Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigaions,

Topline: A new program that gives unlimited free phone calls to Massachusetts prisoners cost taxpayers $12.5 million in fiscal year 2025, according to the Boston Herald. 

Key facts: The program was meant to allow inmates to stay connected to their family members and other outside support systems, helping the rehabilitative process. It has not always had its intended effect.

Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux told the Herald that inmates at the jail he oversees are using the free phone calls to “plan criminal activity.” He claimed he has seen an increase in witness intimidation and violations of restraining orders since the so-called “No-Cost Communication” program began in late 2023.

Some inmates, according to Heroux, talk on the phone so much that they have stopped attending prison programming. 

Captain Eric Cardoso of Bristol County told NBC10 his unit needed to hire new investigators because inmates were using their phone calls to smuggle drugs into prisons.

Some jails had too few phones to accommodate the increased demand for calls, leading to fights among prisoners, according to Prison Legal News. The state solved that problem by giving prisoners tablets with a phone app installed.

Democratic State Rep. Adam Scanlon told the Herald the no-cost call program “has created unsustainable costs for county sheriffs and taxpayers.” He and Heroux are writing a bill that would keep inmates’ calls free, but limit them to 15 to 60 minutes per day.

Before the new law went into effect, people who received phone calls from inmates had to pay 12 to 14 cents per minute. 

Connecticut, Minnesota, Colorado and California are the only other states that offer free calls for inmates.

Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com. xs

Summary: Prisoners should not be restricted from calling their families, but Massachusetts’ taxpayer-funded program must be reformed so it does not promote illegal activity.

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