Certainly it is not workable for inmates to have unfettered access to unmonitored phone calls, and contraband cell phones have assuredly been running rife through California state prisons.
The same is also true for Federal lock-ups as this week’s WaPo story points out.
Thus it is no surprise that on Thursday, the California legislature sent a bill to the governor’s desk that will make it a crime for an inmate to possess a cell phone or for staff to sneak in a cellphone for an inmate’s use.
In the run-up to the vote there were stories in the media telling sensational tales of the activities of street gangs being directed and crimes being masterminded from behind bars using these illegal cell phones.
It is unquestionably true that some of the thousands of contraband phones are being used for criminal activities. After all, the shot callers from prison gangs were directing actions on the street just fine without cell phone access. So it stands to reason that a nice smart phone would make such activities a whole lot easier.
But in most cases, inmates are simply calling spouses, children, mothers, dads or friends—just for the human connection. And, yes, inmates also surf the web and put up Facebook pages and do heaven knows what else. But more than anything they’re looking for a cheap and accessible way to keep in touch.
Collect calls from California prisons are about the most expensive calls in the country, and the usurious rates are paid, not by the inmates but by their families. Cell phones lower those rates and make it possible for inmates to keep in touch with family more often at a less crushing cost. This is not a bad thing as study after study shows that the strength of ties with family and community essential for an inmate’s emotional health and the surest predictor of success on the outside.
With this in mind, Doug Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy has a few thoughts about how “prison-friendly cell phones” might be a better solution than merely banning the things.
Here’s a clip:
Though I fully understand the problems that contraband cell phones can pose in prisons, I do not understand why anyone would be confident that this new federal criminal law would be likely to be effective at addressing these problems (or would even ever get seriously enforced by federal prosecutors). [WLA NOTE: I think the same is likely true for California’s about-to-be- law.]
As the title of my post hints, I think trying to provide inmates with controlled and closely monitored access to a prison-friendly cell phone may be a much more effective way to deal with a problem that seem likely to get even more profound if and when smart-phones and tablets and other small electronics become even cheaper and easier to pass to inmates who may just want no more than a cheap and easy way to keep up with the outside world.
Yep. In other words, if you can’t beat the technology, better to join it on your own terms.
SB9—THE JUVENILE LWOP BILL—MAY BE VOTED ON FRIDAY
It is possible that SB9 will be voted up or down on Friday in attempt to pass it after a defeat a few weeks ago. This is the bill that would give some people who were given life sentences as juveniles, a chance at a chance to eventually be paroled.
FYI: Should you be interested, those who are advocates for the bill have listed the following Assembly members to call:
Assembly Member Nora Campos (916) 319-2023
Assembly Member Wes Chesbro (916) 319-2001
Assembly Member Joan Buchanan (916) 319-2015