PITTSBORO, Miss. (WTVA)-- A new phone system is helping the Calhoun County Sheriff's Department keep up with what's going on in and outside the jail.
The system comes from Securas Technology of Ridgeland, Mississippi.
The sheriff says it's like a pay phone, but with some unique features.
"It has some security features that we really like. We're able to listen to the phone calls and monitor them. It even has the ability for us to put in certain key words. And, if an inmate uses one of those words we immediately get a text message or an e-mail," said Pollan.
It's all new hardware and equipment and Pollan says the jail is a lot safer.
"We've had threats made against our jail staff that we were able to segregate those people and put them in lock down until the situation corrected itself. We've actually caught inmates trying to get people to smuggle things in for them. Throw tobacco products or cell phones over into the exercise yard. We actually made an arrest just from the phone system," he said.
Sheriff Polian says the system is actually paying for itself, because the department gets a percentage of every call made from the jail.
He says his department has used the same phone provider for the past four years.
