Prison report: Cell phone madnessEditors note: Just A Guy is an inmate in a California state prison. Read his last blog entry (and links to past ones) here. His dispatches run Monday and Thursdays; he tries to answer questions and comments as quickly as possible, but it's a bit tricky communicating from prison, so be patient.
By Just A Guy
About six months ago, a buddy of mine was denied a visitor because his prospective visitor owes the California Department of Motor Vehicles money.
What does that actually have to do with anything? How does that pose a risk to the security of the institution or California Department of Corrections in general? Isn't one of CDCR's stated goals to encourage involvement/visiting with family and friends?
It is not CDCR's responsibility to punish the inmate because his prospective visitor owes the DMV money, nor is it CDCR's responsibility to punish the prospective visitor because he/she owes the DMV. These are two unrelated entities. If someone is late in paying their state income tax will CDCR not allow them to visit one of us? CDCR, in effect, is creating a sort of debtor's prison, which is illegal.
The icing on the cake of this story is that the individual has been making payments to the DMV and is trying to pay off the debt, yet was still refused out of hand.
Apparently folks, CDCR's role has expanded from public protector to debt collector as well.
This leads me to cell phones in prison. CDCR espouses family ties, yet allows Global Tel Link, which controls the prison pay phones, to charge astronomical rates on collect calls. How is this conducive to keeping strong ties to the outside world? It costs $20 to make a 15-minute call out of state! So, my friend above can't have his girlfriend come to visit him because she hasn't paid her DMV fine, so now she accepts his collect calls because they can't see each other in person. But she spends a huge amount of money on these calls -- and can't pay the fine that is keeping her from visiting my friend. That's pure insanity.
Of course, CDCR purports it's such a massive risk to security, these contraband cell phones, but who created the monster?
Hmmm...split the cost of a $700 cell phone between two or three guys and split a monthly bill of $60 and talk to your friends and family 24/7 at a fraction of the cost -- OR make 15-minute calls that are interrupted by a recording every three minutes telling the listeners the call is from a state prison and being recorded!
Wouldn't it make sense CDCR to make a deal with a major carrier and have the inmates be able to buy cell phones? Wouldn't it be easier to monitor the calls? Couldn't the cell phones purchased be given a signature that identifies the owner and anything that was done illegally would be immediately attributed to the owner of the phone?
Isn't it true that CDCR was asked to give up some of the $28 million they receive yearly from GTL in order to reduce collect call costs, but CDCR refused? So, what's really important -- family ties or $28 million?
Folks, seriously -- they crack down on cell phones (which isn't even a crime) more than drugs. They say it's because the phones are a serious threat to security, but I really believe it's because they are losing a massive piece of the collect call pie. Let's take a closer look:
If an institution has six yards with six buildings on each yard and four phones in each building and the phones are on for 12 hours averaging 12 dollars per hour, what do we get?
Well, 144 phones times 12 hours equals 1,728 hours times 12 dollars per hour per phone equals $20,736 per day, times 365 days equals $7,568,640 per year!
Okay, let's say my numbers are way off and divide it by 2, that's still $3.25 million per year that GTL is losing because of cell phones.
Wait! Matt Cate of CDCR says that the crackdown isn't motivated by money.
I would like to see what the corporate executive relationships of GTL may have in common with politicians pushing for making it a crime to possess a cell phone in California (or any other state GTL has a presence and where possession of a cell phone is a crime). I would like to know about the relationships of senior leadership for CDCR and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and how there may be a link between them and GTL. Is GTL a public or private company? They are headquartered in Alabama, that very progressive state that's never seen corruption! Gak!
I'm just saying.
digg •
del.icio.us •
sphere •
google
•
Comments (9)
As far as 'who is' GTL, they are a private bunch of crooks. There are other 'prison phone providers' & there is a process for phone providers to 'bid' on the Calif. contract, but I am not sure who else bids, or what the criteria for awarding the contract is. From what I heard, GTL just got the contract again. They are under a legislated mandate to reduce charges annually, so out of state calls are currently around $14 and change. Even though GTL tries to prevent it, the way around the out of state usurious call charges. Get a Vonage or Magic Jack # close to the prison, it reduces the cost to $2.45 for 15 minutes. there's nothing in their contract that prevents a person from doing that, at least not for the time being..
The real answer is calling cards. Let inmates buy reasonably priced calling cards in commissary. Cate has said they are 'working on the calling card solution' (I'm sure it will only take 5 or 10 years and two or three million dollar reports before they figure it out)
I can't advocate selling cell phones to inmates. I think the facility has a legitimate right to monitor calls, there would be no way to do that with a cell phone. There are 'bad guys' in prison who are intent on doing harm to others even when they are locked up. Think how easy it would be for two inmates with cellphones to plan and execute an assault on a guard or another inmate.
Posted by pixiedust | May 27, 2009 09:25 AM
Pixie:
Actually, cell phones are easier to monitor than landlines as every cell phone call in/out of this country routes through super computers and the calls are "open air" as opposed to locked to a wire. The technology is there, all the major carriers have it, not only that it would allow signatures to the user. Much simpler and cost effective than the way it's done now.
Posted by Just a guy | May 27, 2009 10:53 AM
hmmm..comments are gone. At the bottom of the blog post it says 'two comments' and I know I posted one of them but they simply aren't there- can someone look at this problem?
Posted by pixiedust | May 27, 2009 08:07 PM
Hey pixiedust, we're on it -- got a bot attack this week and we're working to fix comments. Please bear with us. Thanks! ;)m.
Posted by Marke B | May 27, 2009 08:34 PM
the people in charge of sq know of the cell phone problem in the units where inmates live and are only concerned about where they are coming from instead of eliminating them , so have sancho or the dirty prison pigs keep sneakin them in and pretty soon they will be all over and will ruin it for those of you who want to profit from your evil ways...........let the acting warden mr wong wing up your phone bill and let him know how you feel about it....call him collect at 415 454 1460 extension 5000 and ask for mini me.
Posted by getdown | May 28, 2009 11:47 AM
Sorry I haven't posted lately Just - really busy right now.
Because of my outspokeness, we think, they are trying to move my son out of the prison he is in. He is in a panic (since he was attacked in prison he has anxiety attacks). Now here is the stupid thing. They are talking about moving him to a prison that is even more crowded than the one he is in and he has a medical cell chrono - doesn't make sense, but when did anything that CDCr does make sense?
My son says one of the reasons they don't want cell phones in prison is that inmates would use them to document mistreatment by CO's, the conditions, etc. I received a few pictures annonymously showing three of the lunches that inmates are served. I have been weighing portions out and it looks like some of the food is being cut in half.
TEA is doing a new mailing next month regarding the death penalty and why it should be abolished and so that is taking up some time also.
Keep up the great work, I've sent all your blogs to my son and he tells me you are right on, but when he writes to have me respond to you, the letters disappear. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Posted by Madhatter | May 28, 2009 02:07 PM
Mad:
Sorry to hear about your son, I hope things get better.
Yes, I imagine that's one of the reasons they don't want phones, but I firmly believe it's more money motivated than anything.
Get:
Thanks.
Posted by Just a guy | May 28, 2009 03:48 PM
They are 2 reasons that "they" want to get cell phones out:
1. "they" know that CO's are bringing them in and selling them to inmates and if it gets out - there will be an ALL OUT investigation that could expose "EVERY" corruption that CO's are involved in! And, that would bring the whole thing down on top of their heads and the "strongest Union in CA" can't have that!!!! AND 2. There IS the danger of cell phone pictures being used as evidence against them. Look at how it is bringing down the BART policeman in Oakland.
Posted by motherbear820 | June 7, 2009 01:47 PM
I am not as scholarly as some who post, but I am a mom of a son in a California prison, and I do know that the cell phones are brought in by guards and purchased by the inmates. It is absolutely ridiculous. These guards have all of the luxuries of life - a job, money, POWER, etc. It certainly doesn't seem right that we taxpayers are footing the bill for these guards to EARN money and CHEAT our prisoners, but that is what is happening. THe guards create havoc, they don't stop it. The guards bring the phones in, the prisoners buy the cell phones from the guards, the guards confiscate the phones, the guards bring in more phones and sell them to prisoners - all while we foot the bill for the guards payroll. It's insane. The true problem is that most Californians (and probably most Americans) just don't care about what the guards are or aren't doing until and unless they have someone they love in a prison. And even then, some don't take the time to visit or write their loved ones, anyway. My son was in an accident in which someone was killed. He had a bac right at the limit so he was convicted of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and pled to a ten year sentence, and he is in a prison with drug addicts, theives and killers, and I still think they are better than the guards who are also there.
Posted by sleepowers | June 12, 2009 11:27 AM