Institution Procedures for Inmate Telephone Access and Use

(1) General. Each Superintendent shall develop procedures to insure that inmates have access to telephones. Access should be regulated in such a manner as to provide for the orderly and safe use of telephones by inmates. (2) Inmate Telephone Use. Each Superintendent shall make arrangements to have an adequate number of inmate telephones available for inmate use. Institution business telephones shall not be used for inmate telephone contact except in emergency or unusual situations (e.g., seriously ill family member or oral arguments for Court hearings) and then only with the permission of the Superintendent or a designee. Outgoing telephone calls only shall be allowed, subject to the conditions authorized by 103 CMR 482.00. (3) Inmate Telephone Restrictions. (a) Inmate telephone calls shall be placed as either a collect call or a pre-paid debit call, all utilizing an automated operator. A transfer of money from personal funds to a debit phone account must be done prior to making debit calls. All international calls shall be debit calls. (b) Direct dialed calls, three way or conference calling and calls to 411, 800, 900, 550, 976 or other multiple long distance carriers are prohibited, except upon the approval of the Commissioner. (c) Inmates may be allowed a total of 15 telephone numbers authorized for use in conjunction with the inmate’s PIN. Five of these numbers shall be reserved for attorney telephone numbers. (d) All inmate telephone calls, except calls to pre-authorized attorney telephone numbers, a foreign national’s pre-authorized telephone number for his or her consular officer or diplomat, pre-authorized clergy telephone numbers and pre-authorized licensed psychologist, social worker and/or mental health professional telephone numbers are subject to telephone monitoring. (e) All inmate telephone calls are subject to duration limits, or other restrictions such as authorized calling hours as determined by procedures developed by the Superintendent of each institution. (f) All inmate telephone calls require positive call acceptance by the called party prior to the call being connected. Passive acceptance of inmate calls may be allowed with the approval of the Deputy Commissioner of the Prison Division, Director of Administrative Services, or Superintendent. The telephone system shall use a pre-recorded name to announce who the call is from. (g) All inmate telephone calls to the North American Dialing Plan shall contain a pre­ recorded announcement identifying that the collect call is originating from an inmate at a Massachusetts Department of Correction (institution) shall indicate that the call is subject to being recorded, and shall indicate that any attempt to access a three-party line or conference call will cause the system to immediately disconnect the call. This announcement may be played at various intervals during all telephone calls subject to monitoring and/or recording. (h) An inmate’s telephone privileges, with the exception of attorney telephone calls or a foreign national’s call to his or her consular officer or diplomat, may be suspended or curtailed pending either disciplinary action, administrative action, or as part of a disciplinary sanction. (4) Suspension of Inmate Telephone Use. A Superintendent or a designee may suspend telephone usage by the inmate population on an emergency basis when, in the Superintendent's opinion, telephone use by the entire inmate population presents a threat to the institution's security. After 24 hours, the Superintendent or designee, if necessary, shall authorize a continuation of the suspension of telephone use, to be reviewed every 24 hours thereafter and reauthorized as necessary. (5) International Debit Calling. Inmates shall be allowed to call five international numbers in addition to the ten personal numbers that can be called collect/debit. International debit calling is permitted to areas where North American Dialing Plan collect calls cannot be completed. Prior to placing any international calls, the inmate must complete an Inmate International Debit Request Form to transfer money from his/her personal account to a debit account for the purpose of placing an international telephone call. The inmate is responsible to pay for the call prior to the call being completed. (6) Commissions. All Commissions received that are derived from inmate calling shall be returned to the General Fund of the Commonwealth. This shall be done on a monthly basis by the Director of Administrative Services. (7) Reports detailing all receipts and expenditures of inmate telephone commissions shall be kept on file by the Director of Administrative Services.