The Federal Communications Commission today voted to lower price caps on prison phone calls and closed a loophole that allowed prison telecoms to charge high rates for intrastate calls. Today's vote will cut the price of interstate calls in half and set price caps on intrastate calls for the first time.
The FCC said it "voted to end exorbitant phone and video call rates that have burdened incarcerated people and their families for decades. Under the new rules, the cost of a 15-minute phone call will drop to $0.90 from as much as $11.35 in large jails and, in small jails, to $1.35 from $12.10."
The new rules are expected to take effect in January 2025 for all prisons and for jails with at least 1,000 incarcerated people. The rate caps would take effect in smaller jails in April 2025.
Worth Rises, a nonprofit group advocating for prison reform, said it "estimates that the new rules will impact 83 percent of incarcerated people (about 1.4 million) and save impacted families at least $500 million annually."
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Prison phone companies could sue again. But the FCC said it now has authority over intrastate prison phone prices because of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, which was approved by Congress and signed by President Biden in January 2023. The new law "empowered the FCC to close the final loopholes in the communications system," the commission said.
Like, great that it's an improvement, but still kinda bullshit. Check this finding of minimum daily pay. Not a surprise if you've been paying attention. Now they only have to slave for 1 day for a...
One major surprise: prisons appear to be paying incarcerated people less today than they were in 2001. The average of the minimum daily wages paid to incarcerated workers for non-industry prison jobs is now 86 cents, down from 93 cents reported in 2001.
Not a surprise if you've been paying attention. Now they only have to slave for 1 day for a 15 minute call instead of 15.
I lurk on r/prison. Usually, prison phone charges come from an account. It can be loaded by someone on the outside, but for many inmates they don’t have anyone on the outside who can afford to...
I lurk on r/prison. Usually, prison phone charges come from an account. It can be loaded by someone on the outside, but for many inmates they don’t have anyone on the outside who can afford to preload the accounts. In many cases, those accounts also cover the cost of items from the commissary (which can bring variety to an otherwise dull prison diet, provide entertainment, etc).
About time, but also still wild that in this age of incredibly cheap and extensive phone coverage the new cap is still ~$1 per 15 min call. Prison services are such an exploitative grift,...
About time, but also still wild that in this age of incredibly cheap and extensive phone coverage the new cap is still ~$1 per 15 min call. Prison services are such an exploitative grift, regularly taking advantage of what is a complete lack of options. I remember trying to talk to my friend in prison a couple years back and running into problems because not only were the phone calls ridiculously expensive and required 30 minutes or so to set up an account but also the provider wouldn’t guarantee call quality over mobile networks. I mean what the fuck? What kind of telecom service provider requires a landline connection in 2022? This was not an empty warning, my friend and I were unable to talk because the provider kept dropping my calls.
Maintaining connection to family and friends can play a big part in recidivism rates. The fact that jails and prisons are regularly charging ridiculous amounts, from what are not uncommonly low income families to maintain minimal connections with their loved ones is nuts, though it does make a bit more sense when one remembers that correctional institutions public and private regularly get kickbacks as part of their contracts with the providers. Further incentivizing funneling communication down expensive, poorly managed, Byzantine systems. See also, jails that ban in person visits so they can route more communication through janky, expensive video calls.
I wonder if the Supreme Court's reversal of the Chevron deference will impact this. The FCC would no longer have authorization to legislate price caps without congressional approval.
I wonder if the Supreme Court's reversal of the Chevron deference will impact this. The FCC would no longer have authorization to legislate price caps without congressional approval.
It already came up, so there is explicit Congressional approval for this:
It already came up, so there is explicit Congressional approval for this:
Prison phone companies could sue again. But the FCC said it now has authority over intrastate prison phone prices because of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, which was approved by Congress and signed by President Biden in January 2023. The new law "empowered the FCC to close the final loopholes in the communications system," the commission said.
That's not all. Even public prisons can coerce prisoners into what is functionally slave labor, paying them far below market rate for their labor. For-profit prisons are a blight on humanity, but...
That's not all. Even public prisons can coerce prisoners into what is functionally slave labor, paying them far below market rate for their labor. For-profit prisons are a blight on humanity, but that's not the end of the story when it comes to humane incarceration (if such a thing can truly exist.)
This article has nothing to do with for-profit prison vs state owned prisons. The topic is telecom services in the prisons, which are always run by a private telecommunications service. This is...
This article has nothing to do with for-profit prison vs state owned prisons.
The topic is telecom services in the prisons, which are always run by a private telecommunications service.
This is issue affects all incarcerated persons, no matter what the management structure of their jail is.
I’m wondering if there are any prisons that decided to contract with a cheaper telecom provider? Are there cheaper alternatives? Why do they need the FCC to tell them to do this?
I’m wondering if there are any prisons that decided to contract with a cheaper telecom provider? Are there cheaper alternatives? Why do they need the FCC to tell them to do this?
I'm guessing it's because most of the costs are passed on to inmates and families in the form of crazy high fees. The prison likely isn't bothered to make any changes.
I'm guessing it's because most of the costs are passed on to inmates and families in the form of crazy high fees. The prison likely isn't bothered to make any changes.
I am sure there is competition in the market, and prisons run bids for the services. However there is not a LOT of competition in the market, and the prison has no incentive to chose one that is...
I am sure there is competition in the market, and prisons run bids for the services.
However there is not a LOT of competition in the market, and the prison has no incentive to chose one that is cheaper for the families.
The prisons' interest is in the services offered to them --- the call recording, easy of search/retrieval for them and probably a lot of other stuff that we are not thinking of.
There are probably some mechanisms for 'kickbacks' to the prison as well --- for example, bundling the detainee telephones with other telecom services in the building, which are subsidized by the inmate phones.
Either help them, or if they can't be helped, sequester them. It might seem like that second one is just prisons again, but there would be different goals, methods, and infrastructure. The primary...
Either help them, or if they can't be helped, sequester them. It might seem like that second one is just prisons again, but there would be different goals, methods, and infrastructure. The primary goal would be rehabilitation, and only people who could not be rehabilitated would have their freedom restricted long term. If they did need to have their freedom restricted long term, they would be kept safe and comfortable, because retribution is not the point.
Far fewer people would need separated from society under restorative and rehabilitative practices. And in terms of actual harm I'm increasingly convinced that zero prisons would cause less overall...
Far fewer people would need separated from society under restorative and rehabilitative practices. And in terms of actual harm I'm increasingly convinced that zero prisons would cause less overall harm than current prisons.
Absolutely. The helping doesn't start when they become violent. It starts with addressing criminogenic conditions in the first place - food and housing insecurity, barriers to education, programs...
Absolutely. The helping doesn't start when they become violent. It starts with addressing criminogenic conditions in the first place - food and housing insecurity, barriers to education, programs for addressing issues of substance abuse and mental health - even though these populations are more likely to be victims than aggressors, it's still in service if a better society. When it does become time for the state to intervene in someone's behavior, the first question should be "in what way have we failed this person and how can we fix it?" Not "how many years of abuse sounds fair?".
From the article:
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Like, great that it's an improvement, but still kinda bullshit. Check this finding of minimum daily pay.
Not a surprise if you've been paying attention. Now they only have to slave for 1 day for a 15 minute call instead of 15.
I suspect that the person on the other end of the line often pays for it.
I lurk on r/prison. Usually, prison phone charges come from an account. It can be loaded by someone on the outside, but for many inmates they don’t have anyone on the outside who can afford to preload the accounts. In many cases, those accounts also cover the cost of items from the commissary (which can bring variety to an otherwise dull prison diet, provide entertainment, etc).
About time, but also still wild that in this age of incredibly cheap and extensive phone coverage the new cap is still ~$1 per 15 min call. Prison services are such an exploitative grift, regularly taking advantage of what is a complete lack of options. I remember trying to talk to my friend in prison a couple years back and running into problems because not only were the phone calls ridiculously expensive and required 30 minutes or so to set up an account but also the provider wouldn’t guarantee call quality over mobile networks. I mean what the fuck? What kind of telecom service provider requires a landline connection in 2022? This was not an empty warning, my friend and I were unable to talk because the provider kept dropping my calls.
Maintaining connection to family and friends can play a big part in recidivism rates. The fact that jails and prisons are regularly charging ridiculous amounts, from what are not uncommonly low income families to maintain minimal connections with their loved ones is nuts, though it does make a bit more sense when one remembers that correctional institutions public and private regularly get kickbacks as part of their contracts with the providers. Further incentivizing funneling communication down expensive, poorly managed, Byzantine systems. See also, jails that ban in person visits so they can route more communication through janky, expensive video calls.
I wonder if the Supreme Court's reversal of the Chevron deference will impact this. The FCC would no longer have authorization to legislate price caps without congressional approval.
It already came up, so there is explicit Congressional approval for this:
Abolish for-profit prisons. That is all.
That's not all. Even public prisons can coerce prisoners into what is functionally slave labor, paying them far below market rate for their labor. For-profit prisons are a blight on humanity, but that's not the end of the story when it comes to humane incarceration (if such a thing can truly exist.)
This article has nothing to do with for-profit prison vs state owned prisons.
The topic is telecom services in the prisons, which are always run by a private telecommunications service.
This is issue affects all incarcerated persons, no matter what the management structure of their jail is.
I’m wondering if there are any prisons that decided to contract with a cheaper telecom provider? Are there cheaper alternatives? Why do they need the FCC to tell them to do this?
I'm guessing it's because most of the costs are passed on to inmates and families in the form of crazy high fees. The prison likely isn't bothered to make any changes.
I am sure there is competition in the market, and prisons run bids for the services.
However there is not a LOT of competition in the market, and the prison has no incentive to chose one that is cheaper for the families.
The prisons' interest is in the services offered to them --- the call recording, easy of search/retrieval for them and probably a lot of other stuff that we are not thinking of.
There are probably some mechanisms for 'kickbacks' to the prison as well --- for example, bundling the detainee telephones with other telecom services in the building, which are subsidized by the inmate phones.
Since you brought it up, abolish prisons.
I like radical ideas. But what do we do with violent people?
Either help them, or if they can't be helped, sequester them. It might seem like that second one is just prisons again, but there would be different goals, methods, and infrastructure. The primary goal would be rehabilitation, and only people who could not be rehabilitated would have their freedom restricted long term. If they did need to have their freedom restricted long term, they would be kept safe and comfortable, because retribution is not the point.
Far fewer people would need separated from society under restorative and rehabilitative practices. And in terms of actual harm I'm increasingly convinced that zero prisons would cause less overall harm than current prisons.
Absolutely. The helping doesn't start when they become violent. It starts with addressing criminogenic conditions in the first place - food and housing insecurity, barriers to education, programs for addressing issues of substance abuse and mental health - even though these populations are more likely to be victims than aggressors, it's still in service if a better society. When it does become time for the state to intervene in someone's behavior, the first question should be "in what way have we failed this person and how can we fix it?" Not "how many years of abuse sounds fair?".
For-profit prisons house something less than 10% of prisoners. The whole system is rotten, not just the for-profit side