Jails make a substantial amount of money by charging high fees for connecting prisoners with their families. These fees are often exorbitant and place a heavy financial burden on the families of prisoners. The high cost of communication in jails is a form of exploitation that disproportionately affects low-income families and communities.
Jails typically charge high rates for phone calls, video calls, and other forms of communication between prisoners and their loved ones. These fees can add up quickly, especially for families who are already struggling to make ends meet. In some cases, the cost of staying in touch with a loved one in jail can be financially crippling.
The exorbitant fees charged by jails for communication services are often justified as a way to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the communication infrastructure within the facility. However, critics argue that these fees are excessive and serve as a way for jails to profit off the vulnerability of prisoners and their families.
In recent years, there has been growing scrutiny and criticism of the high cost of communication in jails. Advocates and activists have called for reforms to make communication more affordable and accessible for prisoners and their families. Some jurisdictions have taken steps to reduce or eliminate communication fees in an effort to promote family connections and support the rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals.
Overall, the money jails make on connecting prisoners or keeping families connected highlights the financial challenges faced by families with loved ones in jail and raises important questions about the ethics of profiting off the communication needs of prisoners.
Final thoughts: For many years, the jail phone sector in the United States has been the subject of scandal. Proponents of change have focused on highlighting the dominance of a small number of businesses in the US $1.4 billion market, which has prompted additional regulation. In January 2023, US President Biden approved legislation imposing price caps on video calls and restricting the cost of in-state prison phone calls—an extension of the laws governing interstate call caps. According to recent data, families in one state, Colorado, spend around USD $9 million a year visiting loved ones incarcerated. Currently, only two states in the US offer free phone calls to inmates.
A non-profit advocacy group called Worth Rises is committed to overturning the jail system and putting a stop to the mistreatment of people it affects. In addition to advocating for the protection and repatriation of the financial resources taken from impacted communities, we seek to expose the commercialization of the criminal justice system. We fight to clear the path for a just and safe society devoid of jails and law enforcement.
Connecting Families are a collective of national, state, and local organizations fighting to connect families with incarcerated loved ones by making communication free. Their current “Keeping families connected” campaign has been successful in 9 states, with the last win being in Massachusetts back in August 2023, in 2020 the Federal CARES Act makes phone calls in federal prisons free.
You can join their campaign today by visiting https://connectfamiliesnow.com and signing up.
* The beliefs, opinions, values, and perspectives expressed/shared by our guests, interviewee’s, and guest blogger’s are indeed their own and not that of PrisonBaes LLC, their affiliates, and employees.
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