
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, September 25, 1995                   TAG: 9509250086
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

STATE TO START LISTENING TO INMATES' PHONE CALLS

The Department of Corrections plans to begin monitoring and recording personal telephone calls made by prison inmates.

The practice apparently is a first for Virginia, but it is in widespread use elsewhere. The monitoring and taping program will be similar to that used in federal prisons, said Corrections spokeswoman Amy Miller.

Telephone calls between inmates and lawyers will not be monitored or taped. The privacy of communications between a lawyer and client is generally protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Officials said a pilot program has been under way at the new Coffeewood Correctional Center in Culpeper County since May 1. The department said the policy will be implemented statewide soon, but did not provide a date. Virginia has 24,000 inmates in more than 40 institutions.

The plan drew ire from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.

``Legally, most likely they can get by with this, but it's still an outrageous invasion of privacy,'' said Kent Willis, executive director of the Virginia ACLU.

``Not surprisingly, it fits right in with the general trends in Virginia's corrections system: In every way possible, it seems the state is going to treat inmates more harshly - whether it's crowded conditions, or monitoring phone calls, or reducing recreational activities,'' Willis said.

A survey of 41 state corrections departments published this year in Corrections Compendium showed that 27 systems had at least some institutions that tape and/or monitor inmate calls.

Miller said the cost of the program is included in the department's contract with MCI, which expires in December.

All prison phones accessible to inmates are maintained by MCI. Prisoners' calls are made collect and the telephone automatically hangs up after 15 minutes, though the inmate can redial.

Paul Keve, an expert on Virginia's prison system and a professor emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University, said he does not think Virginia has ever before done any widespread taping or monitoring.

by CNB