Beginning on August 1, New York will become the sixth state to provide free phone calls to inmates housed in its state prisons.
According to Worth Rises, a nonprofit advocacy group devoted to ending the prison business, the shift is expected to save almost 30,000 families throughout the state an estimated $13.3 million annually in phone call fees.
Although Colorado’s legislation won’t fully implement until 2026, New York joins California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Minnesota in providing free phone calls in state prisons. However, without passing any laws, New York is the first state to administer the change.
According to the department’s news release, inmates in New York were previously charged $0.024 per minute for domestic calls under the state’s contract with Securus Technologies and were entitled to three complimentary 15-minute calls every week.
All fees for calls made from facility phones or tablets are eliminated under the new policy. The New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision anticipates spending $9 million this fiscal year, which will be paid for out of its operating budget.
According to certain studies, prisoners who stay in touch with their loved ones on a regular basis have a far higher chance of succeeding after being released from prison and are also less likely to commit crimes again.
The policy change coincides with the department’s ongoing efforts to resume operations after a three-week strike by correctional personnel earlier this year that resulted in the loss of thousands of officer posts and reduced visitation, programming, and recreation. Cell confinement has been increased to 20 hours a day in certain facilities, while police shifts have been prolonged to 12 hours.
Daniel F. Martuscello III, commissioner of the correctional department, stated in a statement that “understanding the value of family ties while in prison is crucial not only for emotional support but for improving an individual’s outcomes while incarcerated and when returning to society.”
The department’s objective of bringing New York’s recidivism rate down to 17% by 2030 is likewise in line with this most recent program. According to a news release from the state correctional department, the state recently announced a historic low of 18.9%.
Additionally, the new phone policy expands on previous initiatives to lessen the financial burden on prisoners and their families. To enhance communication beyond phone calls, the department has removed work release program fees, boosted gate money, or money given upon release, from $40 to $200, and extended Wi-Fi access and secure texting on tablets.
The Federal Communications Commission unexpectedly announced a two-year delay in enacting new rate limitations for prison and jail phone calls, which coincided with New York’s recent policy shift. Under the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, the guidelines were passed unanimously last year with the goal of drastically reducing the cost of calls for those who are detained.
Facilities may continue to charge higher rates until at least April 2027 if they haven’t reduced their phone and video call rates yet or if they choose to reverse previous modifications. Although those rates may change again before the regulations go into effect, the FCC had set rate caps of 6 cents per minute for phone calls in prisons and large jails, 16 cents per minute for video calls in prisons, and 11 cents per minute for video calls in large jails.
Stateline’s Amanda Hernandez
