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South Carolina Crime Stoppers Snitch Line Scammed

Article • March 15, 2012 • from PLN March, 2012

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Crime, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

South Carolina Crime Stoppers Snitch Line Scammed by Brandon Sample Most people are familiar with Crime Stoppers, the “snitch line” for individuals with information about crimes. Successful tips can result in benefits to the tipster – which can take the form of cash, leniency with a new case or a …

Private Equity Firms Profit Handsomely from Prison Phone Services

Article • February 15, 2012 • from PLN February, 2012

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

Private Equity Firms Profit Handsomely from Prison Phone Services by The October 2011 sale of Global Tel*Link Corp. (GTL), the nation’s largest prison and jail phone company, demonstrates what a goldmine prison phone services are for the provider side of the market. The sale, reportedly valued at $1 billion, was …

$370,000 in Annual Phone Revenue at Ohio Jail

Article • November 15, 2011 • from PLN November, 2011

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

ones is actually called “giving.” When asked by the Dayton Daily News about prisoners’ telephone access in Montgomery County, Major Daryl Wilson explained, “We give them as many calls as they need ...

Texas Prison Phones and Emails Generate Less Revenue Than Expected

Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011

Filed under: Computers, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

Texas Prison Phones and Emails Generate Less Revenue Than Expected by When the Texas legislature passed SB 1580 in 2007, requiring the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to install phones in state prisons, Texas was the only state that did not allow prisoners to make regular phone calls. Even …

Washington State Regulatory Agency Finds AT&T Failed to Disclose Prison Collect Call Rates

Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Disclosure of Records, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

is significant because it indicates that AT&T may be held liable for abusive practices associated with the provision of telephone services at Washington State prisons. As reported in PLN’s April 2011 cover story ...

Federal Cell Phone Ban Becomes Law; California Bill Vetoed, then Re-Introduced

Article • June 15, 2011 • from PLN June, 2011

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Federal Legislation

of the bill. A report on the effectiveness of the new federal law is due by August 2011. The report will also address the prison telephone rates charged by the BOP. [See: PLN, April 2011, p.1]. The California ...

Nationwide PLN Survey Examines Prison Phone Contracts, Kickbacks

Article • April 15, 2011 • from PLN April, 2011

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Statistics/Trends, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates, PLN Litigation

, Wisconsin transferred all its prisoners to a different CCA facility. [See: PLN, March 2004, p.14]. “We find it hard to believe that they would shut down the prison over telephone rates. We had no interest ...

New Epidemic: Contraband Cell Phones in Prison Cells

Article • February 15, 2011 • from PLN February, 2011

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Telephone Access, Cell Phone Access

New Epidemic: Contraband Cell Phones in Prison Cells by Mark Wilson For decades, prison officials across the U.S. have lined their pockets with multi-million dollar kickbacks from telephone ...

Homeland Security Inspector General’s Report Finds Additional Controls Needed to Ensure Prisoners’ Access to Phones at ICE Facilities

Article • February 15, 2011 • from PLN February, 2011

Filed under: Immigration, Telephones, Telephone Access

the financial data they are required to review. A 2007 audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) also found pervasive problems at ICE facilities related to telephone access by immigrant detainees ...

Reach Out and Defraud Someone: Oregon Jail Prisoners Commit Phone Scams

Article • November 15, 2010 • from PLN November, 2010

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Crime, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

Reach Out and Defraud Someone: Oregon Jail Prisoners Commit Phone Scams by Mark Wilson A fifteen-minute collect call from the Multnomah County jail in Portland, Oregon costs $2.35, billed to the party who accepts the call. Between May 2006 and April 2009 those calls generated $3.5 million in revenue for …

Army Prisoners Isolated, Denied Right to Legal Counsel

Article • February 15, 2010 • from PLN February, 2010

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Attorney Client, Telephones, Telephone Access, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail, Attorney Visits, PLN Litigation, Access to Media, Censorship, Military Law, Military Prisons

the entire time, which obviously negates any compliance with attorney-client privilege. And presumably the phone call was taped (all of the other brigs have special rooms for attorney calls, that have phone ...

Contraband Smuggling by Texas Prison Guards Rarely Punished Harshly

Article • September 15, 2009 • from PLN September, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Telephone Access

Contraband Smuggling by Texas Prison Guards Rarely Punished Harshly by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke A review conducted by a Houston newspaper concluded that a large quantity and variety of contraband is still being smuggled into Texas prisons by state prison guards, and those caught smuggling rarely receive harsh punishment. …

Nebraska: Tape-Recorded, Restricted-Calling Prison Telephone System Passes Constitutional Muster

Article • August 15, 2009 • from PLN August, 2009

Filed under: Injunctions, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Monitoring

Nebraska: Tape-Recorded, Restricted-Calling Prison Telephone System Passes Constitutional Muster by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Nebraska Court of Appeals has upheld ...

Connecticut Settles Overcrowding Suit

Article • July 15, 2009

Filed under: Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Telephones, Telephone Access

the suit agreeing to, among other things, eliminate dormitory housing in a former card room, cap housing in each cell to no more than two prisoners, provide indoor and outdoor recreation, one telephone call ...

Outrageous phone rates devastate families of prisoners

Article • July 15, 2009

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

with their families and their communities. What's more, because the chance to speak with a loved one is perhaps the most important privilege a prisoner enjoys, officials condition telephone access on a clean prison ...

BOP Settles Suit Over Telephone Access, Electronic FOIA Claims

Article • June 15, 2009 • from PLN June, 2009

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion, Disclosure of Records, Freedom of Information Act, Telephones, Telephone Access

BOP Settles Suit Over Telephone Access, Electronic FOIA Claims by The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has agreed to settle another lawsuit brought by PLN contributing writer, Brandon Sample.The ...

Washington DOC - JPay Contract 2009-2012

Kickback publication • 2009

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring

for the facility related to the affected Service, via telephone, paging and confirmatory email or fax. In an Emergency where there is a potential danger of destruction of a material portion of Contractor's Equipment ...

Design of Prison Telephone Held Not To Infringe Patent

Article • April 15, 2009

Filed under: Telephone Access, Intellectual Property (Immunity/Liability), Mental Health, Suicides

Design of Prison Telephone Held Not To Infringe Patent by On June 18, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a judgment of non-infringement in a patent dispute over ...

Entire Texas Prison System Locked Down to Search for Phones; Prison Cell Phone Problem is Pandemic

Article • March 15, 2009 • from PLN March, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Prison/Common Area Searches, Criminal Prosecution, Lockdowns, Telephone Access, Death Row, State Legislation

prisoners regular access to telephones so they can call their families. Although the state has signed a contract to have phones installed at all TDCJ facilities, the installation is not expected ...

State v. Pena-Flores, NJ, AG Letter Urging Postponment Pending Telephone Warrant System (2009)

Brief • March 9, 2009

Filed under: Search warrants, Telephones, Telephone Access

State v. Pena-Flores, NJ, AG Letter Urging Postponment Pending Telephone Warrant System (2009) Mutt of New :_qtrzeg OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY PO Box 080 NJ ...