Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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As prisons and jails nationwide suspend visitations to slow the spread of COVID-19, the country’s largest private providers of communications services to inmates are being lauded by corrections officials for offering to help a vulnerable population stay in touch with family and friends.
In a March 17 press release, for example, Oregon’s Department of Corrections announced a partnership with communications service provider Global Tel Link (GTL) to offer all adults in custody two five-minute phone calls per week for the next 30 days.
The agency praised GTL “for this act of understanding, support, and compassion during this difficult time … Efforts to maintain family connections between those incarcerated and their loved ones are essential, especially in stressful times.”
But while mass layoffs and imminent business closures sweep the country, prison telecom companies like GTL and its closest rival Securus will continue to reap nationwide profits from mass incarceration—with one federal lawmaker calling their crisis support efforts a “hollow corporate altruism campaign.”
Both companies, which control the lion’s share of the $1.2 billion prison telecom market,
are owned by private equity firms that have helped concentrate corporate power in prisons through debt-fueled buyouts and mergers.
This crap irritates the hell out of me because they literally cannot be fought.
In a March 17 press release, for example, Oregon’s Department of Corrections announced a partnership with communications service provider Global Tel Link (GTL) to offer all adults in custody two five-minute phone calls per week for the next 30 days.
The agency praised GTL “for this act of understanding, support, and compassion during this difficult time … Efforts to maintain family connections between those incarcerated and their loved ones are essential, especially in stressful times.”
But while mass layoffs and imminent business closures sweep the country, prison telecom companies like GTL and its closest rival Securus will continue to reap nationwide profits from mass incarceration—with one federal lawmaker calling their crisis support efforts a “hollow corporate altruism campaign.”
Both companies, which control the lion’s share of the $1.2 billion prison telecom market,
are owned by private equity firms that have helped concentrate corporate power in prisons through debt-fueled buyouts and mergers.
Prison Telecom Giant Offers Aid to Prisoners—for a Price
The insidious games of the prison phone companies, masked by their generosity during the pandemic
prospect.org
This crap irritates the hell out of me because they literally cannot be fought.