07/01/2023
The high cost of being incarcerated in Arizona
Prisons and jails in Arizona are increasingly shifting the cost of incarceration to people behind bars and their families, hiding the true economic costs of mass incarceration:
Jails in Arizona charge up to $3.15 for a 15-minute phone call, reaping profits for companies, while prisons charge up to $1.05 for a 15-minute phone call.
Arizona suspended its $5 medical copays in prisons at the beginning of the pandemic, it should eliminate them completely.
Arizona prisons charge families up to a 12% fee to transfer money to an incarcerated loved one.
If a person in Arizona prisons has more than $12 in their commissary account they may not qualify for assistance to purchase essentials like hygiene items and postage.
People in Arizona prisons earn as little as 15¢ an hour for their work.
Arizona charges up to 25¢ for an e-message to or from prison.
Our other articles about Arizona
Arizona makes it difficult or even risky for incarcerated journalists to tell their stories.
Bail companies in Arizona have a track record of avoiding accountability, our report All Profit, No Risk and review of state-by-state evidence show
Arizona prisons release about 12,933 people every year
In some Arizona prisons, incarcerated people are forced to drink and breathe contaminants
Arizona hurts jury diversity by excluding people with felony records
Cruel and unusual punishment: When Arizona prisons don't provide air conditioning
We graded the parole release systems of all 50 states - Arizona gets an F-
Who's helping the 48,869 women released from Arizona correctional facilities each year?
Arizona is one of 20 states that locks up some people convicted of s*x offenses in shadowy "civil commitment" facilities, long after their sentences are over — and often indefinitely
Data on COVID-19 in Arizona jails and prisons
We gave Arizona a failing grade in September 2021 for its response to the coronavirus in prisons, noting that Arizona is one of 13 states that did not implement any policies to accelerate releases, promote medical parole or compassionate release, prevent incarceration for technical violations of probation and parole, or hasten releases for people incarcerated on minor offenses.
For more detail, see our report States of Emergency. Or check out these other resources:
How many COVID-19 cases in Arizona communities can be linked to outbreaks in correctional facilities? (data from our report Mass Incarceration, COVID-19, and Community Spread)
Arizona returned as many people to prison for technical violations of probation or parole in 2020 — the first year of the pandemic — as it did in 2019.
