While incarcerated inmates direly need to talk to their loved ones or legal counsel. This task is carried out by inmate telephone system also called inmate calling service (ICS) or inmate telephone service. It is the term used by inmates in United States to carry out communication.
Inmates must register in order to use inmate phone service. During registration the inmates or prisoners are required to roll out respective mobile numbers of their families or whosoever they need to talk to. There are various provisions in jail calling and some protocols are defined. One of the protocols allows inmates to talk for 15 minutes over phone. However this time may vary based on inmate’s house rule. There is a gap of 30 minutes between consecutive calls. These calls aren’t bare for security requirements. Jail calling is recorded and monitored by prison staff. In addition, account cards are also issued for the inmates via whom phone credits are accessed. Federal Bureau of Prisons has laid down the proviso of having 300 minutes per month.
Inmate phone service is not only a standalone tasks but role of marketing and business organisations also come into play. In United States, prison telecom is a $1.2 Billion industry. The business organisations such as Global Tel Link (GTL) and Securus Technologies contribute a major part in it. This industry has also confronted scrutiny due to business paradigms involved. Since service rates of these companies were higher than permissible phone service attempts towards cost regulation has been done. The Securus Technologies was taken over by Boston-based ABRY Partners in 2013 and was claimed to be the leading provider of inmate telecommunication. Having a historical verse, the rates of jail calling were high and similar to general public phone through commercial providers. But soon the rates were standardised in 2009-2010. One reason behind higher rates was larger commissions on the service. Still long distance service charges boomed. In 2014, reforms were introduced by Federal Communications Commission and the charges per 15 minutes call were lowered to $4.
Further negotiations also followed the path and many inmate calling service providers have emerged till date. Now it has become plausible for the families and prisoners to exchange words with each other without high expenses. Inmate’s families are utilizing online profitable services to connect to their respective counterparts. Still the blot of call monitoring and recording may be retained forever.
