Smartphone connectivity makes life behind bars difficult, yet text messaging has proven an effective way for inmates to stay in contact with loved ones outside and receive support.
Message rates differ by facility, so consider purchasing a book of stamps to start communicating with an inmate loved one who has been imprisoned.
Apps
Text messaging apps provide inmates with a cost-efficient means to remain in contact with loved ones while in prison, including sending letters and phone calls; sending pictures and videos; accessing email accounts through these apps and more. Because messages sent over these apps are monitored for security purposes, only pre-approved contacts should use them.
Text messaging services provide prisoners with a safe and convenient means of staying in touch with loved ones outside of prison life, helping to foster more positive attitudes toward prison life and aid rehabilitation. While not as fast or cost-efficient as phone calls or letters, inmate text messaging services offer much cheaper communication solutions than calling or writing letters directly to prisoners.
Utilizing ConnectNetwork requires either a computer or mobile device and an account with ConnectNetwork, and the purchase of messages using either credit or debit cards; message rates vary by facility and state. Once you’ve created an account, locate your loved one who is currently incarcerated, select their “Buy Stamps” button, compose up to 13,000 character long messages using typing mode with a countdown indicator, then purchase these stamps before your deadline!
Once advocates and regulators had successfully reduced prison phone rates, companies quickly found new ways to make a profit off inmates. One approach is per-minute pricing which acts like a literacy tax on prisoners; another strategy is per-sentence pricing which benefits companies both when prisoners send messages as well as receiving them back again later.
Privacy
Text messaging between family and friends of inmate allows them to stay in contact more discreetly than letters or phone calls, providing some semblance of privacy in terms of prison cellblock overhearing conversations between prisoners. However, inmates should remain mindful of these systems’ limitations and adhere to all privacy protocols strictly.
Prison messaging systems offer tremendous potential to keep incarcerated people connected to their communities, yet are frequently exploited for profit by private companies that charge high fees – fees which may deter users and limit its utility, according to PPI.
Messages are limited to 13,000 characters, or two pages worth of text, without foreign symbols, photos, forwarding or message forwarding capabilities. Furthermore, messages may be monitored; inmates must agree to this before using TRULINCS or Corrlinks and may be limited from emailing due to past history that compromises institutional security or public safety concerns; furthermore disciplinary sanctions may also prevent certain inmates from accessing email for some period of time.
Email messages have no length restrictions, with an upper limit of 13,000 characters. Since emails are plain black text without bolding or italicizing features, consider keeping your message short and sweet. Inmates are allowed to write to multiple recipients including attorneys in their list of contacts but note that such communications will be monitored by prison security.
Security
CorrLinks allows inmates in federal prisons to easily and privately communicate with family members via messaging app CorrLinks, providing access to music, games, digital photo cards and electronic money orders. While phone calls and emails cost both parties involved in communicating, tablet messaging systems like CorrLinks offer free communication; their families can deposit funds into their inmate’s account so he or she may pay for these services directly.
TRULINCS is a secure communication platform that limits message length to 13,000 characters or two pages of text, does not permit foreign symbols, bold/italics font, photos or any other content that might endanger inmate safety or security, and adheres to similar restrictions as regular mail in terms of opening and inspecting it for contraband and prohibited content.
No reason has been provided as to why this service was terminated, though one federal inmate told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette it could be related to security concerns. His wife can no longer send photos or quick bits of information that keep him connected with home; furthermore, since being unable to use their landline phone since its shutdown there have been long wait times when calling at peak hours.
Federal authorities appear to be conducting an investigation into whether Securus, which operates this messaging service, hacked into their own system and caused data breaching of Bureau of Prisons computers. If found to have done this, Securus could face fines and the possibility of losing their contract with BOP.
Cost
Text messaging services provide an efficient solution for staying in contact with loved ones who have been imprisoned, eliminating the costs and time-consuming nature of writing letters and buying stamps, envelopes, paper etc. They also eliminate visits to money order shops or photo print shops while saving inmates valuable time by enabling them to promptly send messages home to loved ones.
Advocates have successfully worked to reduce prison phone call costs; now they’re raising an alarm about spiraling costs for essential services like video and electronic messaging. A report from Prison Policy Initiative claims phone companies have diverted profits into less regulated technologies like e-messaging offered by 43 state systems and the Federal Bureau of Prisons that charge both inmates and their loved ones per message sent. While Internet is open access, proprietary systems charge both inmates and loved ones each time someone sends one through these proprietary systems.
Per-minute pricing is particularly troubling because research demonstrates that prisoners typically have lower literacy levels than their counterparts in society outside prison walls. Thus per-minute pricing acts as a literacy tax that allows companies to profit twice on one message — once when sent and again when read by an inmate. Furthermore, it remains unclear how a proposed law that caps rates and fees for these services would impact costs.