A July 13 editorial in the Detroit Free Press condemned the Michigan Department of Corrections for raising the price of inmate phone calls by almost half. At the center of the controversy is the DOC’s new contract with telephone service provider Public Communication Services (PCS), which allows the DOC to receive millions of dollars annually by tacking on a surcharge that would be used to install cell phone tracking devices.
The Detroit Free Press asserts that the Michigan DOC admits that problems relating to unauthorized cell phones in the state’s prison system are less than in other states. Still, the MDOC raised phones rates from 10 cents to 18 cents per minute for prepaid calls, and from 12 cents to 20 cents per minute for collect calls. The newspaper questioned why inmates, who earn under a dollar a day in prison jobs, should have to pay four times as much to make a phone call. The price of a phone call would be reduced approximately four cents a minute with out the surcharge. MDOC officials maintain that the price of phone calls by inmates is less expensive than other most other states. And, the MDOC claims that four years ago a 15 minute call cost $8, allowing the MDOC to earn an estimated $10 million dollars.
Under the new contract with PSC, over $11 million would be generated by the new surcharge, with the phone company taking almost a third of that amount for “administrative fees.” The Detroit Free Press calls this “unconscionable.” Instead of constructing towers that would intercept cell phone signals, the newspaper suggests less costly solutions such as shake downs, in which prisoners and areas are searched, and which happen on a daily basis anyway. Another suggestion is to use “mobile detection units.” Some prisons use specially trained dogs to sniff out cell phones.
Calling the expensive security equipment unnecessary to resolve the problem of unauthorized cell phones, the Detroit Free Press claims the new fees implemented by the MDOC are “excessive,” and “…not only burden low-income families, but also impair the re-entry and rehabilitation efforts trumpeted by the department.” Recognizing that inmates who maintain contact with family members throughout their period of incarceration are less likely to recidivate, the editorial chastised the MDOC for making millions of dollars on unnecessary security devices, ”while jeopardizing the family and community ties that help offenders succeed after they’re released.”
Source: Detroit Free Press
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