Prison phone-soliciting plan draws concern

Price's bill draft request follows approval by the Legislature's Advisory Board on Prison Industries of a proposal for 200 Lovelock Correctional Center inmates to work as phone solicitors for a Las Vegas long-distance company.

The prison industry program may be in trouble before it even begins, however. One member of the three-member board that must approve the telephone solicitation contract already has said she will vote against it.

The Lovelock inmates haven't begun any solicitations yet. A contract between the Department of Prisons and Telenet International Inc. must be approved by the Board of Examiners.

The board, composed of Gov. Bob Miller, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and Secretary of State Dean Heller, meets Aug. 27, and Del Papa says she'll oppose the contract and will pursue legislation to ban the practice.

Price, D-North Las Vegas, said requiring an inmate to acknowledge up front that he is a prisoner would leave the choice up to the person being called whether to continue the conversation.

"A lot of people, myself included, would be concerned that an inmate might call and get personal information," Price said. "Historically, prisoners can be pretty smart guys."

The measure will be drafted for introduction by Price in the 1999 legislative session.

Assemblyman John Marvel, R-Battle Mountain, said requiring prisoners to identify themselves as inmates would make it tough for them to earn money by telephone soliciting.

Marvel, chairman of the prison industry advisory committee, said safeguards would be built into the program to ensure no sensitive personal information would come into the hands of inmates.

Prison Industries Director Howard Skolnik said inmates would get $4.50 for every person they persuaded to switch to Telenet.

Out of their earnings from prison industry programs, inmates must give part to the prisons system for room and board and to a fund for crime victims.

Skolnik assured legislators that inmates will be given a list showing only prospective customers' names and telephone numbers - and not any addresses or credit card numbers.

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