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Telephones

Interview with Girliegirl, Paul, Tyler, Tom, Ryan, Zach and Pat

JM: Did you have regular access to telephones?
Girliegirl: No
Paul: yes
Tyler: Yes, anytime we were not locked down (sent to our bunks). Most days the phones are available from 8am to 10pm.
Tom: yeah but you have to pay for the call.
Ryan: I did, only when I was in the 10 man cell units.
Zach: yes, unless for some reason they were shut off. this rarely happened in my housing facility, as behavior was not a huge issue.
Pat: Yes, when we were not on lockdown.

JM: What types of charges applied for calling people? How much money would you guess the average inmate spends per week on phone calls?
Girliegirl: Collect only
Paul: collect calls
Tyler: You call collect. If you are calling a cell phone the person must setup an account at vconnect.com and put money on the account via credit card. Then each call is $3 plus charge per minute.
Tom: i know it 50 dollars and some inmates spend at least a few hundred a month.
Ryan: there was a connection charge of about $4. and a fee per minute after that. the average call for a half a 15 minute call would be about $20.
Zach: The charges were not so bad. Typically less than your average collect call. I'm told they used to be outrageous, but the new system (v-connect) seems to be more fair. Around 70 cents per call, on average. The average inmate would probably spend upwards of 5$ per week on phone calls.
Pat: 60 seconds free for first phone call. $25 for 4-5 10 minute calls.

JM: Did you need to buy phone cards to call out?
Girliegirl: No
Paul: yes and no
Tyler: NO
Tom: no they dont sell them.
Ryan: no, this facility didn't offer the calls like that.
Zach: Negative. People you want to call could set up accounts and prepay the amount of money that could be spend calling them. A decent system, if the people on the other side are willing to pay.
Pat: Phone cards not available

JM: Did the jail screen your calls?
Girliegirl: I'm sure they did. We only got to use the phone 3 times a week and for 10 minutes each time.
Paul: Probably!!!!
Tyler: Yes, the phone indicates that calls may be monitored.
Tom: yeah and the letters as well.
Ryan: yes. all calls were monitored, and recorded.
Zach: I imagine so.
Pat: Yes

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

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