By Joshua Sabatini
SF Examiner
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco inmates face costly phone calls from behind bars that also help fund jail programs, but some city supervisors want those fees to change.
While the Board of Supervisors approved a one-year contract extension Tuesday with Global Tel*Link Corp., the message was sent by some supervisors that the arrangement should change quickly.
Under the contract, the Sheriff’s Department receives a portion of the revenue from calls paid for by County Jail inmates that in turn is used to fund programs in the jail. During the past three years, the phone calls have netted the department $2.25 million, or 60 percent of the gross revenue.
Supervisor London Breed said she has a problem with the current system.
“Many of the persons who are paying for these telephone services are people who are mostly poor, and the fees that they’re being charged are ridiculous rates,” she said.
Full story: Some SF supervisors push for inmate phone call rates to change