Salt Lake County Jail

Telephones

Interview with Mickey, Nate and Anne


JM: Did you have regular access to telephones?
Mickey: Yes, at certain times.
Nate: Yes.
Anne: Whenever we were out of our cells, I could make collect calls. I was in a split pod with both minimum and medium security so we were down for 30 hours at a time out for 3 down for five and out two then down thirty. Every other day I could call.

JM: What types of charges applied for calling people?
Mickey: Very expensive, and only through certain carriers. My parents had to get rid of call waiting, and put money on an account for the phone for me to be able to call.
Nate: They were only collect calls.
Anne: Three bucks to initialize or accept the call and I dunno how much.. My boyfriend bought a calling card and the calls were billed at a flat rate and kept to five minutes. That is the best recall I have.

JM: Did you need to buy phone cards to call out?
Mickey: You can but you don't need to.
Nate: No.
Anne: No. I did have one person I would just call collect. Not many people I know have home lines which accept the calls. In fact, two people to be exact. My phone card took twelve days to activate. That was a long 12 days and not really any opportunity to call customer service. lol.

JM: Did the jail screen your calls?
Mickey: Yes.
Nate: I don't know.
Anne: Oh I am sure they did. A recording at the beginning of every call told us they would be monitored.