Washington State Prison phone rates and kickbacks

Washington ranks 24th in the nation for the affordability of a 15 minute call.

Kickbacks paid

$3,856,229.00 paid in 2017.

Percentage of call cost going to kickbacks: 56%

Cost of a 15-minute Intrastate Call

	Collect	Prepaid	Debit
Same state	$1.65	$1.65	$1.65
Local	$1.65	$1.65	$1.65

Detailed rates

	Collect	Prepaid	Debit
Same state	0.11/min	0.11/min	0.11/min
Local	0.11/min	0.11/min	0.11/min

Phone service providers

VAC (GTL)

Notes

Data current as of Jan 2019

Data current as of 2017-2018

Historical Data for Washington

Primary source documents

State DOC Rates

State DOC Contracts

State DOC Commission Data

County Rates

County Contracts

Court Rulings

Legislation

Kittitas County, WA Resolution Governing Distribution of Telephone Revenues

Administrative Rulings

Prison Phone Justice Articles and Documents

2019

April: HRDC press release on Securus/ICSolutions merger

2017

August: HRDC accuses FCC chairman of having conflict of interest

2016

April: PLN criticizes non-disclosure of Securus employee at FCC hearing on cell phones

January: HRDC's FCC comment mentioned regarding price gouging prisoners' families, Comment regarding prison reforms, HRDC's letter to the FCC mentioned regarding VA DOC's phone rate reduction

2015

October: FCC reforms applauded by HRDC's Campaign for Prison Phone Justice, HRDC's FCC comment on corruption in prison phone industry profiled

January: HRDC's FCC comments mentioned in article on video visitation

2014

November: PLN mentioned in article about FCC action on prison phone rates

October: FCC Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

September: HRDC comment to FCC regarding WA phone rates, FCC Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

January: HRDC response to PayTel comments, HRDC response to FCC caps on prison phone calls

2013:

December: Prison Legal News cover story on the prison phone industry, HRDC comment to FCC on Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

September: PLN/HRDC mentioned in article on FCC prison phone order

April: HRDC reply comment to FCC on Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

March: HRDC comment to FCC on Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

January: PLN's research on prison phone rates cited in article on FCC hearing

2012

December: FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

October: HRDC response to Global Tel comments

2011

April: Prison Legal News cover story on the prison phone industry

2007

ApriL: HRDC initial comment to FCC

PLN Coverage of Prison Phone Justice

Lawsuit Challenging Phone Kickbacks at Massachusetts Jail Survives Motion to Dismiss

Loaded on April 2, 2019 published in Prison Legal News April, 2019, page 62

Filed under: Telephone Rates. Location: Massachusetts.

In December 2018, a Massachusetts federal district court refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the cost of phone calls made by prisoners at the Bristol County House of Correction (BCHC). [See: PLN, Sept. 2018, p.36].

Before the court were motions to dismiss filed by defendants Sheriff Thomas M ...

Securus Files Suit Alleging FDOC Improperly Entered into Prison Phone Contract

Loaded on April 2, 2019 by Chad Marks published in Prison Legal News April, 2019, page 50

Filed under: Private Contractors, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates. Location: Florida.

by Chad Marks

In a lawsuit filed on January 29, 2019, Securus Technologies, Inc., one of the nation’s two largest prison telecom companies, accused the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) of ignoring provisions of the Florida Constitution when exercising budgeting and appropriation powers, and doing so at the expense of ...

Free Phone Calls for Juvenile Offenders Jailed in Memphis, Tennessee

Loaded on March 5, 2019 by Kevin W. Bliss published in Prison Legal News March, 2019, page 38

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Juveniles. Location: Tennessee.

by Kevin Bliss

In November 2018, Shelby County, Tennessee – which includes the City of Memphis – renegotiated its contract with Global Tel*Link (GTL), the phone service provider for around 5,000 prisoners at the county’s four detention facilities. The new contract eliminates charges for all calls between juvenile ...

Imagine Pleading Guilty Because You Can’t Afford to Call Your Lawyer

Loaded on Feb. 19, 2019 by Victoria Law

Filed under: Jail Specific, Money/Property, Telephone Rates, First Amendment, rights. Locations: Arkansas, California, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, United States of America.

By Victoria Law, Truthout

Imagine paying $20.12 for a 15-minute phone call. That’s how much a call from the Jennings Adult Correctional Facility in Missouri costs.

In 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set price caps on interstate calls from jails, prisons and detention facilities. Now, interstate calls can ...