Calling an Inmate

Inmates held in Federal Bureau of Prisons cannot call their friends or family members whenever they want. Similarly, inbound calls are not allowed into the prison. However, there is a monitored phone system that is allowed in jail. 

In this article, we are going to expound more on how to make calls in prison, as well as the rules and regulations to be followed regarding phone calls. 

Are Inmates Allowed To Call Family and Friends? 

Inmates are allowed to make phone calls regularly from their housing units. Using this system, prisoners can make outgoing calls from a pre-approved list. The list may only have fifteen telephone numbers at a given time.  

Phone numbers will only be added or deleted upon the detainee’s request. Numbers are changed on a quarterly basis only when the detainees meet their assigned Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator.  

If you do not want any communication with an inmate, you should notify the facility in writing. Subsequently, your name will be entered on the inmates’ Negative Correspondence and Telephone List.  

The prisoner will be notified that you have removed them from their “Telephone List” and any further contact will result in disciplinary action. In addition, the authorities will remove your cell number from the system. 

Most of the prisons allow inmates to have up to 300 minutes of phone calls each month. They can do either collect calls or direct dial calls. When an inmate makes a collect call, the recipient pays for the call.  

On the other hand, when making a direct dial call, the prisoner pays for the charges, which are debited from their trust fund account.  

How to Become Eligible For Phone Calls 

In most cases, when an inmate is admitted, they submit a list of phone numbers to call. If the inmate has not memorized your number, then you will most probably miss the list. However, you can always be added on the list once the inmate has your number.  

Some states have a website where you can register your number with the department of corrections, allowing you to receive calls from an inmate. Though not all prisons require one to be in a pre-approved list, you still could run into problems receiving the inmates’ call.  

A common reason is that most people own cell phones which cannot receive or collect calls. The best way to circumvent this problem is to have a pre-paid account with one of the calling companies.  

Number of Calls an Inmate Can Make In a Day 

Prisoners in Federal prisons are allowed to make more than one phone call in a day if they are calling a pre-approved number. 

The operator identifies if the call is coming from prison and the detainee has to identify themselves so that the person on the other end decides if they will accept the call. Well, as mentioned above, inmates will get a maximum of 300 minutes each month.  

If you are the parent or guardian of a minor, you are entitled to have two additional local calls to make arrangements of childcare. However, in November and December, most facilities allow inmates an extra 100 minutes per month to connect with loved ones during the festivities.  

Prison phone hours are limited. The hours start early at 6:00 a.m. and extend late to 11:30 p.m. Nonetheless, calls are limited during inmates working hours, and all calls are limited to a maximum of 15 minutes.  

The authorities determine the waiting interval between calls, and they do not allow back-to back calls. In many cases, prisoners have to wait for an hour from their last call before placing another call. These limitations make it hard for inmates to make many calls in the same day. 

Prohibited Phone Calls 

There are certain restrictions that you need to be aware of regarding calls made by incarcerated individuals. Persons in prison are prohibited from making phone calls to the following persons unless they are immediate family members.  

• Present or former employees of the federal department of corrections, community supervisors or families of the mentioned entities. 
• Present or former employees of the federal division of parole and their families. 
• Jurors who are involved in the indictment or conviction of the detainee and their families. 
• Crime partners who are not in jail. 
• Judges involved in the indictment or conviction of the inmate. 
• Persons on a court order list that prohibits telephone communication. 

Detainees are prohibited from making telephone calls for the purpose of intimidating anyone. Such calls will violate federal and state laws. Facility authorities will report calls of this nature to the relevant authorities for further action.  

Telephone conversations for those in jail are restricted to the number dialed. Third party phone calls, call forwarding, and calls to 1-800 numbers are prohibited.  

Moreover, inmates cannot place calls to wireless communication devices including pagers and PSC or cellular phones. Disciplinary action will be taken for any prisoner who violates these rules.  

Factors that Affect Inmates’ Ability to Call 

Several situations might come up that will affect a prisoners ability to call. They include the following: 

• Lack of funds in an inmate’s phone account (most prisons will allow outgoing collect calls) 
• An inmate who is yet to complete the intake process 
• Some prisons restrict who a prisoner can call, only those from a pre-approved list are allowed 
• Power outages/severe weather result in limited access to phone network 
• Lockdown in prison results in phone restrictions for all prisoners 
• Rule infractions and bad behavior will lead to restriction of phone calls 

Are Inmate Phone Calls Public Record? 

When an inmate initiates a phone call, it is subject to monitoring. The authorities do this to ensure that the fellow prisoners and the general public are safe. However, calls to an attorney are not monitored or recorded, because of client-attorney privilege. 

Still, whereas prison phone calls are monitored and recorded, they are not public records. Typically, the recordings cannot be accessed by the public or subpoenaed. However, prosecutors and police might have the right to review these records under certain circumstances. 

Price of Calls When In Jail 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for setting the charges of phone calls in prison. All the calls in Federal prisons are subject to change, but currently charges for direct dial telephone calls in jail are as follows: 

• Local Calls: $0.06/minute 
• Calls to another state: $0.21/minute 
• Calls to Mexico: $0.55/minute 
• Calls to Canada: $0.35/minute 
• International calls: $0.99/minute 

Collect calls charge between $0.10 to $0.38 per minute for local calls and around $0.60 when calling long distances. In almost all the prisons, collect calls are significantly expensive than direct calls. The commission has set a cap of $1.65 for a 15 minute call. Rates varied wildly in the past and included hidden fees.  

Having a cap on these charges is great news for detainees and their loved ones. Though two dollars seems small, it adds tremendously especially if you call on a regular basis. Plus, even if you are receiving just one phone call, it is not correct to get slammed with an unfair phone bill.  

You can add money into an inmate’s account electronically by using Western Union or MoneyGram. What’s more, you can mail a money order via U.S Postal Service. 

Inmate Calls Involving the Use of TTY 

These are prisoners who have hearing and speech disabilities. The Federal Communications Commission is working to protect them by ensuring that incarcerated individuals who use TTY (text telephones) have lower charges than the normal calls.  

TTY-to-TTY calls are capped at 25 percent of the companies’ rate and providers are not allowed to collect any fee for voice-to TTY calls or TTY-to-voice calls.  

Reducing the Cost of Prisoners Calls 

The easiest way to reduce the calling cost of someone in jail is to reduce the frequency of calls and the amount of time you spend on the call with the offender. You should have a list of the important things you want to talk about to reduce awkward silence moments and lulls. 

Generally, it is cheaper to make one long phone call a week than many short calls every day. This is due to connection fees that are charged on inmates’ calls. 

Simply put, less connection fees mean less money spent. Another way to reduce the cost is having a local number to the facility. Long-distance calls through the providers skyrocket the cost and having a local number will help you save a lot of money.  

Rules of Making Phone Calls while Incarcerated 

There are certain rules and procedures that inmates have to follow so that they can make phone calls while in jail. They include the following: 

• Federal inmates have to make a formal request so that someone is added on the list. The process can take up to two weeks and the inmate will not be able to call family and friends during this time. Typically, offenders get one phone call in the first 24 hours. 
• Federal inmates have a phone card and pin and can only call those who are approved. Some numbers, like the authority’s numbers, are automatically on the card. 
• An inmate has to travel with the cards if they are transferred. 
• Telephone access varies among institutions. Each facility has different rules and practices for making calls, plus certain rules have unofficial rules regarding phone use. 
• Provincial inmates are allowed a 10-digit North American number that can accept collect calls. A detainee cannot make collect calls to mobile numbers.  
• If there is an emergency and you want to call an inmate, call the institution and leave a message to the officer in charge. You cannot call an inmate directly. 
• Funds into an inmate account can only be uploaded once every month. 

Companies that Provide Phone Services in U.S Jails 

There are several companies that offer telephone call services in American Jails. However, two companies GTL and Securus control more than 70% of the prison calls. Fewer companies mean less choice for facilities to choose from and hence higher prices.  

Other companies that offer phone call services in jail include the following: 

• Century Link 
• VAC 
• Embarq 
• Sprint 
• IC Solutions 
• PCS 
• Legacy Inmate 
• Am Tel 
• Regent 
• Paytel 

Conclusion 

Communication is one way through which inmates connect with their loved ones outside prison. As such, most prisons have allowed inmates to make either prepaid or collect calls to their loved ones. 

However, note that you cannot call an inmate, thus, you must wait for them to call you. 

You should also note that using a phone while incarcerated is a privilege and not a right. As such, the prison warden may restrict such privileges. In addition, the wardens have the right to suspend or terminate phone access for inmates based on conduct.