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Washington State Prison phone rates and kickbacks

Washington ranks 26th 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

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

Administrative Rulings

 Prison Phone Justice Articles and Documents

 2019

October: HRDC joins application to file amicus brief in re county inmate telephone services case in CA, HRDC files joint amicus brief

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

Iowa Jails Lower Phone Rates But Not Far Enough

Loaded on July 1, 2021 by David Reutter published in Prison Legal News July, 2021, page 58
Filed under: Telephone Rates. Location: Iowa.

by David M. Reutter

The Iowa Utilities Board ordered phone vendors that provide services to jails to lower their rates from as high as $1 per minute. The order comes after a two year review in which the Human Rights Defense Center, the publisher of Prison Legal News, urged ...

Michigan Begins Video Visits During Coronavirus Pandemic

Loaded on April 1, 2021 by David Reutter published in Prison Legal News April, 2021, page 36
Filed under: COVID-19, Telephone Rates, Video Visitation. Location: Michigan.

by David M. Reutter

Over six months after concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic halted in-person visitation at Michigan state prisons in March 2020, the state Department of Corrections (DOC) launched a pilot program of video visitation on October 9 to offer an avenue for prisoners and their families to connect ...

People in jails are using more phone minutes during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite decreased jail populations

Loaded on April 1, 2021 by Andrea Fenster published in Prison Legal News April, 2021, page 54
Filed under: COVID-19, Telephone Access, Reduction of Prison Population. Location: United States of America.

Our study of 14 jails finds that there were 8% more overall minutes used during the pandemic, despite the fact that nationwide jail populations have fallen about 15%.

by Andrea Fenster, Prison Policy Initiative

People in jails spent 8% more time on the phone over a three-month period of 2020 than ...

Federal Judge in Georgia Grants Class Action Status to Prisoners’ Suit Against Global Tel*Link

Loaded on Feb. 1, 2021 published in Prison Legal News February, 2021, page 38
Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Class Certification, Telephone Rates, Contractor Liability. Location: Georgia.

Monday, November 30, 2020, was a big day for a group of Georgia prisoners suing their phone service provider, Global Tel*Link (GTL), over the company’s allegedly hidden policy of confiscating any unused funds in their accounts after 90 days.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Totenberg granted the suit class action ...

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