What to Know About Phone Calls from Rivers CI: Monitoring, Recording, and How Long They're Kept

Rivers CI uses TRUFONE, a centralized inmate calling system. The stated purpose? Give incarcerated people a secure, cost-effective way to stay connected with family and friends while preventing crime, fraud, and abuse. In practice, that "security" means built-in features that allow approved calls to be monitored.

At Rivers CI, monitoring and recording isn't reserved for special circumstances - it's baked into how the Bureau of Prisons runs inmate phone systems. Federal statutes (including 18 U.S.C. 2510(5)(a)(ii) and 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(c)) authorize the BOP to monitor and record calls under Title III's "law enforcement" and "consent" provisions. The implementing regulations at 28 C.F.R. § 540.100 spell this out further. The bottom line for families: if you're talking to someone at Rivers CI, assume the call can be monitored and recorded. Don't treat it as a private conversation.

Call recordings don't stay in the system forever. At Rivers CI, audio is stored temporarily and deleted after 180 days - unless it's still needed for legal or administrative purposes. That exception matters. If a recording is tied to an investigation, a disciplinary issue, or another official need, it can be kept longer.

Beyond the audio itself, Rivers CI keeps "call data" and account records separately. Inmate telephone call data records, along with TRUFONE transaction and balance records, are archived annually. Those archives get deleted 10 years after archiving - unless they're still needed for legal or administrative purposes. So even after an audio file is gone, a longer-lived record may still exist showing details about the call and account activity.

Since TRUFONE is built for monitoring - and the BOP is authorized to record inmate calls - phone conversations from Rivers CI should be treated as non-private. Think carefully about what you discuss. Sensitive personal details, financial information, anything that could be misunderstood: you're sharing it on a line that may be recorded and kept for a period of time. And because recordings can be retained beyond 180 days when needed for legal or administrative reasons, a call could be reviewed later in connection with an investigation or internal matter.

• ✓ Assume calls from Rivers CI may be monitored and recorded.
• ✓ Don’t share sensitive personal or financial information over the phone.
• ✓ If you’re worried about how a conversation could be used later - or how long records can be kept - get guidance and consider other communication options when possible.