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

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

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

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 ...

Global Tel*Link Hit with Sanctions For Discovery Violations in Georgia Prison Call Class Action

Loaded on Feb. 1, 2021 by Derek Gilna published in Prison Legal News February, 2021, page 38

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Discovery, Telephone Rates, Contractor Liability. Location: Georgia.

by Derek Gilna

Global Tel*Link (GTL) has long been one of the principal beneficiaries of the $1 billion prisoner call industry, through a combination of astute business practices, intense lobbying, and a business model of questionable propriety, if not illegality. GTL, which has been a defendant in multiple lawsuits by ...

CoreCivic and Securus Technologies Agree to Pay $3.7 Million to Settle Suit for Illegally Recording Attorney-Client Conversations

Loaded on Jan. 1, 2021 by Douglas Ankney published in Prison Legal News January, 2021, page 56

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Settlements, Telephones, Contractor Liability, Breach of Contract. Location: Missouri.

by Douglas Ankney

On July 31, 2020, a motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri revealing that CoreCivic and Securus Technologies (Defendants) had agreed to pay $3.7 million to settle a lawsuit alleging illegal recording of attorney-client conversations at the Leavenworth Detention Center ...

Scottish Prisoners Issued Mobile Phones During Pandemic

Loaded on Jan. 1, 2021 by Kevin Bliss published in Prison Legal News January, 2021, page 57

Filed under: Cell Phone Access. Location: United Kingdom.

by Kevin Bliss

Lockdowns instituted because of the coronavirus pandemic have had a benefit for Scottish prisoners. The Scottish Prison Services (SPS) spent over 160,000 pounds on mobile phones for prisoners to stay in touch with their families.

The SPS introduced mobile phones into its prison system as a means ...