The Ultimate Connecting Families Campaign Guide
Worth Rises is an advocacy organization working to dismantle the prison industry and end the exploitation of incarcerated people and their loved ones, and the lead organizer of the national …
Phone Call Fees
America’s Dystopian Incarceration System of Pay to Stay Behind Bars
As the number of people sentenced to terms of incarceration in jails and prisons rose, government agencies found themselves unable to pay the costs. To offset the costs, policymakers and …
SMH: The Rapid & Unregulated Growth of E‑messaging in Prisons
Text-based electronic messaging or “e-massaging,” not to be confused with emailing, has exploded in the past decade. At least 43 state prison systems and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) …
State Of Phone Justice 2022: The Problem, The Progress, and What’s Next
As a result of actions by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and efforts at the state and local level, prison and jail phone call fees have steadily reduced over the …
Reduction or Elimination of Costs and Fees Charged to Inmates in State Correctional Facilities
At the directive of bills from the Virginia Senate and House, the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) organized a work group to make recommendations regarding the reduction or elimination of …
San Francisco’s Financial Justice Project: Reducing the burden of fines and fees on San Franciscans with low incomes
San Francisco’s cost of living has drastically risen over the past decade, and 47 percent of San Franciscans are financially insecure. To address harmful fines and fees practices, San Francisco …
The Impact of Criminal Court and Prison Fines and Fees in Philadelphia
Over the course of the last year, Philadelphia’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO) worked to pursue fine and fee reform as a member of the Cities and Counties …
Dallas County Drops Jail Phone Call Cost to $.01 per Minute
Dallas County commissioners voted to reduce the cost of jail phone calls to 1 cent per minute. The new rate is a 95% reduction in costs, making it the lowest …
Privatization of Services in the Criminal Justice System
Privatization throughout the justice system has exacerbated the cycle of mandatory fees, nonpayment, and consequent additional fees. Private companies, often with little to no oversight, can have economic incentives to …
Taxing the Poor: Incarceration, Poverty Governance, and the Seizure of Family Resources
To finance its carceral system, the United States government levies taxes on the country’s most impoverished strata. Although those involved in the justice system are typically low-income individuals, they are …