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Telephones

Interview with DC, Keith, Joe, Heidi, Dillon, Kami, Linda, Gregg, Matthew, Damon, David, Shelley, Justin, Steve, Jack, Rachel, Conrad, John and Ted

JM: Did you have regular access to telephones?
DC: Yes, payphones were located in each pod.
Keith: As long as there is not a prison pick up (chain) the New Jail gets to use the phone 24 hours a day. Green Bay and the Old Jail have the phones go off at 12 midnight at come back on around 7 am. Collect calls only.
Joe: yes
Heidi: yes
Dillon: Yes
Kami: yes
Linda: Yes they shu off at 9 though
Gregg: Yes i did have regular access to phones
Matthew: yes we were allowed to use the phones
Damon: In Tarrant County Jail there was always pay phones there for collect calls. In Hutchins state jail they were installing the phones before I left.
David: Yes I had regular access.
Shelley: Yes.
Justin: Three telephones were available in the dayroom of the cell block. They were turned on to be used for collect calls only from the time all offenders to be transferred to prison and other agencies were actually gone out of the facility, which was about 11:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. every weekday , and they were left on until about midnight on weekdays. On Friday, Saturday and all days preceding a holiday, the phones remained on all day and night.
Steve: Yes. There are 2 phones inside each pod. An inmate can call anyone who has an account set up for them to call. It's a minimum of 15 dollars if memory serves me correctly.
Jack: Yes, there's two phones in every tank.
Rachel: Only when it was my rotation
Conrad: tes you do they never cut off
John: Yeah, you could use the phone as often as you wanted between 5 am and midnight.
Ted: Yes but only from 9 am to 10 pm

JM: What types of charges applied for calling people? How much money would you guess the average inmate spends per week on phone calls?
DC: Back when I went, I think it was 2.55 per call. I never called home though.
Keith: $3.80 per 15 minute phone call.
Joe: collect.
Heidi: 4.10 per call
Dillon: Unknown never completed a card.
Kami: idk
Linda: Too many to count its ridiculous
Gregg: The first call is free but after that the people you call have to set up an account to be called by me and it costs like 10.00 a call at least
Matthew: We called using 1-800 collect. An inmate probably spends an average of $50 on phone calls.
Damon: My mom told me that her phone bill for every collect call she accepted was $8 for 15 minutes.
David: we had to have an account to call people my mom always had money in my account.
Shelley: All calls we're collect. About $10 for 15 minutes.
Justin: All calls were either collect or prepaid. The charge for making a 15-minute, local call was about $14.95 each time. The cost of paying for that same call in advance was about $6.00 each.
Steve: It's about 15 dollars minimum for about 15 minutes. The average inmate in my experience may spend 15 dollars.
Jack: When you first use the phone you had to have whoever you were calling set up an account, if they did there was a minimum of 25 dollars.
Rachel: I think the calls were 395 i put money on a phone acct and prepaid because i used a cell phone
Conrad: If they don't set up an account it's 10 dollara per call but you can sign up for cheaper rates
John: The inmate didn't have to pay in Tarrant County, but my Mom said the rates that she had to pay were pretty steep, unless you prepaid for the minutes. I wouldn't have a clue as to how much it cost.
Ted: The calls are 395 for landline but more for cell phone. If they talk daily it would cost at least 50 or more for cell

JM: Did you need to buy phone cards to call out?
DC: No, just someone had to accept collect calls.
Keith: Only of you called one number alot. They restrict the number of times you can call each number. But they will sell you one of their $50 phone cards to allow more calls to overcalled numbers.
Joe: you can.
Heidi: no
Dillon: Unknown
Kami: no
Linda: No
Gregg: no there was no option to buy phone cards
Matthew: no i did not need to buy phone cards to call out
Damon: Not for Tarrant County Jail. In Hutchins state jail you had to have a phone card but they were up when I left.
David: No it was in an accunt
Shelley: No.
Justin: They did not sell phone cards, but offenders' friends, family, etc... could prepay for minutes or calls to be made to them from the offender.
Steve: Basically. I think you can call a person whose phone service allows collect calls. It's probably cheaper to set up an account upon receiving a call from an inmate but it costs regardless.
Jack: No, the people that you would call had to set up a account.
Rachel: No but some cell phones would not allow calls if you didnt
Conrad: no but your relatives did have to add the program
John: No, the calls were collect.
Ted: No but your family could buy

JM: Did the jail screen your calls?
DC: No, but be advised phone calls are limited to 15 minutes. After that, they automatically disconnect the call.
Keith: Of course. They ask you to say your full name when make a call. Then they can use it against you in their court of law.
Joe: sure,they all do.
Heidi: no
Dillon: Unknown but I am sure they did.
Kami: they say they do
Linda: Yes
Gregg: yes of course they screen your calls
Matthew: the jai did screen my calls
Damon: Every call was recorded For misuse purposes
David: Yes the jail screened your calls
Shelley: Yes.
Justin: The jail did monitor all calls.
Steve: I'm sure they did. No evident situations that I recall but I'm sure they did.
Jack: Yes, they would record or monitor (they called it) every call.
Rachel: A recording told us it was subject to recrding
Conrad: all calls were recorded sooo
John: There was the messages that said they may be monitored, so I am guessing they were.
Ted: It was a automated messagethat notified before a call that it was possible

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