New York to Join 5 Other States in Making All Prison Calls Free
New York will soon be the latest state to make incarcerated individuals' phone calls free in an effort to increase communication accessibility and improve prison safety. Five states -- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Minnesota -- have already made phone calls free in their facilities. The New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) announced Tuesday that the change will take effect Aug. 1.
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The move to address prison call rates comes after the FCC earlier this month postponed deadlines for rate cap, site commission and per-minute pricing rules for incarcerated people's communications (see 2506300068). The FCC is also facing a legal challenge to its 2024 prison-calling order in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (see 2507160027).
New York is expanding on action already taken at the local level. In 2018, New York City instituted free calls in its jails. The state also has one of the lowest per-minute call rates in the country: Incarcerated individuals pay $0.024 per minute for domestic calls and receive three free calls per week, up to 15 minutes each, under an existing agreement with Securus. The company didn't comment.
Prison reform group Worth Rises said the change is expected to save about 30,000 families an estimated $13.3 million in phone call fees. Under a new agreement between New York and Securus, the provider's rate for the state drops to $0.015 per minute -- which, Worth Rises noted, is $0.045 lower than the FCC's cap. More details about the new contract are expected soon.
In addition to making calls free, DOCCS also recently completed a Wi-Fi deployment to install phone applications on all general population tablets so they can be used without connecting to a kiosk.
“Finally, relief is on its way, and it couldn’t be more timely," said Worth Rises Executive Director Bianca Tylek. The change "supports rehabilitation for incarcerated people, strengthens the unity and financial position of families, mitigates trauma for children facing parental incarceration, makes correctional environments safer for staff, and improves reentry outcomes and public safety."
Making calls free for incarcerated individuals is "a commonsense, compassionate policy," said state Assemblymember Harvey Epstein (D). "No one should be profiting off a child’s phone call to their parent or a family’s effort to stay connected through hard times."
Officials from states with free calls welcomed the announcement as well. Free calls have been an "exceedingly beneficial endeavor," said Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell. Connecticut Department of Correction Commissioner Angel Quiros agreed, saying calls help "reduce feelings of isolation and foster positive relationships" to ensure successful reentry for incarcerated individuals.
In addition to the financial relief for families, DOCCS said the upcoming change in New York "provides an important productive activity and means to communicate while programming and visitation have not fully been restored across the system," citing a corrections officers' strike earlier this year. "We recognize the critical role that strong family bonds play in an individual’s rehabilitation and long-term success after incarceration," said Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III, calling the move a "smart and effective step forward."