Prison Phone Calls Will No Longer Cost a Fortune Today, hundreds of thousands of U.S. prison inmates and their families will now be able to make interstate phone calls at much lower prices thanks to new federal rules. The new rate caps, which were passed by the FCC last fall,, impose a limit of 25 cents per minute for debit calling and 21 cents per minute for collect calling. At those levels, the cost of a 15-minute call would drop as much as 80% to $3.15. These reduced prices not only help friends and families’ keep in touch with loved ones at more affordable rates, but it also increases the connections between families and friends and their incarcerated loved ones. According to Cheryl A. Leanza, policy director at the United Church of Christ, “strong family connections improve the likelihood that when inmates are released, they will not become repeat offenders, and that makes our society safer.” However, according to Richard Smith, President and CEO of Dallas-based Securus, the drawback to these reductions is that private phone vendors won’t be able to pay as much in “commissions,” which are used to add to “cash-strapped correctional budgets” as well as help fund inmate and victim services, forcing correctional facilities to make up the difference. This in turn can lead to an increase in taxes in many jurisdictions as a result of the FCC’s new rate caps. Read the article at business.time/2014/02/12/prison-phone-rates/ Tell us what you think!
Posted on: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 21:32:23 +0000
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