Mass. Sheriffs Say No-Cost Inmate Calls Running Up Giant Bill

Episode Transcript

Speaker 2 (00:00):
Governor.

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More heally is asking for more than one hundred and
sixty million more dollars for the state sheriff's offices, and
a substantial chunk of that will go to cover free
phone calls for jail inmates, part of a law passed
in twenty twenty three.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
So it costs around two million dollars a year, and
that that is servicing around seven hundred in mates.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Bristol County Sheriff Paul Haru says the current structure of
the law makes it so the calls are not just
free but also unlimited.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
And unlimited is unreasonable. There should be a cap on it.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
He flitted the idea of capping phone calls to between
fifteen minutes and an hour a day, and he says
he's also had to hire people to listen into the
constant calls to make sure inmates aren't up to anything
they shouldn't be.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
That was not part of the two million dollars a year.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Kyle Schaffel w BUS Boston's news radio