Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. In 2021, Bryan Collier, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said that tablets would “fundamentally change” communication for the state’s more than 100,000 prison inmates.
A man plays a game in the Brothers in Arms cell block, a new veteran-focused program, at the Harris County Joint Processing Center, part of the county jail system, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in Houston.In 2021, Bryan Collier, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said that tablets would “fundamentally change” communication for the state’s more than 100,000 prison inmates.
For years, telecommunications companies have made money off of inmates by charging high rates for phone calls, in some cases up to a dollar per minute. As the federal government clamps down on inmate phone call costs, the tablets provide prison technology companies with new sources of revenue from a captive customer.
Advocates say that both counties and the state should make inmate phone calls free, as at least five other states have. They say taking a cut of the revenue from phone calls — as both Texas and some counties do — is unethical and that incarcerated people who can maintain relationships with family and friends are less likely to return to prison.
Calls are limited to 30-minutes, and inmates can only phone adults on a pre-approved list. Except for calls made to an attorney, inmate calls are recorded and monitored for any illegal activity.“reasonable access” between the detained person and their attorney, family and friends. And jails must allow for at least two phone calls within four hours of the detained person’s arrival.
Each month, about 5.8 million calls are made through the prison inmate tablets at TDCJ, Hernandez said. Hernandez said the tablets are also loaded with free games and motivational videos highlighting certain inmates who have taken advantage of the facility’s rehabilitation programs.While recognizing the possible benefits, advocates for incarcerated individuals worry that tablets are simply the latest way to profit off of the state’s most vulnerable individuals.
Jails in Texas have also begun deploying Securus tablets. Jails, which are regulated by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, are not governed by the state law about revenue from prison phone calls. Instead, each county can negotiate its own contract for inmate telephone services. But the county still receives payments made on those phone calls from Securus — a minimum of $500,000 per year — and phone calls are not free.
Hernandez, the TDCJ spokesperson, said the agency made the change because of an increase in drug-related prison deaths. Reaching that deal was a yearslong battle for Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who believes the county should not take money from inmates and their families.
Texas Jails Texas Prisons Tablets Jail Communications Prisoners Rights
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