Group worries about cost of inmate calls

HOLLIDAYSBURG - A member of the Pennsylvania Prison Society in Blair County is concerned that indigent inmates are prevented from contacting their families because of the high cost of telephone service.

Mary Burgoon of Hollidaysburg is among those members of the prison society who talked to inmates during monthly tours of the local prison and said one of the complaints she hears constantly is that telephone use by inmates is too expensive.

Prison Warden Michael M. Johnston sought to allay Burgoon's concerns by telling her that inmates in the past couple of years made 146,362 telephone calls, and that the average number of calls a month at this point comes to 5,227.

Johnston said prisoners are charged $3.43 for a 15-minute call, which is paid by the inmate.

If the inmate calls collect, the cost is $3.70 for 15 minutes.

The prison makes money on the calls, the warden said, but it's used to provide phone service to inmates who are too poor to afford phone calls.

"If a person is indigent, we allow them to make calls," Johnston said.

Burgoon was satisfied with the warden's explanation, but she said those who can afford service complain they can't use it unless they have money in their inmate account.

Johnston told members of the prison board Thursday that he is pleased with the phone service that is provided by Digital Solutions Inc./Inmate Telephone Inc., an Altoona firm.

Referring to the cost and Burgoon's concerns, Johnston said the county is under contract with Digital Solutions to provide the service until 2012.

However, he said he's hopeful that the contract can be extended possibly for another seven or eight years.

Digital Solutions will update the prison's computer system as an incentive for the prison to continue to use the company's phone service, Johnston said.

The county receives 30 percent of the money spent by inmates in phone service, which comes to about $4,200 a month, he sai.

Johnston said he did not think inmates were having a problem paying for phone service in view of the number of calls made each month, an average of 17 calls per inmate.

The prison used to allow an inmate one 10-minute call a week. Now inmates have access to phones at any time. Most cell blocks have two phones. The female section of the prison has three phones.

All calls leaving the facility are monitored, recorded and stored, Johnston said.

Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.