Colorado inmates’ tablets taken away for security reasons

Colorado authorities say they decided to take 15,000 tablets from prison inmates across the state for security reasons.

Mark Fairbairn, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Corrections, says he can’t elaborate on the security concerns, but said the decision was not related to an incident in Idaho where prisoners hacked into personal tablets and downloaded $225,000 into their prison accounts.

The Denver Post reported Wednesday that in 2016, Colorado became the first state in the country that provided inmates with tablets. They were donated by GTL Corp.

Inmates were able to communicate with friends and relatives, listen to radio programs and take educational classes online with the tablets.

Fairbairn says the department hopes to return the tablets to inmates after the security concerns are addressed.