High costs for prison phone calls must end

In another entry in the category of “Connecticut? Really?” some people may be surprised to learn this state charges some of the highest rates in the nation for phone calls from inmates to the outside world. Though the prison population has been steadily declining for years, Connecticut is charging too much to people who can least afford it, and hurting itself in the process.

One advocate says the state ranks last nationally in affordability, with a 15-minute call costing up to $4.87. “Each year, Connecticut residents spend nearly $14 million to speak to incarcerated loved ones, roughly $8 million of which goes to the state,” said Jewu Richardson, co-director of the Connecticut Bail Fund, in a recent op-ed.

For those who would consider that a small price to pay for people who made poor decisions that led to their incarceration, consider that these costs are borne by their families, who are disproportionately Black, brown and low-income. They are not likely to be people with extra cash to spend on communications.

And those calls are important to everyone. “Continued contact with family while in prison increases the odds that the incarcerated person will successfully transition back into society once released. Studies have shown that incarcerated people who lack family support are more likely to revert to criminal behavior.” Those are the words of David Lamendola, a director for Verizon Government Affairs for New York and Connecticut, whose company is supporting a reduction of high calling rates.

The Legislature has taken notice. After a bill failed to advance in 2019, it was pushed aside, along with everything else, in the 2020 session due to the pandemic. Now, with a crowded docket of left-over priorities and new business, there’s a danger that this proposal could again fall to the wayside.

Leaders in Hartford should see that it doesn’t. Gov. Ned Lamont in his budget proposal allocated some funding to reduce the cost of prison phone calls, but advocates say it isn’t enough. The state makes about $7 million annually from the calls, with most of the money making its way to the judicial branch and the Criminal Justice Information System. That money would need to be replaced.

As stated by Hamden state Rep. Josh Elliott, a longtime proponent of free inmate phone calls, the state should never have become reliant on the money that comes from those commissions. Replacing it is necessary, but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse not to make a necessary change.

A wide range of advocates support reduced-price or free calls from prisons, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s to everyone’s benefit. As with many criminal justice issues, what seems at first glance like a policy that goes easy on people in the system is to the public’s benefit because it can reduce the chances of recidivism. At a time when the crime rate has increased, this should be an easy choice.

Connecticut is today making news for being on the wrong end of the scale for prison phone calls. Action by the Legislature can move it back in the right direction.

A wide range of advocates support reduced-price or free calls from prisons, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s to everyone’s benefit.