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CH 03 Telephone Calls

Last modified by superadmin on 2021/04/06 17:55

Washington County Sheriff's Office

CORRECTIONS DIVISION

Policy Manual

Volume: CH

Services and Programs

Chapter: 03

Telephone Calls

Replaces and/or Supersedes:

PH 07, PH 13, OD 05-003-A

Published:

03/13/2012

Review Date:

04/06/2021

Sheriff Cory C. Pusipher

Chief Deputy Jake Schultz

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CH 03_101  Definitions

CH 03_102  References

CH 03_103  General

CH 03_104  Access and Use

CH 03_101  DEFINITIONS

  1. WCSO:  Washington County Sheriff's Office
  2. PCF:  Purgatory Correctional Facility
  3. ICE:  Immigration and Customs Enforcement

CH 03_102  REFERENCES

  1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Standards:
    1. 2000-15.
  2. Utah Sheriffs' Association Jail Standards:
    1. C03.01.01:  Policies and Procedures Required Governing the Ancillary Admission Functions
    2. C03.06.01:  Access to Telephones
    3. E03.01.01:  Written Personal Telephone Call Policies and Procedures Required
    4. E03.02.01:  Function and Management
    5. E03.02.02:  Hours of Telephone Access
    6. E03.03.01:  Privacy and Monitoring Telephones
    7. E03.03.02:  Notice of Monitoring
    8. E03.03.03:  Recording Telephone Calls
    9. E03.03.04:  Telephone Rules
    10. E03.03.05:  Violations of Telephone Rules
    11. E03.04.01:  Long Distance Telephone Calls
    12. E03.04.02:  Collect Telephone Systems

CH 03_103  GENERAL

  1. Policy:
    1. PCF shall implement a telephone use system for inmates which:
      1. Permits inmates to call family members and other approved persons; and
      2. Functions in a manner that furthers the legitimate penological interests of the jail.
    2. Telephones shall be inspected regularly by jail staff to ensure that they are in good working order. Out-of-order phones shall be reported promptly.
    3. Inmates shall have no expectation of privacy in their personal telephone calls. Calls may be monitored and recorded. Inmates shall be provided notice of this via signage near each phone. Legal calls to established legal phone numbers shall be excluded from monitoring and recording. The inmate or legal representative must notify PCF in order to have the monitoring and recording feature turned off.
    4. Telephone use rules shall be posted for inmate reference in the Inmate Orientation Packet (reference policy: CG 04 Orientation and Rules).
    5. Violations of telephone rules shall be processed through the inmate discipline system (reference policy: CG 07 Punitive Discipline) and may result in:
      1. Warnings or other informal disciplinary actions;
      2. Formal disciplinary actions; and/or
      3. Criminal actions.
  2. Rationale:
    1. Telephone use provides a means of assisting inmates to maintain family and community ties while incarcerated.
    2. Inmates may abuse telephone privileges to arrange to introduce contraband, conspire to violate the law or jail security, or otherwise frustrate the legitimate interests of the jail.
    3. An additional margin of protection against civil rights litigation may be provided by putting inmates on notice.

CH 03_104  ACCESS AND USE

  1. Policy:
    1. During or immediately following the admission process, inmates shall be permitted to telephone:
      1. An attorney;
      2. A bondsman, if eligible for bail; and/or
      3. A family member or friend.
    2. After admission, inmates shall have access to telephones in their housing unit. Unless otherwise regulated, telephones may be accessed daily from about 0900 hours until about 2200 hours. Telephones will not be turned on until after bunk inspections are completed. In special management housing units, telephone use may be limited to the time that the inmate is allowed out of his/her cell. Inmates in disciplinary isolation shall be limited to legal, embassy, and consular calls only.
    3. Inmate telephones may be turned off at any time to facilitate legitimate penological interests (e.g., to avoid notification of inmate transport events).
    4. Telephone calls should be limited to 20 minutes during high-demand times (i.e., when all phones are in use).
    5. Inmates may make local and long-distance calls by calling collect or purchasing phone credit from the phone vendor.
    6. A one-time, free call may be permitted to a cell phone number in order to give the cell phone owner the opportunity to make arrangements to receive future calls.
    7. Telephone call rule exceptions (i.e., emergencies or exigencies) may be granted on a case-by-case basis at the request of the inmate to the shift supervisor.
    8. Consulate calls shall be free. ICE detainee questions related to calls to consulates or other special circumstances should be referred to ICE staff.
  2. Rationale:
    1. Inmates are lawfully entitled access to counsel if charged with a criminal offense; to attempt to make bail, if eligible for bail; and to notify a family member or other person within a reasonable time.
    2. There is no clearly established constitutional requirement which defines the extent to which inmates are entitled to access telephones for personal calls. Courts ruling on inmate telephone access issues have reached widely differing conclusions. Some courts have ruled that inmates have, at least, some right of access to telephones for personal use; a few even specifying the hours of the day, the amount of time per inmate, and/or number of calls per week required to satisfy inmates' constitutional rights. Other courts have ruled that inmates have little, if any, constitutional right to make personal telephone calls (other than at admission to contact a bondsman, attorney, or family member).
    3. Exigent circumstances may require special consideration for exception to standard telephone use rules.