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Telephones

Interview with Guero 1, Jim, Ricky, Bernard, Cora, Roy, Mario, Kayla and Evan

JM: Did you have regular access to telephones?
Guero 1: yes ever day unles it was security override
Jim: at times....mostly, yes.
Ricky: Yes 4 times a day during dayroom and chow.
Bernard: Whenever you were out of your room, unless you got locked down for some reason(for something going on in the jail)
Cora: During 'day-room', which is basically like an adult recess at a terrible camp, you are free to snack, go outside into the yard, watch TV and use the phone. But this is only a specified time although it was the same time every day.
Roy: Yes, when we were schedule to have day room breaks about 3 times a day, or whenever the whole block was not locked down for making too much noise and/or a fight.
Mario: Yes I did but did not use them.
Kayla: Only collect pay phones, prepaid through a certain company at very high rates.
Evan: Yes. They had to be shared by all the inmates in each pod.

JM: What types of charges applied for calling people? How much money would you guess the average inmate spends per week on phone calls?
Guero 1: well over three months my friends mom owed 100 dollars just for my calls
Jim: it was very exspensive
Ricky: About $2.35 per call. Inmates family members pay about $25.00 or more per week if calling twice a day like I would.
Bernard: Charges are not applied to the inmates, they are making a collect call to whom ever they call. I or my wife do not remember the amount per phone call, but it sure can get expensive for the people you call, that is why we tried to cut down our calls to like every other day instead of every day. And certainly not multiple times a day.
Cora: I never used the phones but from what I overheard you have to sign up for some collect call allowance online and the calls are much cheaper that way. Otherwise it is whatever your home phone provider charges for collect calls
Roy: They were all collect calls or three way calls usually initiated by the girlfriend of a inmate. Many dollars are spent making these collect calls. The bills run really high for them. Even if your on for just the alloted time which is suposed to be 15 minutes a inmate. Alot of fights start over the phone issue.
Mario: I would not change anything about the calling. I would say someone spends between $5 to $20 a week.
Kayla: $3 or so for 15 minutes. An average inmate, given the chance because of good behavior, would spend $50 on phone calls every week easily.
Evan: It cost $2.30 for a 15 min. phone call if you pre- purchased a phone card with an additional $10.00 fee for purchasing the phone card. Others probably spent $10 weekly or so.

JM: Did you need to buy phone cards to call out?
Guero 1: noy unless you call mexico
Jim: no, collect
Ricky: No we were not allowed to.
Bernard: No, you cannot in Pima County jail. You would have to go to the "mission", I do not know what the real name is, to be able to get a phone card.
Cora: No you can only call collect and there are instructions on how to use the phone because you have to punch in your name number before calling.
Roy: No, collect calls only or third party calls usually made by an inmates girlfriend or wife.
Mario: I do not know what they had but i know you could buy minutes to use to call out.
Kayla: not in county jail but i think you had to in prison.
Evan: No, there weren't phone cards available to us.

JM: Did the jail screen your calls?
Guero 1: every single one, so they say
Jim: yes
Ricky: Yes you would hear a beep.
Bernard: Yes, they say all phone calls will be recorded.
Cora: Absolutely. They read your mail, listen to phone and video chats when you have visitors.
Roy: Yes, I was told over my times in lockup that they always screen calls, and I believe it.
Mario: Yes they did and is a good reason.
Kayla: They recorded everything and we were warned everywhere.
Evan: Yes, they did all the time.

Read about how inmates pass the time in the Pima County Jail