Ask The Inmate. Real answers from people who've been there.

There are many things that might have caused the delay. If he has no minutes left on the card, if there was some sort of group punishment where the phone use was restricted, or he could have lost his phone privileges. Being in jail is not like he's staying at a hotel. He is told when to go to sleep, when to wake up, when to eat, when to go to rec, when to shower and on and on. You...

Your situation is very common. The women left behind are doing a sentence of their own. The people telling you to break it off don't really know how you feel deep down. That is not to say their advice is not sound, they care about you and are anticipating you going through heartache. We have written quite a bit about this subject in Marry an Inmate - where the relationship is rocky (over the phone and at visitation) but makes...

Our advice is to call the facility and try to speak to the counselor first and see where that gets you. If you feel stonewalled, call the chaplain. If that gets you nowhere, you have to go to the head of the jail, whether that is the warden or a captain and express your concerns in the most humble and respectful manner. If you are convinced after trying a few people that they are not helping you get the information...

Our numbers are land lines and can be used to register with any and all of the prison phone services. Securus is aggressive in protecting their high rates and have blocked numbers to force the inmate to dial to the higher tariff phone number. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website endorses ["Low Cost Inmate Call Routing Services"](https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-323495A1.pdf), please read their statement. You are entitled to procure local lines to save money, the government is not opposed, nor are the prisons, jails and...

Your number is in Dublin-San Ramon CA and is 22 miles from the Contra Costa County - Martinez Detention Center in Martinez CA. The calls from the jail are NOT LOCAL. The carrier there is Global Tel*Link or connectnetwork.com. The call to your number is about $6.00 per call, the call to a Martinez number is only $1.65. The savings in this example are more than $4.00 per call. Our service can get you this number without a contract for...

There is very little you can do about the housing situation of an inmate. The designation is decided and approved by the administration and they internally document their reasons for every decision. These decisions are not available to the public. Once an offender is the property of the state, there is nothing an outside influence can change. He may petition his case manager for a transfer but the status of SHU is not available for appeal. If he has been locked...

A 10 serve 2 sentence means the judge imposed a 10-year sentence but built in a mandatory minimum of 2 years that must be served before any parole consideration kicks in. It is a structure used in some state systems that gives the court a way to impose a longer sentence as a ceiling while setting a floor that guarantees some minimum time is served, regardless of behavior or parole board decisions. For a first-time offender on a shoplifting charge, a...

Inmates cannot receive calls. You will have to be on the receiving end of the call. There are several ways that this will work. Collect calls - are about $15 each and the most expensive way to talk. Inmate calling cards - inmates buy them from the commissary and then may dial you direct - the cost of the call is debited off the balance on the card. Pre-paid Account - you will need to set up an account with...