Communications & Technology
Key Findings
Critical data points synthesized across multiple research collections.
The Prison Communications Monopoly in Georgia
The prison telecommunications market is a concentrated, high-profit industry. Securus Technologies and ViaPath Technologies (formerly GTL) together control approximately 80% of the U.S. market, serving roughly 3,450 facilities and 1.1 million incarcerated people nationally. *(Source: Prison Communications & Financial Exploitation)* In Georgia, Securus holds the telephone contract, generating an estimated $8 million per year in commission kickbacks to the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC)—a 59.6% share of gross phone revenue. The state ranked third highest in the nation for commission revenue in fiscal year 2018–2019, collecting $8,062,200.60 directly from incarcerated people’s calls. *(Source: Follow the Money; Prison Communications & Financial Exploitation)*
This monopoly structure has enormous human costs. Because families have no alternative provider, rates remain elevated. On average, direct out-of-pocket spending for a family with an imprisoned loved one reaches $4,200 per year—more than 27% of income for someone at the federal poverty line. *(Source: Families as the Hidden Tax Base)* The total annual cost to families of incarcerated people, including lost wages, commissary, phone calls, and travel, is estimated at nearly $350 billion—almost four times the $89 billion taxpayers spend on jails and prisons. *(Source: Families as the Hidden Tax Base)* Within this system, Georgia’s incarcerated population and their families are not customers but captive revenue streams, fueling both corporate profits and state budgets.
The Contraband Panic and the $50 Million Tech Response
Georgia’s corrections leadership has justified massive technology investments by pointing to a contraband epidemic. Between November 2021 and August 2023, GDC recovered 27,425 weapons, 12,483 cellphones, 2,016 illegal drug items, documented 262 drone sightings, and recorded 346 fence-line throw-overs at its prisons. *(Source: DOJ Investigation of Georgia Prisons)* Since 2022 alone, over 37,000 contraband phones have been confiscated—averaging roughly 1,300 per month. *(Source: MAS Technology, Vendors & Deployment in Georgia Prisons)* The official story is clear: unauthorized cellphones are a security menace, fueling violence and gang activity, and requiring a technological fix.
That technological fix has come at a steep price. Georgia allocated approximately $50 million through fiscal year 2026 on contraband technology, deploying Managed Access Systems (MAS) from three primary vendors: Trace-Tek/ShawnTech, CellBlox/Securus, and Hawks Ear. *(Source: Follow the Money; MAS Technology)* The number of facilities with MAS expanded from 23 to 27, and the state established the Overwatch & Logistic (OWL) Unit Command Center, sinking an additional $17.8 million across three fiscal years into real-time surveillance and intelligence operations. *(Source: GDC Overwatch & Logistic (OWL) Unit)* Yet, despite this spending, phones continue to pour in. The Department of Justice investigation found that even with enhanced technology, “cellphones remain widely available in Georgia prisons,” and the GDC’s own data show phone confiscations have not abated. This raises a critical data gap: no public evaluation exists demonstrating that MAS has meaningfully reduced contraband entry or improved safety outcomes.
Extraction Economy: How Families Foot the Bill
The financial burden on families extends far beyond phone calls. Nationally, families spend $5.6 billion annually on commissary, communications, and basic necessities for incarcerated loved ones. *(Source: Families as the Hidden Tax Base)* In Georgia, commissary prices carry markups reaching 83% to 1,150% above retail. A 3-ounce packet of ramen that retails for 15 to 31 cents costs 90 cents; generic ibuprofen that costs 40‒48 cents for a comparable amount is priced at $4.00; shoes cost $70 or more. *(Sources: Georgia’s Prison Commissary Extraction Machine; Economic Exploitation in Prison)* The commissary system extracts an estimated $3‒5 million annually on just 20 commonly purchased items—entirely from families who have no alternative. *(Source: Georgia’s Prison Commissary Extraction Machine)*
The extraction dovetails with state revenue. GDC’s commission kickback of 59.6% on phone gross revenue means the Department has a direct financial incentive to keep call volumes high and rates up. The $8 million flowing to GDC each year from Securus is not used to offset family costs; it becomes institutional income. This dynamic has been described as a “hidden tax” on poor families, 65% of whom are unable to meet basic needs because of court-related debt averaging over $13,000 per family. *(Sources: Follow the Money; Economic Exploitation in Prison; Families as the Hidden Tax Base)* Black families bear a disproportionate weight: their visit–travel spending averages $2,256 per year—$553 more than the overall average—while the $5.6 billion national extraction deepens racial wealth gaps. *(Source: Families as the Hidden Tax Base)* The combination of phone commissions, commissary markups, and mandatory fees locks families into a poverty cycle that long outlasts the prison term.
Technology, Violence, and the Staffing Abyss
The push for expensive communications surveillance unfolds against a backdrop of institutional collapse. Georgia’s prisons are dangerously understaffed: the systemwide correctional officer vacancy rate hovers around 50%, with ten facilities exceeding 70% vacancies and eighteen above 60%. *(Sources: GDC Staffing Crisis; DOJ Investigation)* This staffing crisis has predictable consequences. Between 2019 and 2024, assaults on inmates rose 54%, assaults on staff rose 77%, and the prison death rate surged 47% to 4.1 per 100,000. *(Source: Staffing Crisis & Correctional Officer Turnover)* In 2024, Georgia prisons recorded a historic 333 total deaths, even as BJA-reported deaths in custody suffer from known undercounts. *(Sources: MAS Technology; Prison Mortality & Deaths in Custody)*
Officials routinely link violence to contraband cellphones. About 31% of the inmate population are validated Security Threat Group (gang) members, and the narrative holds that blocking phones will disrupt plotting. *(Source: 2024 Georgia Senate Study Committee Report)* But the data tell a contradictory story: despite $50 million in MAS deployment and tens of thousands of phones seized, violence and deaths continue to escalate. The DOJ investigation found that “staffing shortages are a primary driver of the unconstitutional conditions” and that “technology alone cannot remedy the systemic failures.” Meanwhile, U.S. prisons spent over $2 billion on overtime in 2024—an 80% increase from five years earlier—while Georgia’s own budget for officer pay and recruitment lags behind. *(Source: Staffing Crisis)* This misalignment of resources—pouring millions into blocking technology while basic staffing needs go unmet—undermines the very safety the technology claims to deliver.
Misaligned Incentives and the Policy Path Forward
The current model is distorted by commission-driven incentives. The more incarcerated people call home, the more money GDC receives—creating a structural disincentive to lower rates, expand free communication, or adopt alternatives. Securus Technologies, reporting approximately $700 million in annual revenue with a 51% gross profit margin, is backed by private equity firm ABRY Partners, which profits from these arrangements. *(Source: Follow the Money)* Georgia’s policy of “monitor and block” treats all unapproved communication as a security threat, ignoring evidence that in‑cell access to telephones can reduce violence and improve reentry outcomes. The United Kingdom invested £10 million to install in‑cell landlines across its prison estate, linking greater communication to lower self‑harm and fewer assaults. *(Source: Prison Communication: Violence, International Evidence & Human Impact)* Legal and policy frameworks like the “Monitor-Not-Block” approach and cost‑model reforms exist but face political resistance from vendors and agencies that depend on kickback revenue. *(Source: Policy & Advocacy: Monitor-Not-Block)*
Georgia’s budget underscores the trade‑offs. The GDC’s FY2026 original budget of $1.712 billion and FY2027 budget of $1.779 billion incorporate tens of millions for MAS and OWL surveillance while staffing vacancy rates reach crisis levels. *(Sources: Budget & Spending Trends; GDC Overwatch & Logistic (OWL) Unit)* A human‑rights‑centered policy would redirect contraband‑tech funds into salary increases for officers, free communication platforms (as pioneered by nonprofit Ameelio), and independent oversight of deaths and violence. Banning commission kickbacks, following the federal lead of the Martha Wright–Reed Act, and testing Kentucky‑style “no‑commission” contracts could save Georgia families millions while enhancing genuine safety. The question is whether the state will continue to favor vendor profits and institutional extraction over the lives of both incarcerated people and the staff charged with their care.
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Sources
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