S-1778               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5912

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Amondson, Johnson, Smith and West

Read first time 2/16/89 and referred to Committee on  Health Care & Corrections.

AN ACT Relating to electronic monitoring of inmate telephone calls within county and city jail facilities; and adding a new section to chapter 9.73 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 9.73 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) Personnel operating county or city jail facilities may require inmates to make only collect telephone calls from designated telephones within the facility.  RCW 9.73.030 through 9.73.080 shall not apply to personnel operating county or city jail facilities in the following instances:  Intercepting, recording, or divulging any collect telephone calls that are:  (a) Not within the scope of the inmate's county or city coordinated employment; or (b) not a communication between an inmate and an attorney.

          (2) If personnel operating a county or city jail facility choose to record inmate telephone calls, the inmates' calls shall be collect calls, and such calls shall be "operator announcement" type calls.  The operator shall notify the receiver of the call that the call is coming from a prison inmate, and that it will be recorded and may be monitored.

          (3) Personnel operating county or city jail facilities shall adhere to the following procedures and restrictions when intercepting, recording, or divulging any telephone calls from a person incarcerated in a county or city jail facility as provided for by this section:

          (a) Before the implementation of this section, all inmates or residents of a county or city jail facility shall be notified in writing that, as of the effective date of this section, their telephone conversations may be intercepted, recorded, and/or divulged.

          (b) Unless otherwise provided for in this section, after intercepting or recording a telephone conversation, only the jail supervisor and his or her designee shall have access to that recording.

          (c) The contents of an intercepted and recorded telephone conversation shall be divulged only as is necessary to safeguard the orderly operation of the jail facility, in response to a court order, or in the prosecution or investigation of any crime.

          (d) All telephone conversations that are recorded according to this chapter, unless being used in the ongoing investigation or prosecution of a crime, or as is necessary to assure the orderly operation of the jail facility, shall be destroyed one year after the intercepting and recording.

          (4) So as to safeguard the sanctity of the attorney-client privilege, the personnel operating the county or city jail facility shall not intercept, record, or divulge any conversation between an inmate or resident and an attorney.  The personnel operating the county or city jail facility are charged with the responsibility of drafting or developing policies and procedures to implement this section.