Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Corrections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Local resident tells Board she has spent $6,500 on video calls; asks Hanover to restore in‑person jail visits
Summary
Two public comments by Susan Samuel warned about high visitation and telecom fees at the regional jail, citing a family cost of more than $6,500 and a lack of in‑person visits since May 2022; the Board asked staff to follow up and the speaker supplied documents for review.
A Hanover resident, Susan Samuel of the Beaver Dam District, used citizens time to press the Board on visitation and telecommunications charges at the regional jail serving Hanover County, and she submitted handouts for the Board to review.
Samuel said her son was incarcerated on 05/08/2022 and that she has not seen him in person since then. "In two years we have spent over $6,500 so my grandchildren can speak to their father," she said during the daytime session. Samuel described repeated charges for video visits and telephone transactions, criticized the vendor GTL and said that policies originally adopted for COVID have remained in place. She reported that a 30‑minute video visit costs $7 and that families also face fees to place money on inmate accounts and to use that money.
The Chair asked Samuel to fill out a contact card so staff could follow up; she later returned in the evening session to press additional questions about the contracting and accounting of payments and to highlight differences between stated indigent policies and what families were charged. The Board acknowledged the concerns and said staff would circle back to answer specific questions and review the paperwork Samuel provided.
No vote occurred on the jail vendor or policy during the meeting; the Board took the comments as a request for staff follow‑up.
