio of the prior communications of the participant of the first inmate communication.

19. The computing device of claim 15, wherein a user device of the investigator is bridged to the first inmate communication in response to transmission of the request to the monitoring server.

20. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the alarm system comprises a sound module configured to emit the sound that is unable to be turned off manually by an administrator of the correctional facility until after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.