Success Stories
Jefferson County CO
CUSTOMER OVERVIEW
Jefferson County Sheriff’s department operates a 1400 bed detention facility near Denver, CO receiving an average of more than 700 incoming calls per day.
IDENTIFIED ISSUES
The following issues were noted during the evaluation:
- The Facility was tremendously challenged to handle incoming calls during peak periods – many calls were left unanswered, frustrating constituents on a daily basis.
- There were already substantial staffing resources dedicated to answering incoming calls – approximately 20+ man hours per day, and the budget would not accommodate staff additions.
- 15-20% of Correctional Officer time was spent addressing inmate requests for information, consuming resources and sometimes distracting from supervisory responsibilities.
- Most requests for information from both inmates and outside callers were repetitive – there were typical questions relating to items such as: general facility policies, inmate-specific charges, bond information, court dates, projected release dates, visitation information and commissary balances.
AIS™ SOLUTION
SECURUS implemented AIS™, a patent-pending Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform with touch-tone, voice recognition, multiple languages, and seamless integration with Jail Management System (JMS) data. Now:
- 99.9%+ of incoming calls to the facility are answered within three rings with easy self-service options 24/7, dramatically improving constituent service.
- 80%+ of incoming calls to the facility are automated by AIS™. <20% of calls are transferred by AIS™ to facility staff members for assistance.
- 95%+ of inmate requests for information are automated by AIS™. <5% of inmate requests for information are manually fulfilled.
- The facility is somewhat safer due to fewer distractions during retrieval of information for inmates.
CUSTOMER OVERVIEW
Jefferson County Sheriff’s department operates a 1400 bed detention facility near Denver, CO receiving an average of more than 700 incoming calls per day.
IDENTIFIED ISSUES
Prior to February 2007, the 1400-bed Jefferson County, Colorado Detention Facility faced several administrative challenges. Incoming phone calls from friends, family, bail bondsmen and others flooded the facility well beyond capacity. Inmates incessantly asked line deputies for information about their cases.
With sworn personnel frequently called to abandon their phones for higher priority matters, the Facility’s inbound capacity averaged about 250 calls per day. Unfortunately, this was only a fraction of the total volume received. During much of the day and peak evening periods, in fact, the phones seemed to ring continuously. To make matters worse, most of the calls were mundane requests for standard facility and inmate information. With constituent complaints piling up and no end in sight, employee morale suffered. Facility Management knew that changes had to be made, but also knew that their limited budget would make adding staff members challenging. After all, their 250 calls per day averaging about 5 minutes each were already costing the facility approximately 7600 man hours per year, or $152,000 with an assumed average employee cost of $20 per hour.
Furthermore, the Jefferson County Detention Facility line deputies spent substantial time (an estimated 15-20%) addressing inmate requests for information. Inmates were constantly asking the same questions of line deputies - questions such as “What’s my commissary balance?” or “How much is my bond?” or “When is my next court date?” Many line deputies carried scribble pads to consolidate multiple requests into a single Jail Management System look-up session, but the requests remained substantial, time consuming, and in some cases unsafe, since pulling information distracted from supervisory responsibilities. With 30 line deputies spending at least 15% of their time addressing inmate requests, the man hours were estimated to be 9360 per year at a cost of $187,200, assuming an average employee cost of $20 per hour.
AIS™ SOLUTION
The solution to both problems came from Automated Information System or “AIS™,” which is a patent-pending Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system provided exclusively by Securus Technologies, Inc. AIS™ automatically provides information to outside callers and inmates over the phone. Outside callers simply dial a Facility’s main number with any standard cell phone or land line. Inmates access AIS™ through standard inmate phones, without the need for any new hardware or wiring.
FACILITY BENEFITS
Since the implementation of AIS™ at Jefferson County, the system has automated an average of more than 560 calls per day from the outside (of 700 calls received, 80% automation rate) and 650 calls from inmates (of 657 requests, 99% automation rate). With manually fulfilled requests previously averaging a conservatively estimated 5 minutes for outside calls and 3 minutes for inmate requests, the system is effectively performing 79 man hours of work per day, or 28,895 hours per year. With the system’s annual cost of ownership of $42,500 factored in, these hours only cost the facility about $1.47 per hour, whereas Jefferson County Sheriff Department employees cost an average of over $20 per hour. Though automated service is debatably inferior to personal service, many callers appreciate efficient self-service options. And the superiority of automated service vs. no service and the favorable economics of pennies on dollars are certainties.
Due to the facility’s “pent-up” demand, Return-on-Investment (ROI) calculation is somewhat of a subjective determination. Assuming the Facility would otherwise continue to operate with existing staffing levels, the return would be 1,900 hours (75% automation rate) for the outside application or $35,500 per year at $20/hr. A more valid assumption might be that the Facility would ultimately be forced to staff up to answer all calls received, whereby the return would become 14,450 hours per year for a much more impressive $289,000. On the inmate side, all user demand was previously met, so the savings are a constant 9270 hours (99% automation rate), or $185,400 in either scenario. Subtract out the system costs of $42,500 per year and the annual ROI becomes $178,400 in the current staffing level scenario. Assume staffing would otherwise be increased to meet constituent demand and the annual ROI becomes a staggering $432,000 per year!
And the numbers are only half of AIS™’ success at Jefferson County. Perhaps more important are AIS™’ softer returns of improved employee morale, better constituent service, and the invaluable return of facility safety. With AIS™ in place, the Jefferson County Detention Facility is able to scale back staffing on repetitive tasks and increase levels on complex projects and responsibilities requiring critical thinking. Finally, County constituents can now be confident that they will receive an immediate answer with an efficient self-service option each and every time they call the facility.
Lieutenant Mark Martin of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office sums it up: "The system has drastically reduced the need for staff to handle calls from the public reference information on inmates. The system also is capable of handling many more calls coming in than staff could ever respond to. Inmates can also access their own information which has reduced "kites" by over 50%. Deputies are less distracted by inmates seeking information and can concentrate on their primary duties (Safety and Security of the Facility). The automated system has streamlined inmate information access which has had a direct effect on operational efficiency.”