Bergen County Freeholders have heard from advocates concerning Bergen County Sheriff Saudino’s proposed new contract with high rates, commissions and fees in a series of letters from the New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees, the New York School of Law Immigrants Rights Clinic, American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and LatinoJustice PRLDEF.

Quotes from the most recent letter are in the Bergen Dispatch article
Groups Say Bergen County Jail Phone Contract Gouges Inmates on Excessive Charges

According to groups advocating for the rights of detainees the phone service contract under consideration by Bergen County stands in marked contrast to the new state contract in New Jersey. Under the proposed contract the cost of a 15 minute call from Bergen County Jail will be over five times the cost of a similar call from any state facility and county jail tied to the state contract.

In a letter to the Bergen County Freeholders the group urged the Board to reject the proposed contract saying “these high rates would place a particular burden on Bergen County residents who have family members in Bergen County Jail – a burden that is not experienced by similarly situated families in other counties that have opted into the state contract.”

The letter … asks the Freeholder Board to reject the proposed contract and either opt into the recent State of New Jersey contract or re-issue a bid that matches those rates “with no commissions or fees at the expense of vulnerable families.”

And quotes from Greg Sullivan of First Friends of NY/NJ:

Greg Sullivan, a concerned resident of Bergen County who has been visiting detainees in New Jersey facilities since 2006, stated that he is “disappointed that Bergen County would seriously consider outrageously punitive telephone rates for occupants of Bergen County.” He explained that in his visits with detainees, “the prohibitive cost of phone calls is a consistent complaint” and that since a large portion of the jail population is poor, “this represents a severe and unjustified hardship.” Mr. Sullivan was shocked that Bergen County would consider this proposed contract when there is evidence showing that its rates would result in a cost of $3.50 for a fifteen minute call, which is 15 times the cost of that same call under the state contract.

This week, news came of the outline of the Federal Communication Commission’s new rule that will set caps for all prison and jail calls and reduce or eliminate fees.

At their October 22nd meeting, the FCC will vote on new rules recently announced. It is expected there will be a cap of 14 cents per minute on large jails (over 1,000, which Bergen is). That would, in any case, invalidate the rate of 21 cents that the Sheriff was asking for, so a new rate will have to be negotiated.

New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

June 26, 2015
Contact:
Rebecca Hufstader, New York University School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic
Karina Wilkinson, New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees*, [email protected]

Bergen County to Enter New Jail Phone Contract with Exorbitant Rates

Hackensack, NJ – Bergen County has called for bids on a new phone contract that will increase the county’s commission from 60% to 65% of the revenue generated from calls made by people incarcerated in the jail. The new contract will set a flat rate of 21 cents per minute for domestic calling and 50 cents per minute for international calling, with a $5.95 “prepaid deposit fee.”

Last year, the state of New Jersey’s Department of Corrections eliminated the 41% commission. Recently, they entered into a new contract with Global Tel*Link that will reduce prison and jail phone rates to among the lowest in the nation, approximately 4.5 cents per minute by August. Counties in New Jersey will have the option of contracting for jail calling service through the state contract at the same rate as the state-run facilities.

“At a time when the state of New Jersey has recognized that it is inappropriate to use correctional facility phone contracts to generate revenue, it is disturbing to see Bergen County increasing its commission to 65% and continuing to charge much higher rates than the state,” said Karina Wilkinson, a member of New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees. “We encourage the county to join the state contract and stop profiting off of those who can least afford it.”

Correctional facilities across the country have had to make adjustments following the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Order capping interstate phone rates to 21 cents per minute for debit calls that went into effect February, 2014. The FCC is now looking to rein in the cost of calls within states, which make up the vast majority of calls.

Bergen County houses up to 194 people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement New York Field Office’s custody who need to make international calls to prepare their cases in immigration court.

“For too long, excessive phone rates have limited the ability of immigrant detainees housed in New Jersey jails to communicate with their families and fight their cases,” said Rebecca Hufstader, a recent graduate of NYU School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic. “Most detained immigrants do not have attorneys, so they rely on phone calls to gather critical evidence.”

The Bergen County Request for Proposals is attached. Initial correspondence from Inmate Calling Service providers was due yesterday at 3pm and final bids are due July 21st.

See the new New Jersey state contract price list, here.

See Bergen County’s Request for Proposals here.

*NJ Advocates for Immigrant Detainees is a statewide coalition that advocates for immigrants in detention, educating the public, and organizing to eliminate detention. For information on NJAID’s campaign, go to: njphonejustice.org.

###

Alix Nguefack from New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees and Scott Welfel from the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice testified at today’s Senate Law & Public Safety Committee hearing on Senator Turner’s (LD-15) bill to reduce prison and jail phone rates, S.1771. As amended it would eliminate kick backs to the state and counties (though the state has voluntarily ended its 41% commission as of Feb 2014). The counties continue to rake in 50% to 70% in commissions on the back of incarcerated people including immigrant detainees.

It was voted out of committee to the Senate floor.

Senator Turner’s press release here.

The Senate Law & Public Safety Committee will be hearing a bill on reducing phone rates in NJ prisons and jails on Thursday at 10:30am. The bill, S.1771, introduced by Senator Turner (LD-15) will likely be amended to reflect the new state contract that will lower state prison phone rates to 4.4 cents by August 25th, and hopefully address the remaining problems with the exorbitant rates and commissions being charged in the county jails. The location is: Committee Room 10, 3rd Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ. Join us to help encourage the committee to move a strong bill to the Senate floor!

WNYC and Prison Legal News covered the expected drop in New Jersey prison and jail phone rates to under 4.4 cents, with quotes from the New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees and LatinoJustice PRLDEF.

Listen to the WNYC report here and read it below, Prison Legal News article here, and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman’s response below.

Phone Rates in NJ Prisons Cut in Half
Friday, May 08, 2015

WNYC
By Sarah Gonzalez : Reporter, WNYC/NJPR

Making a 15 minute phone call from a state prison is New Jersey will soon costs inmates 66 cents — down from $1.95.

The new rates go into effect by the first of August.

[Updated information provided to NJAID by the state Department of Corrections indicates the new rates must be in effect by August 25, 2015, rather than August 1, 2015]

Watson Coleman Supports Lower Rates for Prison Phone Calls

April 10, 2015 Press Release
For Immediate Release

Ewing, NJ (April 10, 2015) ― Today, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) issued the following statement after the New Jersey Department of Corrections confirmed a contract with the potential to lower prison and jail phone rates:

Earlier this year, Watson Coleman sent a letter commending the Federal Communications Commission for new efforts to regulate private companies that provide interstate telephone service for prison and jail inmates. A 2011 report by the Vera Institute of Justice suggests that incarcerated individuals who maintained supportive relationships with family members had better outcomes when they returned to their communities.

###

As of Jan 2, NJ has lowered phone rates in state correctional facilities to 13 cents per minute. That rate will remain in effect during a transition period for a new contract that started on April 27, to lower the costs even further to less than 4.5 cents per minute! The transition period ends on August 25, 2015, as noted on the NJ Treasury website.

We are looking forward to fair and reasonable rates coming soon!

[updated April 27, 2015]

The New York Times published an article today highlighting the struggle for fairer phone rates from prisons and jails across the county. Read it here! Pennsylvania has recently lowered the cost of calls from state prisons to $0.06/minute, or $0.90 for a fifteen-minute call.

On February 11, 2015, the NJ Board of Public Utilities denied our petition seeking fair phone rates in New Jersey Prisons and Jails.  Please read our press release here:

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

February 11, 2015
Contact: Alix Nguefack and Pauline Ndzie, New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees, (973) 854-0401
Karina Wilkinson, New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees, [email protected]
Scott Welfel, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, (973) 624-9400 ext. 20

Board of Public Utilities Denies Petition Seeking Fair Phone Rates in New Jersey Prisons and Jails
Petitioners Continue to Seek Relief for Suffering Families

Trenton – Today, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) denied a petition asking the Board to limit the cost of phone calls from prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities in New Jersey. The New Jersey residents and organizations that filed this petition are disappointed by the decision, given the need for reform. Notwithstanding the denial of the petition, the Board still has an ongoing obligation to act to ensure that such rates are “just and reasonable,” and the petitioners are eager to work with the Board to support consideration of alternative actions.

New Jersey’s jails, which house people awaiting trial who cannot afford bail and immigrant detainees who have no right to attorneys, have the most exorbitant rates. For example, a fifteen-minute call from Bergen County Jail to another part of New Jersey can cost up to $7.50, and the same call from Mercer County Jail can cost $8.50. These rates affect the New Jersey families that are least able to afford them, while the counties take commissions between 50% to 70% from the phone companies’ huge profits. These commissions make it unlikely that counties will take action to reduce rates, making intervention by the BPU particularly necessary. Petitioners urge the BPU to independently initiate a rulemaking process that would determine the most effective way of dealing with this problem.

We know that phone companies can afford to provide much lower rates. In neighboring states New York and Pennsylvania, phone companies provide calling services to state prisons at rates of 4.8 cents and 5.9 cents, respectively. New Jersey’s failure to act immediately to reduce exorbitant rates to a comparable level continues to have devastating effects on New Jersey families.

“My three children had to live without me while I was detained,” said Pauline Ndzie, who was held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Hudson County Jail for five months. “I usually couldn’t afford to call them more than once a week. It isn’t fair to keep children from talking to their mother because of the high cost of phone calls.” High phone rates strain the ability of families and especially children to stay in touch with their loved ones who are incarcerated.

“The phone companies that operate in prisons and jails prey on New Jersey’s most vulnerable families, especially poor families and families of color,” said Craig Levine, Senior Counsel and Policy Director at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. “Limiting the ability of incarcerated people to speak with their families only makes it more difficult for them to rejoin their communities and causes their innocent children to suffer. We are disappointed that the BPU has not stepped in to bring these costs down, but remain hopeful that although they chose not to act today the Board will take appropriate, essential regulatory action in the near future.”

“It is not fair that families in New York are paying less to talk to their loved ones than families in our state, whether their family member is incarcerated here in New Jersey or in New York,” said Karina Wilkinson of the New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees. “The BPU should have acted to ensure that New Jersey families pay fair rates, and while they didn’t do so today, they still have the opportunity to take action in the future.”

For a full copy of the petition, visit https://www.njphonejusticeforall.org/petition-filed-with-the-board-of-public-utilities/

The NJ Board of Public Utilities Commissioners will meet on Wednesday, February 11 at 10am in the State House Annex in Trenton, Room 11. At the meeting, they are expected to vote on the NJ Phone Justice Campaign petition. We will report back here on the result of the vote and whether the state will move ahead with much needed regulation to end the profiteering by counties and prison and jail phone service providers off of families that can least afford it.

A new contract between the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the phone company Securus lowers the rates for calls from state prisons to $0.059 per minute. Meanwhile, Securus will pay Pennsylvania a commission of 35%. This means that – despite what the companies have said – a low rate of under $0.06 per minute is enough for Securus to make profit for themselves and pay the state.

Our letter to the FCC about this important evidence in support of a low rate cap is here.