The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

“In light of assuring that as much information is available to the court and plaintiffs as possible, we decided to announce it today,” said Paul Larrabee, a spokesman for Mr. Spitzer.

Since 1996, the telephone company that provides calling services to state inmates, currently Verizon, has been required to return more than half its profits to the state. The arrangement earned the state $16 million in 2005. The phone companies passed along those charges to people accepting inmates’ collect calls, in some cases tripling the price of those calls, according to prisoners’ rights groups.

The Pataki administration had aggressively defended the charges, arguing that they helped pay for services to inmates and extra security features to prevent prison phones from being used to commit fraud or other crimes.

But nonprofit groups have long described the practice as exploitative and counterproductive, saying that both prisoners and the public benefited when inmates could readily stay in touch with their wives, husbands and parents. They also argued that the practice essentially charged families for their relatives’ incarceration.

“They were taking advantage of the high price to cover the cost of programs and services that the prison system should be providing in any case,” said Robert Gangi, the executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit group that monitors conditions in state prisons.

Legislation to end the high charges had passed the Democratic-controlled State Assembly several times in recent years but had stalled in the Senate. Mr. Spitzer, however, signaled during last year’s gubernatorial campaign that he would change the policy if elected. Yesterday, he was warmly praised by advocates who had pressed for the change.

“This is a victory for all New Yorkers because increased contact with family members is proven to reduce recidivism rates after release,” said Annette Dickerson, coordinator of the New York Campaign for Telephone Justice, which pushed for the change. Ms. Dickerson is also the director of education at the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed suit two years ago on behalf of prisoners’ families to end the charges.

Most states still charge their prison inmates higher rates for telephone calls than are paid by the public, often through direct surcharges or commissions. Mr. Spitzer’s move makes New York one of only a few that have ended the practice.

Under the arrangement that will take effect April 1, the state will not share in any revenue from the phone calls. Mr. Larrabee said that the cost of a 20-minute call would fall to about $3, from about $6.20. Inmates in New York prisons are allowed to make only collect calls.

Prisoner advocates also praised Mr. Spitzer for abolishing the high charges without abolishing any of the prison programs for which the fees helped pay. Those programs — including AIDS medications and family reunion programs — must now be paid for out of general revenues, another reason why Mr. Spitzer, who will soon present next year’s budget, made the announcement on Monday.

“We are preparing the state budget,” Mr. Larrabee said. “And we’re no longer going to have that revenue stream.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/nyregion/09calls.html