Telephone Calls

To maintain community ties and contact with attorneys, each inmate shall have equal and adequate access to a telephone located within each housing area and the intake area. Telephone calls are either collect or directly debited, at the time of the call, from the inmate´s account held at the facility. To make collect call billing arrangements, the inmate or a family member or friend may contact Inmate Telephone Incorporated (ITI) directly at 814-949-3303 or via the Internet at www.offenderconnect.com.  Inmates housed in single cells will have access to the telephone when they are scheduled for dayroom time.

Inmates housed in medium custody will have access to the telephone located in the phone banks in the dayrooms.

Inmates housed in minimum custody will have access to the telephone located in their rooms.

Telephone equipment is designed for outgoing and collect calls only and limited to 15 minutes in duration to ensure equitable access to telephones for all inmates in the housing area.

Telephones will be made available after the morning clean up.

Telephones will not be used after 10:00 p.m., before 6:15 a.m., or during counts times.

Telephone calls to attorneys or other legal representatives shall be permitted to all inmates on a collect basis. Inmates desiring to make attorney calls may do so using the inmate telephone system in the housing area.

All incoming emergency phone calls shall be forwarded to the Shift Commander for scrutiny. If the incoming call is determined to be a valid emergency, the inmate shall be notified and given the opportunity to call the party and phone number received by the Shift Commander. The Shift Commander on duty receiving the call will verify the call by contacting the hospital, funeral home or appropriate family member to ensure the call is authentic.

The facility has a TTY (Text Telephone) available for use by inmates with hearing and/or speech disabilities and inmates who wish to communicate with parties who have such disabilities. The inmate is responsible for ensuring that funds are sufficient to cover the estimated cost of a call, prior to making a call.

The mainstream society of the United States is culturally diverse, bringing many inmates to the jail having English as their second language. It is essential for detention staff to be able to communicate accurately regarding issues which need precise information exchange. In order to accomplish this activity, staff use a professional language translation service for assistance. The Peumansend Creek Regional Jail utilizes a language line service where a professionally trained interpreter listens to a limited English speaking inmate (using the Language Line Phone), analyzes the message, and conveys its original meaning back to a staff member. The Language Line Phone is not used by the inmate population to make telephones calls to family members or friends.