Prison Calling Reform Critical, But an Order Won’t Be Easy to Craft, Clyburn Says

"We've got our work cut out for us because while the need for prison payphone reform may be clear, the actual mechanics are quite complicated,” Clyburn said. “It’s not as simple as just reducing rates. We need to do so in a way that doesn’t jeopardize any security concerns or drive prices down so low that providers leave the market or service is degraded.” But Clyburn also said the issue has been squarely before the FCC for a decade, since Martha Wright, a grandmother in Washington, D.C., filed a petition at the commission seeking relief from exorbitant long-distance rates.

"In some instances, the price of a single phone call from prison eclipses the cost of an average basic monthly telephone bill,” Clyburn said. “In 42 states where there have been limited or no reforms, connection fees can run as high as $4 per call, on top of charges of 89 cents per minute. Some say this is not really an issue, because inmate phone calls should cost more than normal phone services due to needed security protocols. But given that eight states and other localities have reformed their inmate rate structure, while maintaining appropriate safety features, this concern alone does not seem to justify the significant rate disparities we see today.” Clyburn also noted that in the U.S. 2.7 million children have at least one parent who is in prison “and many of them want and need to maintain a connection to that parent."

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel offered similar remarks on the need for the FCC to act, while not harming prison security. “This is one of those issues we've waited too long to solve,” she said. “I want to see us finish it fast and finally put this issue behind us.”

Rosenworcel said the figure of 2.7 million with a parent in prison resonated with her as a parent. “In a lot of these cases, these children live at some distance from where their parents are doing their time,” she said. “That can be hundreds of miles away. So the only way they can stay in touch is by making a phone call. But when the price of that phone call can be just as much as you and I spend for unlimited monthly plans it’s hard to make that phone call and it’s hard to stay in touch."

FCC officials confirmed Wednesday that prison calling reform remains a front burner issues for Clyburn, though it’s unclear when an order will circulate. Following next Friday’s meeting, the commission is next slated to meet Aug. 9 and Sept. 26. With the current FCC alignment, Clyburn would need only a vote from Rosenworcel to approve an order.

Wright, now 86, was represented at the workshop by Lee Petro, an attorney at Drinker Biddle, who said his client petitioned the FCC to act on prison rates only after she brought a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., and the case was remanded to the FCC in 2001. The D.C. court “directed the FCC to act with dispatch,” he said. “Well, we've had four rounds of comments since 2001.” Petro said millions of comments have been filed at the FCC and at other regulatory bodies seeking limits on prison call rates. “In Charleston County, [S.C.,] they pay $18 for an interstate collect call,” he said. “Is that just and reasonable? That’s for the FCC to decide. … I think it’s clear from everything that you've heard today that there is a need for reform.”

"Unfortunately, the FCC’s inaction for 10 years on … an area that is a regulated market, where there is federal law protecting people [against] inappropriate costs of phone rates, has now made the prison industry think that they can just charge anything,” said Cheryl Leanza, who testified on behalf of the United Church of Christ’s media justice and communications rights ministry. “The FCC cannot continue to stand by while companies and prisons violate the Communications Act.”

Patrick Hope, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, urged the FCC to move quickly. “It’s about connecting families,” he said. “What more do you really need to say about this? Mom or dad are in jail. It’s important for mom or dad and for the son and daughter’s well-being that they stay connected. The younger the inmates the more connection that they'll have with their own mothers or fathers, brothers or sisters.” Keeping families intact reduces recidivism, Hope said. “Research shows that successful re-entry programs means you're less likely to reoffend and more likely to contribute to society.” By reducing recidivism, states save money, Hope said. “Don’t forget this is a tax on families,” he said. “We're taxing families to contact their loved ones. We don’t want repeat offenders. Prisons should not be a revolving door. Any state that utilizes successful re-entry programs has to encourage communication with families while in prison. We know this works.”

Research by Prison Legal News found that government agencies recovered $112 million in 2012 from prison calling companies, said Alex Friedmann, editor of the publication and a former prison inmate. Friedmann read from a letter by Noel Woodward of Seattle, whose son is in prison 1,500 miles away in Alaska. “For many of us, this phone call is our only form of communicating with those we love,” the letter said. “In many cases excessively high rates means an even greater challenge because of a family’s financial hardship.” Woodward said her last 42-minute call to her son cost $59.

Friedmann questioned why rates are as high as they are. He noted that many customer service companies record calls the same way prison calling companies do. “They're recording all of their calls and they're storing all of their calls and they can go back to any call from a service rep … to lift that call and listen to it,” he said. “Pretty much all companies that run big customer services are doing that, but they're not charging a dollar a minute to do it."

But Mitch Lucas, assistant sheriff in Charleston County, S.C., said security dictates that calls from jail cost more than other calls. “We can’t provide some of these services at some of the rates I've heard discussed here,” Lucas said. “You've got to have detention grade equipment. You've got to have recording devices. You've got to be able to track the phone call.” Lucas, representing the American Jail Association, said the FCC needs to take into account the unique problems faced by jails if it moves forward on rules. He noted that costs vary widely since small and large jails need the same level of security. “There are jails in the country who are still running their operation with whiteboards and three-by-five cards,” he said. “There’s no computer technology in the jail and they're typically not well funded.”

Richard Torgersrud, CEO of prison calling company Telmate, said correctional facilities have unique security requirements and that if the FCC mandates that all calls be made at a low rate, companies like his would get out of the business. Telmate has worked with correctional authorities in several states and with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and offers rates of 16 cents per minute or less for calls, he said.

But Torgersrud also said the FCC must not impose a uniform calling rate across the country for interstate calls. “Costs vary dramatically from facility to facility based on size, geographical location, specific service requirements,” he said. Telmate services a 24-bed facility in Idaho, he said. “You must provide that facility with all the same security features we provide our largest customer. … Those features are extensive. But we must make sure that every facility is as secure whether it’s large or small and we can’t do that at the same price.”

Commissioner John Burke, chairman of the NARUC Committee on Telecommunications and the Vermont Public Service Board, said the FCC only has control of interstate calling rates. “Doesn’t it lead potentially to some strange dichotomies if in fact the FCC moves on interstate rates and you have a state that’s resistant and won’t move on intrastate rates?” Burke asked. “Don’t you run the possibility of the call across the country being substantially cheaper and less onerous than the one across the street and how do you deal with that?"

A key takeaway from the workshop is “reform can be accomplished in a way that takes into account the needs of all the stakeholders,” said Wireline Bureau Chief Julie Veach, the last speaker. “Chairwoman Clyburn kicked us off this morning by saying this is an FCC priority. That means it’s my priority.”