The cost of phone calls offenders in state prisons make to family and friends is going down.
The Colorado Department of Corrections announced new rates will go into effect Thursday under a two-year contract extension with Global Tel Link.
Debit calls, which inmates pay for themselves, amount to 75 percent of calls inmates make. A 15-minute, in-state debit call will now cost $2.75, a 16 percent reduction.
Advanced pay calls, in which receivers pay the vendor, will fall by nearly 40 percent for in-state calls and nearly 75 percent for out-of-state calls. Standard collect calls are dropping to $5 for a 15-minute in-state call, which includes a connection surcharge.
Corrections officials say offenders in Colorado make an average of 162,000 calls per month.
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