A.05.03.R3 Prisoner Telephone Call Control System (PTCCS) (National Requirements)

Verified Numbers

• Prisoners will be permitted to have a maximum of 10 verified personal telephone numbers entered onto the system. This includes up to 2 “Home 0800” numbers. A cell phone number may only be included if specific approval is granted by the Prison Manager.

Length of Calls

• The maximum duration of all telephone calls will be set at 15 minutes. This restriction does not apply to the Global List 0800 numbers.

Call Frequency

• In principle there will be no restrictions on the number of calls a prisoner can make to any approved number. However, if it becomes apparent that a prisoner is overusing a telephone and thus preventing equitable access to others, a printout of a prisoner's telephone history will be made available to the unit manager who will have power to restore equity (i.e. limit the number of allowable calls for that prisoner).

Cost of Calls

• Every prisoner who makes an outgoing telephone call must meet the cost of that call, except where:
  • The prisoner is obtaining any type of legal advice relevant to their offending or is arranging bail; or,
  • The Prison Manager, or their authorised delegate, has given approval for the prisoner to make a specific telephone call free of charge.
• In exercising their discretion to approve outgoing phone calls free of charge, the Prison Manager, or their authorised delegate, should take into consideration the welfare of the prisoner and the circumstances that arise at the time, including compassionate/welfare issues and operational necessities.

Prohibited Numbers

• Each prison will compile a local list of prohibited numbers that will not be entered onto the system for anyone. This must include at a minimum gang headquarters, pubs, TAB, known drug dealers and criminals, but additions may be made locally at the discretion of the General Manager. Media and Members of Parliament shall also be included on the list of prohibited numbers.

Global 0800 (Telecom) and 0508 (Telstra Clear) Numbers

1. All prisoners will have unrestricted access to the numbers on the Global 0800 and 0508 list and there will be no time limit placed on these calls. All prisons will enter the following numbers on the Global 0800 numbers list:

0800 JAIL SAFE
0800 524 572

Australian Child Support Agency
0800 440 953

Career Services
0800 222 733

Child, Youth & Family Services (CYFS)
0800 400 611

Elections New Zealand
0800 36 76 56

Health and Disability Commission
0800 11 22 33

Health and Disability Commission Advocacy Service
0800 555 050

Human Rights Commission
0800 496 877

Inland Revenue Child Support
0800 221 221

Inland Revenue General Business
0800 377 774

Inland Revenue Return & Debt Collection
0800 377 771

Inspector of Corrections
0800 225 697

Ministry of Social Development (Work and Income)
0800 559 009

MSD Data Matching
0800 909 333

Office of the Ombudsmen
0800 OMBUDS
0800 662 837

Office of the Privacy Commissioner
0800 803 909

Open Polytechnic Free-phone
0508 650 200

Quitline
0800 778 778

StudyLink
0800 88 99 00

The Commissioner for Children
0800 224 453

The Police Complaints Authority
0800 503 728

WINZ Debt Inquiries
0800 558 008

Note: Any other requests for inclusion on the Global list must be sent by the prison's Prison Manager to the Manager Service Support, Prison Services, for consideration and approval.

Telephone Card Purchase

• Prisoners may purchase Telecom phone cards via their trust account purchasing, have them brought by their visitors or sent through mail. Except under the temporary access to home 0800 numbers (see below) and for calls to global list 0800 numbers, the system cannot be activated without a prepaid telephone card.

Checking Telephone Numbers

• Telephone numbers submitted by prisoners must be verified. The cost of telephone calls made by staff to verify prisoner contact numbers is met by the prison, except where prisoners submit international numbers. In such cases the full cost of the verification should be deducted from the prisoner’s trust account.

Transferred Prisoners

• When prisoners are transferred to another prison, a printout of their verified numbers screen from the PTCCS must be included in their file so that their already verified numbers may be re-entered promptly by the next prison

Calls to Advise Location

• Remand prisoners, and newly sentenced prisoners whose court appearance was not preceded by a period on remand, will have access to one free phone call within New Zealand to advise next of kin of their location when first received. This telephone call will be made using a telephone that is not part of the PTCCS. This telephone number will then be entered, even if no verification is possible, onto the PTCCS on the day that the remand prisoner is received to allow them telephone contact with at least one person before their remaining numbers are verified using the same norms as set out above.

Access to lawyers

• Remand prisoners will retain free access to their legal representative using a telephone that is not part of the PTCCS.
• Sentenced prisoners who become involved in additional court proceedings (e.g. appeal or further charges) will have free access to their legal representative during the proceedings using a telephone that is not part of the PTCCS. For sentenced prisoners who want to keep in regular contact with their legal counsel (e.g. family lawyer advising on investments), that number will be one of the 10 numbers available to them.

Home 0800 Numbers Transitional Provision

• Prisoners will be allowed to have two home 0800 numbers in their list of contact numbers while these calls remain cheaper than regular calls. Home 0800 calls are limited to a maximum of 15 minutes.

Inward Calls

• Note also that PPM A.02 Family/Whanau Relationship Maintenance & Enhancement, performance standard (10) states “Communication via incoming phone calls from family/whanau to prisoners is relayed promptly and sensitively”.