Those currently hindered by costs may have the opportunity to speak more over the phone with loved ones in prison next year. Phone calls to inmates in both jails and prisons should become cheaper following a federal decision made Oct. 22.
The Federal Communications Commission set restrictions for inmate calling service providers that limit the amount the providers can charge. The ruling is meant “to rein in the excessive rates and egregious fees on phone calls paid by some of society’s most vulnerable: people trying to stay in touch with loved ones serving time in jail or prison,” the FCC said in a release.
Phone calls to inmates can be notoriously expensive, potentially limiting the contact friends and family members can have. Some calls can cost up to $14 per minute, the FCC reported. While inmates in North Carolina prisons cannot receive phone calls, they can make collect calls, according to the state Department of Corrections.
One employee at Brown Creek Correctional Institution in Polkton said he was unsure how the change will affect inmates at his prison.
“The inmates haven’t complained or said anything about it one or the other that I’m aware of,” Kory Dalrymple, assistant superintendent for programs at Brown Creek, said last week.
But sometimes, the cost of phone calls may limit communication between inmates and their loved ones, according to Melissa Radcliff, executive director of Our Children’s Place. Her nonprofit agency works with the children of incarcerated parents.
“If it’s too expensive, it can make it difficult for families choosing between other household expenses and talking to their loved ones,” Radcliff said. “If it reduces a barrier, whatever it might be, then we’re pleased, because it can help both while they’re in prison and when they’re released into the community.”
High phone call rates can make it difficult for inmates to transition out of prison.
“The other piece to think about is if folks in prison need to make other types of calls, so as they’re close to being released they need to make them about housing, employment and other services,” Radcliff said. “If they’re constantly having to look at the financial aspect, does that restrict their ability to transition back into the community?”
The impact goes beyond inmates and adult loved ones — it benefits both children and their parents to communicate, Radcliff said.
“I think it’s important that folks are looking at this issue not just from an inmate perspective but from a family perspective,” she said. “Some say, ‘Why should we reduce phone call rates, since phone calls are a privilege?’ But what’s it mean for families who aren’t in prison but are impacted by this ability to have a conversation with this loved one?”
Radcliff added that she hopes that community awareness is raised about the issue.
“Maybe it would get some people to think about something they usually don’t — the families they leave behind,” she said. “For inmates coming home, it’s really to all of our benefit to make sure they have relationships and things they can return to when they go back to all of our communities.”
The FCC’s ruling imposes limits on rates for local and in-state long-distance calls, reduces the cap on long-distance calls and limits the extra fees call service providers can charge.
“New caps will reduce the average rates for the vast majority of inmate calls substantially, from $2.96 to no more than $1.65 for a 15-minute intrastate call for most calls, and from $3.15 to no more than $1.65 for most 15-minute interstate calls,” the FCC reported.
The rules will take effect in prisons beginning early next year, and jails will adopt the rules later in 2016.
