Interview with Jenna, Mel, Bonnie, Ashley, Aaron, Walter, Shawn, Mimi, Saul, Heather, Ricky, Sterling, Doug and George
JM: Did you have regular access to telephones? Jenna: Yes there is a telephone in each block, but they are cut off at I
believe 9 or 10 at night until 6am. The only thing is that the phone
is in the same small quarters as the television, and you find it hard
to hold a conversation. It's best to use it first thing in the morning,
or just before lockdown. Mel: Yes. Bonnie: No, they like to pretend like they offer that,
but the phones never worked and if you were able
to dial out, they would hang up on whomever you
were calling. Ashley: yes Aaron: When in your cell. Blockk yes. Well yes. To a certain extent.
There's usually always someone claiming it one after
another. Walter: Yes, there was one for the dorm to use. It's on from about 8am
to 10 pm. It only worked to call certain numbers tho, mostly
land lines. Shawn: Yes there were telephones to use but you had to
call collect Mimi: Yes, there are 2 phones in each unit. Saul: Yes there was a daily schedule to use the phones Heather: No alot of the times they were not working or the
lines were long plus the correction officer could
decide not to turn them on at all. Ricky: Yes but access times were controlled and you had
to be patient. Sterling: Sure if you can afford it. There are times when
they take phones away but rarely for the entire day. Doug: yes in each room was a phone. George: we had access to telephones, but the prices were
outragious.
JM: What types of charges applied for calling people? How much money would you guess the average inmate spends per week on phone calls? Jenna: Well you have to money on your phone account, I think it was like
$2.00 for like 10-15 minutes (I don't really remember). Mel: When you first attempt a call to someone, you
get the first minute free. After that, the party
must set up an account with PCS, so it is to
your advantage to have the # ready to tell the
person you're on the phone with that they have to
establish an account or you will not be able to
call them. Bonnie: Not an option when the phones don't work. Ashley: not sure. but instructions for phone use are in
the blocks - BUT not in the holding cells Aaron: It ended up being about 4 dollars a call which is disgusting. I.
Witnessed people. Call out 10. Times. A day if not more. Walter: I think it was about $3 to connect and a buck a minute. I spent
about 25-40 bucks on phone calls while I was there. Plus
whatever the collect calls made cost the recipient. Shawn: I never used the phones there so I have no idea
what the charges were but I would guess they make
alot of money off the inmates there Mimi: You can call a landline collect or ge the phone
card and I used about $40 a week jus to make 1
call a day. Saul: Phone calls were very expensive and limited to 15
minutes. I would guess that those that did have
money would spend about $15-$20 a week. Heather: Its not the inmate who typically pays its the
friends and famliies on the other side putting
money on the phone. It cost alot ..if you want to
talk everyday you are looking at 100 bucks a week Ricky: All charges were collect and I would say the
average inmate charged at least ten dollars per
week. Sterling: Way too much. Calling from jail is like calling
from Spain. You get one free call after that you
can buy a calling card and the rates are worst
than international making calls to people blocks away. Doug: I can't remember what the charges were but I think
the average inmate spends about $20 a week. George: the average inmate who called a person at least
once a day for 5 minutes, averaged 50.00 a week.
JM: Did you need to buy phone cards to call out? Jenna: No. Money in your phone account, I think it had to be sent western
union. Mel: Yes. Bonnie: Didn't know that was an option, nobody offered
any information. Ashley: no Aaron: Yes. No othr choice. Unless. Yourpeople put money on THEIR
pHONE Walter: You have to call collect or use money from your account
balance. Shawn: I don't know because I never used the phones there Mimi: Yes, I needed a phone card because all my friends
and family only have cell phones, no landline. Saul: No it was taken out of our jail account. Heather: You could purchase a phone card off commissary if
you wanted but it was a rip off Ricky: Not when I was at the RJC. Sterling: Yes I bought a card twice Doug: Yes i did need to buy a phone card to call out. George: you could buy a phone card to make calls.
JM: Did the jail screen your calls? Jenna: I am sure they did, they screen mail. Mel: yes. Bonnie: haha, are they screening this questionaire? Ashley: I don't know Aaron: Yes of course. Its stated during your phone call. Walter: They were all recorded and monitored according to the
machines announcement at the start of all calls. Shawn: I am pretty sure that they did Mimi: Yes, the jail records your phone calls. Saul: Yes the calls were monitored Heather: oh yeah they screen and record every single call
you make Ricky: Not that I am aware of. Didn't really care
anyway - their perrogative. Sterling: Hell yeah. They are supposed to. Most of the
people that get sent to PRISON not jail that
shouldnt even be in jail are the ones that
violated protection orders over the jail phone
even when the conversation cleared them for what
they were in there in the first place. Doug: I dont know what you mean by screening the calls but
the calls were recorded. George: the jail did screen our calls.