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Telephones

Interview with Tom, Sonja, Kurt and Marshall

JM: Did you have regular access to telephones?
Tom: Yes, they had 8 phones.
Sonja: Yeah there wasn't a whole lot of time but it was regular i'd say.
Kurt: their were around 10 payphone you could use in free time
Marshall: Most of the time, unless there'd be a fight over them and then noone got to use them. To avoid incident I would call one family member once a week and write whoever else I felt like.

JM: What types of charges applied for calling people? How much money would you guess the average inmate spends per week on phone calls?
Tom: The average charge was $10 to call a cell then $15 for the call. To connect to landline it was $5
Sonja: You either called collect where the person you're calling ays for it everytime. Or you get a calling card or money on your account. I believe it was like 3 bucks for 15 minute phone call if you had a calling card. collect is like 30 bucks for 15 mins. And you can only call house phones usually it's crazy, too expensive.
Kurt: i didnt use them at the workhouse but in detention it was at 3 dollars to call someone at their house
Marshall: "For a one-time fee of $9.99 you will be able to have a phone call upto 20 minutes in length depending on the exact time the call is accepted"......

JM: Did you need to buy phone cards to call out?
Tom: You could buy phone cards or you could have a phone account they you put money in to charge the calls to.
Sonja: No i just called collect while i was there.
Kurt: in the workhouseyou could or the person you called would pay for it
Marshall: Sadly enough because of my past history, all my close family and friends already had their phones set up wit Securus or Evercom meaning the calls to them were pro-rated...

JM: Did the jail screen your calls?
Tom: They said it was subject to monitoring and recording. rd
Sonja: Yes all jail calls are open to be screened.
Kurt: i dont know about the workhouse but in detention they did
Marshall: Constantly. Calls, letters, visits, all of that was regularly screened and recorded.

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