Washington Prison Phone Justice

The Washington Prison Phone Justice Campaign demands an end to the unjust costs of telephone calls from Washington prisons, jails and other detention facilities.

The Federal Communications Commission will be issuing a notice for public comment.  Get the latest update and learn how to stay involved.

JOIN THE CAMPAIGN

Facts

In Washington, there are*:

  • 12 prisons run by the Department of Corrections
  • 15 work release facilities run by the Department of Corrections
  • [orig. 2002 contract has approx. 30 facilities listed; once we get most updated info, we can adjust? Work release centers are included. Not community justice centers…maybe because they are a newer addition?]
  • 38 county jails for adult prisoners**
  • 20 city jails**
  • 20 county-operated juvenile detention facilities, and one private juvenile detention facility
  • 1 privately-owned adult prison under ICE contract
  • Others?

All of these facilities have exclusive contracts with prison phone companies like Securus and Global Tel Link. Most of these contracts guarantee a hefty kickback to the state or county agency that comes out of the profits of the telephone calls.

Contracts often go to the company that offers the highest kickback, NOT the company that offers the lowest rates for calls.  Prisoners and their loved ones end up paying the price for these unfair contract arrangements.

The national Campaign for Prison Phone Justice has been challenging the Federal Communication Commission to cap the cost of interstate prison phone calls by acting on the Wright Petition, and capping the cost of calls at $.07/minute.

We want Washington legislators and utilities commissions to do the same. Lower the cost of calls from Washington prisons, jails, juvenile facilities, and other detention centers to ease the burden of prisoner families, most of whom are poor or working class, and people of color — people in communities already hit so hard by mass incarceration.

*Number of facilities based on May 2013 data.

**Source: Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs <– a lot of the links are broken, so i am going to keep searching for the most reliable data