Tidal Wave Telecom’s secure video relay service – Secure VRS® – is used by city and county jails nationwide and the Department of Corrections. Click here to see a list of Federal prisons and county jails presently using SecureVRS®.
It’s ADA compliant, secure and has a proven track record, while eliminating the possibility of a VRS lawsuit by a deaf or hard of hearing inmate.
Are you an insurance company, law firm or relative of a deaf inmate? Then it’s crucial you know about SecureVRS®.
CITY AND COUNTY JAILS
- It is inevitable that your city or county jail will arrest a person who is deaf or hard of hearing. It’s not a matter of if – but when.
- When this event happens and you do not have a video relay service terminal – a deaf video phone – your city or county jail is violating that prisoner’s civil rights and exposing your facility to a potentially costly liability.
- In 2015, a New York City woman, who is deaf said NYPD officers wrongfully arrested her and ignored her pleas for an American Sign Language interpreter. The woman settled her lawsuit against the city for $750,000 – a sum her attorneys said was the largest ever deaf discrimination settlement for a single person. Officers ignored police guidelines for how to deal with the deaf, and in doing so violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Secure video relay service is easy and convenient for city and county jails to implement. Turnkey is available to buy and install or cloud-based services also are available.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
- Nationwide, at the state level, DOCs have never won a single court case denying deaf people a right to a video phone call.
- Installing just one of SecureVRS system costs less than your attorney’s fees for one month.
- With secure video relay service, an ongoing protracted legal battle is unnecessary.
- Tidal Wave Telecom’s secure video relay service technology is proven, it has been adopted by several DOCs located nationwide - and it’s secure.
INSURANCE COMPANIES
- The case precedence is clear – insurance companies are AT RISK for paying settlements to deaf inmates who have had their civil rights violated by not being able to make a video telephone call to their attorney or relative.
- Does your insurance company want to risk insuring a jail or prison not using secure video relay services? If your customers are presently NOT using Tidal Wave Telecom’s secure video relay services to provide mandated telephone calls to deaf inmates and prisoners using SecureVRS - you are AT RISK for millions of dollars in settlements.
- TTY for deaf inmates is OBSOLETE and no longer meets minimum requirements. If your customer is a prison or jail using out-of- date technology, your insurance company is increasing its risk exponentially by violating an inmate’s civil rights.
- Eliminate the liability for each of your customers nationwide with one email asking them if they presently use Tidal Wave Telecom’s secure video relay services – an ADA mandated secure technology solution - for deaf and hard of hearing inmates and instantly eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars of risk.
- In 2015, a New York City woman, who is deaf said NYPD officers wrongfully arrested her and ignored her pleas for an American Sign Language interpreter. The woman settled her lawsuit against the city for $750,000 – a sum her attorneys said was the largest ever deaf discrimination settlement for a single person.
- In addition to the substantial New York settlement – every other case that has made it to court regarding a deaf inmate has resulted in a settlement.
- Tidal Wave Telecom’s secure video relay service eliminates the risk for insurance companies who are on the hook for paying the settlements to deaf inmates who are unable to make a video telephone call.
- Compliance is key. If you are insuring a prison, city or county jail – contact us today to learn more about how our SecureVRS can eliminate risk and ensure your client is protected from lawsuits.
LAW FIRMS
- Federal prisons as well as city and county jails are legally obligated to provide secure managed access for ADA mandated video telephone calls for deaf and hard of hearing inmates.
- Secure video relay services for deaf inmates is not a privilege – it is a right.
- To not provide secure video relay services to the deaf or hard of hearing inmates is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Tidal Wave Telecom’s secure video relay services are presently installed and have been accepted by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on down to local county and city jails. Our SecureVRS technology meets the requirements of the security personnel in an organization as well as the rights of the deaf inmates.
- Our technology is proven, accepted and readily available as a turnkey or cloud-based solution. There is no reason a prison or jail to not offer secure video relay services to the deaf or hard of hearing inmates. You can’t afford to be without it.
- Federal prisons, county and city jails must legally have secure video relay services installed for deaf inmates – they have no choice. If they don’t have it – they risk being sued and will always lose.
- Compliance is key. If you are a law firm representing a prison, city or county jail – contact us today to learn more about how our SecureVRS can eliminate risk and ensure your client is protected from lawsuits.
RELATIVES OF DEAF INMATES
- Do you have a deaf or hard of hearing relative in prison or a city or county jail? If yes, they have a right to make ADA mandated video telephone calls.
- If an organization is only offering your deaf or hard of hearing relative access to TTY – this technology is OBSOLETE and no longer meets minimum requirements.
- Do you know anyone incarcerated who is being denied civil rights for the telephone call? Your relative is ENTITLED to make a secure video relay services call. You DO NOT have to use outdated TTY terminals!
- If the prison or jail has out-of- date technology, your incarcerated relative’s civil rights are being violated. Court settlement amounts for deaf and hard of hearing inmates, who have not been provided with secure video relay services to make a call, have been in the MILLIONS of dollars.
- Education is key for the family of the deaf or hard of hearing inmate. Did you know it does not matter how long of a period your deaf relative has been incarcerated? Whether they were arrested last night or serving a longer sentence – under the Americans with Disabilities Act they are legally entitled to make ADA mandated video telephone calls.
- Reach out to one of these advocacy groups [hyperlink here] to see if your relative has video relay services to make a call. Don’t let your deaf or hard of hearing relative’s civil rights be violated!