A recently-released contract for prison phone services in Bartow County, Georgia shows that the County receives a commission of 77% from its current provider of inmate communications, ICSolutions.
The materials were released as part of MuckRock’s nationwide survey of county corrections and communications commissions. Most local jails and detention facilities in the United States receive some cut of costs that inmates pay for phone usage; these agreements also contain provisions for advances on that commission and generally require the phone company to cover maintenance and other costs.
In the Bartow County contract, as in many similar arrangements, ICS installed the necessary equipment at no charge …
provided an advance of $75,000 to the county, as well as a $150,000 “technology grant,” and remains in an automatically-renewing relationship with the County.
Past efforts to challenge the costs of inmate phone calls on the federal level have faltered under the current administration after the United States Court of Appeals found that the Federal Communications Commission had overstepped its authority by placing regulations on the cost of correctional phone calls. A current Senate bill, however, is looking to reword the FCC’s mandate to more clearly bring such enforcement within their purview.
Read the Bartow County contract embedded below, or on the request page.
Image via Bartow County Sheriff’s Office Facebook
