In the News

by Sabrina Eaton, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Acting on complaints that prison inmates are forced to pay outrageous rates for phone calls to family members, the Federal Communications Commission on Friday acted to cap charges inmates must pay for interstate calls.

Prisoners rights advocates, as well as Congressional Black Caucus Chair Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights, have argued charging prisoners rates as high as $17 for a 15-minute phone call financially burdens family members who end up paying the bills, and hinders rehabilitation of inmates who are less likely to relapse into crime if they've got strong family ties.

"I'm pleased that the FCC has finally addressed a great injustice by issuing regulations to ensure prison telephone rates are reasonable and fair," Fudge said in a press statement. "This outcome was long overdue and will no doubt be welcomed by thousands of families who have been burdened by paying exorbitant rates to maintain phone contact with their loved ones in prison."

The FCC said high interstate phone calls prices discourage prisoners from contacting their families, and noted that an estimated 2.7 million children would benefit from increased communications with an incarcerated parent.

"For too long, the high cost of long-distance calls from prisoners to their loved ones across state lines has chronically impacted parents and children, especially among low-income families," said Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn. "Multiple studies have shown that meaningful contact beyond prison walls can make a real difference in maintaining community ties, promoting rehabilitation, and reducing recidivism."

Clyburn said the FCC will initiate another regulatory process to decide what to do about intrastate rates.

The order the FCC issued on Friday will require that all interstate inmate calling rates, including ancillary charges, be based on the cost of providing the service, and presumes that rates of 12 cents per minute for debit and pre-paid calls and 14 cents per minute for collect calls are "just, reasonable, and cost-based."

The FCC immediately adopted a temporary rate cap of 21 cents per minute for debit and pre-paid calls, and 25 cents per minute for collect calls, reducing rates to no more than $3.75 for a 15-minute phone call.
According to the Associated Press, the new rates will be effective 90 days after their publication in the Federal Register, which should occur in about a month.

Companies that provide telephone services to prisons have argued their prices are justified because of the extra security measures required on inmate calls. The FCC said the rates it approved would cover the costs of modern security features to block calls to victims, witnesses and prosecutors, as well as recording systems, biometric caller verification and monitoring to prevent evasion of restrictions on call-forwarding or three-way calling.

A spokeswoman for Global Tel Link Corp. of Alabama, which manages prison phone calls at Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Facilities, as well as the Cuyahoga County Jail, said the company won't comment on the decision until it has had an chance to review the FCC's official order.

CBC members maintain that prison operators want to keep the high rates because the phone company contracts boost their budget. Global Tel Link pays Ohio $15 million a year to handle prison communications.

"We are still calculating the potential fiscal impact of this rule," said Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman JoEllen Smith.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has capped the price phone companies can charge prisoners at 36 cents a minute for calls within the state. The cost to initiate calls within the state can't be higher than $2.75.