Stamps are cheaper than phone calls.
If you lift up the rock of prison services like phone calls and food, you will see a lot of ugly stuff. This is one example. The state and these companies make a fortune off of charging for even local prisoner calls that would cost pennies if done through normal phone lines. Same with food, there is a several hundred percent — perhaps even 1,000%, mark up. And because a lot of people don’t have sympathy for prisoners, the state and their crony capitalist service providers get away with it. It needs to stop.
Well the inmates do use them to produce income as in supplying Russian brides and drugs to people
Ideally the prison pays a little more than $0 for the calls and the balance is actually a “fine” of sorts that acts as a deterrent to placing phone calls. The excess is returned to the taxpayers or used to lower the operating costs of the prison.
Reality = a democratic crony is getting rich and uses part of the excess to fund his political patron.
b) you don't get sent to prison for a shoplifting offense unless you have a pretty patterned history
c) It's prison, not your bedroom. You're damn lucky you get to use a phone at all. Think of your family next time you consider committing another felony.
d) If your wife had any self-respect, she would not spend 3 grand calling you, she would dump you and move on
Lastly, screw you, NYT. It sickening watching you exploit the emotional weaklings that read your rag and take it seriously.
I am concerned about prisons for profit. If you read up on it, you’ll see that opens up a lot of opportunities for abuse.
For-Profit Prisons: 8 Statistics That Show the Problems
Does the local call include recording, detection equipment to tell if a third party has been included in the call, and a voice over that warns that this call is from a prison and recorded? Does the phone company have to deal with continual subpoenas that result from these calls?
Rates seem rather reasonable considering all that goes on and the associated costs to cater to criminals using the phone system.
It sounds to me like a racket. The outside company pumps up the price of the service provided far above the cost of providing that service, and makes a huge profit. And they have a captive audience, assuming that prisoners and families have no choice to make phone calls any other way.
Reminds me a bit of the red light cameras in use in so many places. Much of the money generated in fines from red light cameras goes to the companies which provide the cameras, rather than to the locality in which people run red lights.
Who gets the phone? Hell, sheriff's department who run the jail.
This is a really nutty way of recouping incarceration expenses. If you want to make prisoners pay, make them work for their meals. No work, no meals.
Hebrews 13:3
Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Matthew 25:35-36
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
One reason cellphone smuggling is such a booming prison business.
Locally, the jail quit allowing face to face visitation with family members. Instead, family members had to video chat through the internet - for a premium.
They reversed this policy, after it got some public scrutiny.
Well it is called “paying back their debt to society.”
The money for these calls doesn’t go to the city/state/county. It goes to private companies. In their “agreement of services” it states that they can change the rates at any time for any reason without prior notification. The service sucks as calls are not put through but still charged.
And yes, I speak from experience as my daughter called me from jail a few times.
Are they paying for monitoring?
Being a long-time PA resident I am assuming at least five bucks of that $6.95 is going to our politicians as a kickback.
In 2013, a total of $460 million in concession fees was paid to jails and prisons, and to state, county and local governments, according to the F.C.C. The fees are legal, and they cover a range of expenses within prisons as well as outside.
So, legalized kickbacks.
Freepers likely 99% know nothing about prison or jail
If they did they wouldn’t say inmates
But boy like anything else they are ignorant of they sure have heartfelt feelings
Prisons have always been a spoils system....for everyone to feed from the public trough or in this case prisoner families
This is just more of that
I don’t anyone will stop it
Most folks here act like they would be ok with execution for any crime worthy of prison time
Really touching from a liberty site
Free Republic has lost most of its old timers
Newer posters are often here same as any other social commentary site
To be hard asses with anonymity they dare not be in public
Lonely angry folks are just too damn common here now
The halcyon days of purpose and liberty from 97-2005 are gone....and I lament that...back when we had reknown posters
I miss the libertarians...kooky but they gave a balance to torches and pitchforks
Will a Cruz or Walker nomination rekindle it here or will the bloodshed inevitable here from the primaries make that impossible
/rant
These kinds of things are a way for a jurisdiction to recover the costs of incarceration. It’s not the least bit nice to the families that end up paying for these things but that’s the way it is.
When my father was in prison no one called him so it didn’t really affect us anyway.
By the way, he BELONGED in prison!