Queensland correctional centres are set to enhance their Prisoner Telephone System, offering inmates cheaper, clearer, and more accessible calls to family and friends.
Key Improvements Ahead
- Enhanced Call Quality: Transitioning to a digital system will ensure clearer and higher-quality conversations.
- Increased Accessibility: More phones will be installed across Queensland’s correctional facilities, making it easier for inmates to stay connected.
- Boosted Security: The upgraded system will incorporate advanced security and intelligence features, aimed at safeguarding victims of crime and reducing the risk of reoffending via phone.
Reduced Call Rates
Another significant benefit of the upgrade is a reduction in call costs, helping inmates maintain connections:
- Local Calls: Rates will drop by 25%.
- National Calls: Costs will decrease by 20%.
- Mobile Calls: Charges will be nearly halved, reduced by 49%, and will be billed by the second, ensuring inmates only pay for the time they use.
Calls to numbers on the Common Auto Dial List, including the Queensland Ombudsman and Legal Aid Queensland, will remain free of charge.
The new local call rates are effective immediately across all correctional centres, with the rollout of reduced national and mobile call rates expected over the next 12 months.
Maintaining strong relationships with family and friends is crucial for helping prisoners turn their lives around. Regular phone calls play a significant role in this process.
Hearing the voices of their loved ones inspires inmates to make positive choices, which can lower the chances of reoffending.
In 2022 Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) launched a channel for families and friends to keep in contact with loved ones in prison.
A new prison voicemail system allowed approved contacts to leave a voice mail message for prisoners at any time of the day or night.
At the time Deputy Commissioner Custodial Operations Gary McCahon said the prison voicemail service was another way for families and friends to keep in contact with loved ones in prison while visits are suspended.
The Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) has seen a large uptake of several technological solutions into correctional centres over the years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of QCS’ pandemic response, a number of innovations have been introduced into centres to address the challenges from the pandemic restrictions.
Queensland’s prisoner phone system, established in 1996, enables inmates to make calls using funds from their trust accounts.
They can contact approved numbers at any time from their units, with the exception of when they are in their cells, working, or participating in education or rehabilitation programs.
Before adding a new number to a prisoner’s call list, a series of checks are conducted to confirm that the recipient is willing to be contacted and that no court orders prohibit the communication.
All personal calls to friends and family are recorded and may be monitored if necessary, while legal calls and those to numbers on the Common Auto Dial List remain unrecorded.
Queensland Correctional Services (QCS) is committed to aiding prisoner rehabilitation and reducing crime. By facilitating easier communication with family and friends, QCS is helping inmates build strong support networks, which can be crucial for their success after release.
In the 2023-24 period, prisoners in Queensland made over 7.7 million calls, totaling 66,500 hours spent communicating with family, friends, and legal services.
