On Mon, 4 Jan 2010 13:22:24 -0800 (PST), hanco...@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:

>Many government agencies add very hefty surcharges to collect calls
>placed by inmates in jails and prisons.  They claim it's to cover
>security costs but IMHO it's just a way to raise revenue.   Usually
>the families of prison inmates are quite poor.  Even if they weren't
>poor to start with, the loss of the main breadwinner to prison makes
>them poor.
>
>Family contacts go a long way to reduce re-offending.  Making such
>contacts harder increases the chances an inmate will re-offend when he
>gets out.  Not smart policy.
>
>
>> It's starting to backfire, though - now that cell phones are so
>> widespread (and rates are dropping), more and more people choose
>> to use their cell phone instead of the room phone.
>
>Smuggled cell phones is a security problem in prisons.  They let
>gangsters conduct business while on the inside.

Could it be that making such contacts harder decreases the chance that
an inmate will re-offend when he gets out?

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