I am so frustrated with the Bureau of Prisons(BOP) that says one of it main goals is to keep families connected with inmates. The reasoning is, when an inmate that has support while on the inside and when they are returned to public life, they have a better chance of resuming a positive lifestyle. The will assimilate back into society much easier and the odds that they will re offend decreases. That looks really nice in writing but it would be so much better if they actually put those theories in practice.
We could look at how far the BOP sends inmates away from their families to start. My husband is currently over 500 miles from our home. I know some people whose loved ones are over 1000 miles from their families. How is this beneficial? I can only visit him once a year because of the time and costs associated with any visit. It is a full days drive each way, so just the driving is a full two days, and then how much time does that leave for visits? Maybe one or two depending on when you arrive and when you plan to leave. There are now costs for hotels and meals while you are on the road, and add to the cost if you are bringing the kids along to see their father. Imagine being a parent who only gets to see and hug your kids once a year. Kids change so much day to day, never mind a full year.
Ok, the argument can be made for space to put everyone, the closest facility to my home may not have had an open bunk at the time they placed my husband. That being said, now the BOP is going to limit the contact we can have with him when we are not visiting him. The inmates are only allowed 300 minutes of phone time a month (except Nov. and Dec. when they get 400 for the holidays) so my husband rations his phone time out over the month to make sure he does not go too long between phone calls because he used up all his minutes. He also tries to save some minutes for his parents.
Not only do they limit the total minutes, but they limit each individual phone call to 15 minutes. Most of the time those 15 minutes seem to go so fast. You hear a beep when you have one minute left and then another one at the thirty second mark and then the phone just cuts you off after 15 minutes, which works to my husbands benefit when he is talking to his mother who likes to ramble but for us it is never enough. I hate to waste the few minutes so I am always careful about what we talk about so as not to waste the time on frivolous topics.
But what triggered my anger this week, was my last phone call with my husband, there are issues I am trying to deal with regarding my daughter and school. I had just gotten off the phone with the principal at her school when my husband called, so I was trying to explain everything that was going on. I had to explain what the issues were, what actions I had already taken, what I had talked about with my daughter and then try to explain what the conversation with the principal was about. There was no way I could do all that in 15 minutes. I tried my best and was in the middle of everything when I heard those obnoxious beeps reminding me that our call was soon over.
Ugh!!! How do they expect him to be a part of our lives and fulfill his obligations as a parent when I can not even have a long enough conversation with him to explain what is going on. Yes, in theory, he could have called back, but he has to wait about one hour before he can place another call, and he was on his way to work. Besides, another phone call on the same day takes away from the minutes he would have on another day. With 15 minute calls a few times a week, how is he supposed to talk to me and three of his kids, do the math. That is not even five minutes a phone call.
What kind of system is this? Certainly not family friendly. I have been told that a few years ago, there were no limits on the amount of phone time per month. What changed? They can't blame it on costs, because the inmates pay for all their own phone calls. So what is the reasoning behind limiting the minutes per month? Maybe it keeps down the lines for the phones but for the most part, there have not been that many times when he has had to wait in line to use the phone. And who picked 300 minutes per month? Show me a cell phone plan that has less than 450 minutes per month.
My husband goes to work while he is there and is in a re-entry program that takes up most of his time, so it is not like he would have the time to spend hours on the phone but it sure would be nice to talk more often and for a while longer. These are certainly NOT family friendly practices and some one should really look at the differences between what the BOP says and what it actually does. But like any other government agency it is not run efficiently or effectively. It is run to pay the most people the most money for doing the least amount of work.
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Again, I agree. There has got to be a way to make a change in these rules. No one wants to deal with the problems with the prison system until they are involved in the system. Then the problems are so blatant. But again, what can we do? I have three children 23 20 and 16, and they are all considered adult visitors. Since my husband can only have 3 adult visitors at a time, we can't have our whole family there at the same time. This promotes family unity? I would love to find or start a watchdog group to deal with these problems and so many more. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteSince my kids are all under age, I have not yet run into that problem. He did have to get special permission for one of our visits since his aunt came with us and it exceeded the normal 4 visitor limit.
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew who to complain or fight with, but I know of a few people who openly fought the BOP and have put the inmate at risk and their abiliy to visit in jeopardy. And I am not completely sure who regulates the BOP, I know some of it is regulated by congressional laws and mandates but I do know that they also have control over many things internally.
I am definitely with you on this federal system, IT is BS because everyone needs support from their family or friend. What if a person cant visit due to finances l000 miles away? I haven't seen my brother in 8 years nor his mother has seen him. This is not God's way, and people will have to answer one day. A prison can be run in a manner that gve decent rules and regulations if that inmate applies to it.
ReplyDeleteI feel the concern. When we have love ones in these situation it so hard fo us to truly see both sides of situation. Just my opinion all system has pros and cons. But prison are full with so many love ones family. I know 15min seems short but there are a large number of inmates whose waiting too utlitize the phone lines. The system is designed for each inmate to be treated fairly. I mean without rules and restriction this could cause major disturbance in the way prison are operated. Lets think outside the box. Our love ones wouldnt make the choice and give the phone up because of whateva it maybe. The other inmates will possibly feel violated and these measurement could cause our love ones more problems then its worth. We wont a safe return for our family.
DeleteOh I completely understand the reasoning for the limitations but my concerns lie with the severity of those limitations. On average there are 3 phones for every inmates. Do the math. If there were more phones available for the inmates to use, they could each have a few more minutes. 15 minutes goes by very quickly when you are trying to share everything 3 kids have done in the last 2 days. The inmates have to pay for all the calls in some way so it would not cost the BOP any more money to add additional phones. The quality of the phone lines would also help, there are times when I can hardly hear much of what my husband is trying to tell me.
DeleteFYI...not too many years ago there were no monthly limits on the amount of phone time given to inmates so it did work for many years with no limitations.
My fiance is in a fed detention center and thank god he is only 30 miles away and his outdate is next year in feb. Im tired of him being there and the stupid rules etc.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you another thing that is frustrating is the fact that you can drive that 500 miles and if they have locked down that facility for whatever reason 2 days ago, you will not be notified until you press the button at the gate with your children in hand and they tell you that visitation has been cancelled. It is BS. The rates they charge for phone time is ridiculous. God forbid your husband gets moved to a privately operated facility that houses BOP inmates, because they can charge even more per minute, and some even restrict calls to cell phones, and forget about getting a trac phone with a local number because you will have to verify that number with a local address. Yes it is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteThe BOP is overseen by the Department of Justice. I just got off of our "Tuesday 5 minute call night" with my partner, who is serving time at a federal camp, and am stricken by how ironic it is that the name of the BOP's managing entity has the word justice in it.
ReplyDeleteTo whomever wrote about speaking up, you are correct...doing so places your incarcerated loved one and your visitation rights in certain jeopardy. The best thing I can do is to wait patiently for release, which is under a year from now, and THEN speak up on behalf of the humans who are still incarcerated or will become so. These criminals (meaning BOP employees) count on families being so intimidated that they won't speak up, and then so glad to be done with it that they won't bother after release. I can tell you with certainty that I will be taking action once my partner is released...patience until then.
For phone rates, check out Vonage. I was able to get a local number and then forward it to my cell phone. I use a third party for collect billing, but it costs a fraction of what it would cost otherwise...very manageable.
Best to you all!
@David above, right on. I wish the Best to everyone on this forum as well. One thing about this lifetime is that it is a dual place, an "us versus them" reality. There are our loved ones, and there is the jail. In a non-dual existence, there is no "other", there is Unity. The time is coming for the Shift, and wise elders tell us it will go by like any other day unless we make the Shift with our emotions and our actions.
ReplyDeleteSo, for me, in order to make peace with the ordeal of our community's dear friend and leader behind bars, I pray for all the parties involved across the walls that are real and imagined. The prayer I hold is deep, steady, and magic, for strength for our dear friend/brother, but also strength of spirit for the sentencing judge, for the officers working with him, for the very space in the jail for instance.
Offering a forgiving beam to the sentencing judge feels very peaceful to me. In his heart, from the evidence on the case, he knows our friend is a beloved community member and a good person who is caught in harsh laws regarding substances for heart and mind expansion. The judge needs the _strength_of_character_ to sentence according to his conscience: less years in prison, to stand up to the mandatory minimum laws. I pray and psychically want to dissolve the hate and fear put out by the mandatory minimum politicians; their law is doing harm to families and people behind bars.
I, like you, feel very strongly about taking action for a more just system, and I do it in the mindset of what is humane and just, and with the spirit that punishment is not the answer. Restorative Justice and change are the answers. A crime to one person is not a crime to another, and the U.S. system is overburdened with "crimeless" perpetrators.
Like yourself, I think about the employees there, who can do better if they are employed in a better system, not a for-profit enterprise.
Thank you for Vonage info, and blessings to you and your family, as well as the people housing and working with them. Meditate on Awakening for All People, which equally means those who are doing harm by creating the draconian laws. Being the change we want to see, leading with light and action, I believe we can start to make changes in the system by focusing our collective unrest.
Something fun we did today on our visit to jail was wear yellow shirts in solidarity with the yellow garb of the prisoners.. made everyone happy!
How can I get a number so my boyfriend can call me from Florence, CO??? He told me it was a 719 area code
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you ever received an answer, but I have always used Cons Call Home. They assign a local number for his facility with a monthly fee. Hint...it is cheaper in the long run if you pay for either 6 months or a year. I can have the calls sent to my home phone or my cell and then I never miss a call. It is a local phone call for him which is a whole lot cheaper than those collect calls. I know there are other services out there but beware, some of them simply transfer calls and that does not fly with the Justice Department. Sometimes they crack down and prevent inmates from making calls that simply forward the call. Check out Conscallhome.com.
DeleteAnyone else out there use another good service?
Try Google Voice. I am from Maryland and my fiance is in a federal facility in California. So you have to set up a gmail account and then you can use their google voice service. It is absolutely free. You'll need to know the city that is local to them and then you attach a google number to the phone number on which your inmate contacts you on. You will need to provide him with your google number, and when he dials that number your phone will ring like normal and it is cheaper for them. It takes their calls from $5 to .90. I hope this helps and good luck!
DeleteAsk if there are any phone services like inmateconnect.com. They vary from federal prisons. Usually you have to put at least $25 minimum w/a fee, but each 15 minute call is usually $5.85 or less. You can also designate number to call. House or cell. Plus, you can keep track of calls, etc. I agree the 15 minutes goes fast. The waiting so long before making another call is BS!!! Also, family/friends contact us encouraged, but they make it so hard. There has to be money on account to buy paper, pen, envelopes, & stamps which then they are only allowed one day to purchase. Also, my brother cannot just write my address on envelope. He has to get time between programs & work to go to library and print labels. Really???? There's always email, but for my little brother it cost 30¢ a minute whether writing or reading and only allowed 60 minutes at a time. Geez!!!!
DeleteMy boyfriend just self surrendered Thursday. He is in a federal camp. Are they allowed to dial out to cell phones? It's been 3 days and no call.. I'm worried
ReplyDeleteYhey can dial out to cell phones after they have submitted their call list for approval. That could take up to a week for the numbers to be approved.
Deletethey wont be able to use the fhone for the first few days
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ReplyDeleteI wish we could all do something to get the minutes per month raised. 300 minutes just isnt enough. They are paying for the calls at an outrageous rate, they should be allowed atleast another 100-200 additional minutes. State inmates are able to call constantly, why not federal??
ReplyDeleteReading all these comments, I do feel for everyone, but lets make one thing clear: They are in prison for a reason, they broke the law and this is their punishment. Prison isn't supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be hard so you will think twice to break the law again. I'm sorry it sucks, but punishment is punishment.
ReplyDeleteWhat you say is 100% true. They broke the law and are being punished, but what about that little boy or girl who is home and just wants to talk to daddy on the phone. How do you look that child in the eye and say no? There are those that think prison is a cake walk...three meals, bed, roof over your head, cable TV and everything you could possibly want...well let me assure you that those people have never spent a day in prison. Much of the food cooked in the kitchen is expired or already stale. One TV for a whole wing of inmates, you do the math, the biggest guy gets to pick the show. Even the freshly clean laundry smells musty and damp. Compared to living on the street it is a nice place but if you are used to a home, then take it from me, it is a punishment. We get about 45 minutes of conversation with my husband a week, you tell me if that is enough time to maintain any type of real relationship. We can't see him anytime we want-that is a punishment. He obviously can't come home-that is a punishment. He lives by the rules inside-that is a punishment. Keeping him from maintaining a relationship with his family-is it a necessity and should not be used as a punishment. Understanding that the system needs to maintain order, I know that limitations need to be in place for everyone's safety, but lets put the needs of the family and relationships that build people up ahead of our need to punish.
DeleteIf you are going to reply with such a strong opinion have the guts to use your name. Obviously you don't have a loved one who has made a mistake and is serving time. I am not defending their actions...however until you walk in the shoes of their families you have no clue!!! The families "serve time" also.......where is your compassion for them?????
Deletei agree ! its just so cowardly to post comments like that Anonymously.. obviously you must know your comments are wrong that's why you don't have the guts to use your name.. you prob work in prison system and love having that authority over people but i bet if you ever went to prison your attitude would change,actually you would prob beg for mercy and see if god gives it to you then....
DeleteI have a husband in fob all I got to say is this I am older then him and by the time he comes home I will be dead and gone and knowing that I will never hold him or have a nomal life with him as a wife. some should look at it that way and try to live life like that. think about it.
DeleteYes you are right it is a punishment yes they did do wrong and the inmate the law and their families know that but even though they have done wrong they are still loved by their wifes and children I havnt seen my husband in 2 yrs because he is all the way across the us his children havnt gotten to see him he watches them grow from a picture and even then they can only get 25 pictures per envalope, doesn't seem fair to me that state inmates get to see their loved ones on a regular and are even offered trailor visits for a weekend to spend with their children wifes mother ect but federal inmates are shipped as far away from their families as possible and only allowed a 15 min call.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this article. you lot of great work in the community. with the need for the districts to have website and clubs too must have a website.
ReplyDeleteMy fiancé had to surrender himself 2 months ago and im furious to find out I cant ever go see him these next 5 years because I have a felony on my record which is over 7 years old and haven't been in any kind of trouble sense then. I have been apart of his recovery sense the day they kicked in the door. went to every court date, every attorney visit, and every po visit while he was out on pretrial release. He is less then 15 miles from me and I don't understand why it is I cant see him. The system is so messed up and I wish I could see him. It sucks...
ReplyDeletemy husband just left for leavenworth yesterday and if this is what i am in for, for the next 120 months im going to loose it 1842 miles might as well be a million at this point. all we have is the phone but he also has so much family that he needs to call and talk to also. im screwed. 300 minutes is nothing. why is there is restriction? how is this fair? they want to decrease revidicisum yet lets take them as far away as possible and cut them off. lets not have their ptsd act up if they have it being isolated will not only make any ptsd but depression worse and isolation is also a sign that contributes to revidicisum... i dont understand, i get this isnt summer camp and they are in prison but damn why punish the family even more? i didnt commit a crime but i am forced to suffer restrictions the government implies??
ReplyDeleteMy husband has been incarcerated within the FBOP since Nov 2001 for a drug conviction. Over the past 12 years we have been relocated to 7 different prisons in 7 different states. At one point in time he was less than an hours drive and now he is over 14 hours away. He is due to be relocated to the halfway house in 2014. However, instead of allowing him the 12 or 9 months, they only want to give him 6 months. The reason provided was because he has not been in any trouble and those that are troubled need the extra time....so I guess if you keep your nose clean and do as you should you are not rewarded for the additional time for re-adjustment to society, but punished. I have learned over these years that the US Judicial System is completely screwed up. They encourage families to stay connected in the readings they provide, yet they do very little to ensure this.....300 minutes a month (except for Nov and Dec, they are allowed an extra 100 for a total of 400 minutes) which is barely 10 minutes a day. For those that have kids, a mother, a father, sisters, brothers, grandparents, a wife, etc. those calls become 2 or 3 minutes phone calls a day if you are lucky.....one good thing over the past years is Corrlinks. I remember when Corrlinks did not exist and snail mail was all you had to look forward to, but Corrlinks has provided that little extra when minutes are gone, weekend visits are not affordable, and a shoulder is needed. I totally agree with the person that said it's not only those that committed the crime that is punished through this system, but the families and loved ones as well. Not only are we punished by society through the criticisms we receive for loving our husbands, mates, etc. but we are punished along with them by the government....phone usage, what we wear from the colors down to the shoes on our feet (open or closed toed shoes), when we can visit, how long we can visit, whether or not we can touch our loved ones during visit, do we have to visit behind glass, or a televised screen, how many pictures we send, no outside care packages and only commissary to purchase from for those that do have the extra money to spend, but even that is limited to the amount that can be purchased in a given month, or week, at a much higher price than that of a local market, and the list continues.....Of course they committed a crime and they should be punished for that crime, but when that punishment means they are treated worse than most animals and made to feel as though they are less than human, families have to sacrifice and reap the punishment as well, children go months and even years without seeing their fathers because of distance and the expense of visiting, it's then that the system is not working and a re-evaluation is required. I believe in family visits and I believe in order to keep families together in this situation family counseling and bonding is required. I believe in helping others and not condemning someone because of their faults, or the mistakes they have made due to bad judgement at a very young age. All of us make mistakes, None of us are perfect, and even the happiest person drowns in sorrow.....Therefore, who are we to judge someone because of their faults when I am sure we all have our own faults that will be judged one day even more harshly than we judged our peers and neighbors. With that said we shall march on and continue this journey, fight for what we believe in, and look forward to the day our loved ones return home.
ReplyDeleteThe system loves to talk about how family is so important to the offenders, both during incarceration and at the time of release. But it is just that, talk. Within a week or so of my husband coming home, we went to see a counselor of our choosing to help us get through everything together. The intent was for the family, for the marriage and personal. My husband was then told by his probation officer that he was not allowed to see anyone other than the court ordered counseling. In the future he might be able to, but right now she did not want any other counseling to conflict with his mandated program. So much for the family. We need to talk about things as a couple and help the kids deal with the adjustment of dad being home, but she has the power to tell us that it will all have to wait. So much for helping to create a positive home environment so everyone can succeed and move forward.
DeleteYou are so correct....the system loves to talk, but they provide no action, they do nothing to ensure the talk they talk is implemented....IF only they could walk the walk instead of talk the talk! I've come to the conclusion the system could careless about family.
DeleteI feel for you all. My loved one in the federal system is a friend, but at one time we were more. I totally understand where someone commented on here about the judgement from others in society because you love one who is in prison. Somehow they make you feel stupid, or gullible. This is not my friend's first time in, but I am 100% convinced that if they had helped him adjust to the outside more he would not be in there again today. I know he has made mistakes, and I know he should be in there, but I also know without serious help he'll go back in again. I seriously don't understand not being allowed to see a counselor as a family. That just seems to go against everything you would think they want. I guess though if no one ever went back they could find themselves without a job. You will all be in my prayers tonight. God bless you all throughout your journeys and may he give you and your loved ones strength throughout this journey.
ReplyDeleteIt's prison not social services! Its suppose to be inconvenient and uncomfortable. If your husband hadn't committed a crime he would be home with you and not 500 miles away, so don't blame the prison system blame your husband, it's his crime that led to his imprisonment.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is entitled to their own opinion and I appreciate that there are many people out there who share yours. My hope for you is that no one you are close to finds themselves behind jars separated from those they love. Unfortunately the current political trends and statistics show that sooner or later someone you love will find themselves locked away.
DeleteHello, I am happy I found this site as my boyfriend and father of my 2 young boys just got transferred to Federal prison from a 6 month stint in county facilities. We are anxious to get his 5 year sentence started but have yet to speak to him since his transfer 9 days ago. We have not seen him in 9 months. I do not understand why they have not allowed him to make a phone call home yet. I put money on his commissary and yet we wait. I agree with most of the other comments on here and glad I found a place to find some understanding. I just want to talk to my baby and so do the boys ages 3 and 8. We have so much to tell him with school starting and we miss him terribly. We had 2 closer prisons we were hoping he would be transferred to but yet they took him to one that is 590 miles and 10 hours away from our home. WHY??? This hurts our family so very much.
ReplyDeleteCan someone please help me figure out how to find out where my husband is in the "system"? He was randomly transferred from his facility. He was doing well there. Counselors seemed to like him and out of nowhere he said he was being transferred and apparently only 2 hours away from where we are now but it's been two days and still says "not in BOP custody" in the system. I am so worried and now pretty soon will be homeless with three young boys.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could help you but my experience is that you are a hostage to the system. When they moved my husband, the only way I knew where he was was when he called me to keep me updated. My experience with the facility is that they do not care about those lest at home so I would not think that they would be of any help. Maybe some other reader will have some advise for you. Good luck and stay strong. One piece of advise, don't be afraid to ask for help!
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