How to Call an Inmate in New York

The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has an agreement with Securus Technology to provide the telephone system for inmates at a reduced rate at each of the state’s facilities.

If you wish to receive calls from incarcerated individuals in New York State correctional facilities, you must have an account with Securus. An account can be created online or by calling 1-800-844-6591.

The current calling rate is $.048 per minute for calls terminating within the United States, Canada, and US Territories (American Samoa, Federated states of Micronesia, Guam, Midway Islands, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands). There are no additional call set-up or connect fees.

The average 20-minute call from a New York correctional facility will cost approximately $0.86. Neither the State of New York nor the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision receive any commission from the price of phone calls.

Securus offers three main forms of billing for customers who want to accept calls from their incarcerated loved one. A new account MUST be created AND funded before calls can be accepted.

A Local Exchange Carrier (LEC)-billed account bills collect calls from the facility to the local phone company, subject to local phone company approval. Charges appear on the called party’s monthly phone bill.
A Direct-billed account allows collect calls to be billed monthly from Securus Correctional Billing Services. The called party creating the account will be subject to a credit check (as allowed by state regulations) to create a Direct-billed account.
An AdvanceConnect/Prepaid account allows the call recipient to fund an account in advance and manage how much money they would like to spend on collect calls. This account can be funded by mailing a check or money order to Securus, visiting a MoneyGram location, or utilizing a credit card online or over the phone. There is a $3.00 fee for credit card usage.

To create an account, contact Securus at 1-800-844-6591 or on the internet at www.securustech.net. They can also answer any questions or concerns.

Call Information

The New York Department of Corrections “Call-Home” program allows offenders to make phone calls as a way to maintain contact with family and friends. The offender may only call collect. This means you will have to pay for the call.

Offenders are only permitted to call persons on their approved telephone list and may only have up to 15 telephone numbers on their approved list at any time. Phone numbers may only be added or deleted at the request of the offender. This is generally done on a quarterly basis when they meet with their assigned Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator.

If you do not wish to receive telephone calls from someone in a correctional facility, you need to notify the facility, in writing, and your name will be entered on the offender’s Negative Correspondence and Telephone List.

The offender will be immediately notified in writing that you have been removed from their “Telephone List” and that disciplinary action may be taken if the telephone is used in any manner to contact you. In addition, your telephone number will be removed from the telephone system.

According to the type of facility, offenders are generally permitted to make phone calls every day, including holidays, between the hours of 7 AM to 11 PM.

A schedule for phone calls will be established. Calls will automatically be terminated when the facility specific time limit has been reached, preceded by a warning. No calls will exceed 30 minutes. When other offenders are waiting to place calls, a 10-minute limit may be imposed.

Prohibited Calls

The following rules are some of the restrictions you should be aware of regarding calls made by offenders:

Offenders are prohibited from placing telephone calls to the following individuals unless they are a member of the offender’s immediate family, including a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, or uncle:

Present or former employees of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and their families.
Present or former employees of the New York State Division of Parole and their families.
Present or former employees of federal, state, and local criminal justice agencies, including but not limited to police agencies, district attorneys, federal and local correctional agencies, and probation departments and the families of such employees.
Jurors involved in the conviction of the offender and their families.
Judges involved in the conviction or indictment of the offender and their families.
Crime partners who are not incarcerated.
Residence of a victim of the crime(s) for which they have been convicted, or are presently under indictment regardless of whether immediate family members maintain the same residence unless prior written authorization has been received from the Superintendent.
Persons listed on a court Order of Protection prohibiting telephone communication unless the order specifically states that the offender is not prohibited from communication by phone with another person at that same phone number.

Offenders are not allowed to make telephone calls for the purpose of harassing or intimidating any person..

Offender telephone calls and telephone conversations are restricted to the telephone number dialed or otherwise placed by or for the offender. Telephone call forwarding, third party phone calls, and calls to 1-800 numbers are prohibited.

Offenders are also prohibited from placing calls to wireless communication devices, such as cellular or PCS phone, pagers, etc. Offenders will be subject to disciplinary action should they violate these rules.

PLEASE NOTE: All offender telephone conversations are subject to electronic monitoring and/or recording by Department personnel.