Giving Compass' Take:

• The Marshall Project surveyed prisoners and found that video calls intended to connect inmates with the outside were high-cost and low-quality. 

• How can funders work to connect prisoners with their loved ones on the outside through reliable, inexpensive means? 

• Find out why the cost of a phone call from prison matters. 

Video calls are the newest trend in revenue-generating communications in prisons and jails. In 2015, the Prison Policy Initiative, a non-profit working to reduce mass incarceration, estimated roughly 600 facilities across the country used video. Today, that number is likely much higher. According to their websites, Securus and JPay, two of the leading corrections-focused tech companies, provide video services to 573 facilities nationwide.

The companies bill video as a boon for prisoners and their families, offering them a convenient way to stay connected while behind bars. But many who use the video systems say they’re paying high rates—as much as $1 per minute in some places—for a second-rate service. Advocates for lower phone and video rates in prisons and jails say the companies are profiting from people’s desperation to stay in touch. When these services don’t work as promised, many struggle to get their money back and have limited consumer protections to advocate for more favorable prices.

To understand both the benefits and challenges of video calls, The Marshall Project surveyed families and friends of the incarcerated. We heard from 161 respondents in 32 states. In some cases video is the only way to stay connected. More than one-third of respondents have family members locked up in facilities—mostly jails—that bar face-to-face visits completely.

While Skype and other video platforms like FaceTime or Google Hangouts are free for people on the outside, the price of video calls varies widely from facility to facility. The costs add up quickly. On average, respondents spend $63 each month, with a handful estimating their expenditures at $400 to $500 a month. And most of the respondents rated the quality of the calls as poor or below average.

Read the full article about video calls for prisoners by Nicole Lewis and Beatrix Lockwood at The Marshall Project.