Collect Calls to Cell Phones
May 8, 2008 – 3:32 pm
Not too sure if you can celebrate this news or not, but NCIC and 3Ci have made collect calls to cell phones possible. What could have made this technology come forward and for what main purpose. For emergencies? Nope …
The inmate population previously was unable to connect to loved ones, friends, or what have you due to the inmate collect calling system. NCIC is looking to be making big money with their new technology as more collect calls get through to cell phone users from prisons and jails nationwide.
For temporary insight, yes, it’s all nice in my book but the whole thing holding this technology up is money and prisons are becoming more lucrative sources of revenue. If technologies are being created to fill a gap solely based on the nation’s prison population it is obvious there are problems with this country.
My second gripe is the collect call charges. Yes, it’s great that some money can be retained from our prison population, but who is actually paying the bill? The person who owns the cell phone is the one paying all the charges and it ultimately becomes punishment to anyone knowing someone who lands in jail or prison.
Crime is big money in the prevention industry as well as with jail, prisons, and courts. It makes me wonder why schools still have to send children door to door selling magazine subscriptions and holding bake sales with all these different sources of criminal revenue (including traffic tickets) coming into state and local governments.
Hooray for NCIC, I’m sure the executives will enjoy a hearty pension from the various collected revenues from the poor and desperate population that is incarcerated and their families. Remember … poverty triggers many crimes and collect calling is expensive enough to send someone robbing a bank I think.
I know I have felt desperate times when faced with an expensive collect call bill so I can relate somewhat. Calls maybe not from prison, but all the same $100.00+ collect call bill when I am down to my last penny. I didn’t go robbing a bank, but I can imagine somewhere down the line the connection between a collect call and a poor family and something going wrong. Prisonomics I will call this booming new economy.
Upside, if your family member has an emergency it won’t be long before they can collect call you.
