Phone Calls from WCCW: Monitoring, Legal Calls, and What You Need to Know
Phone calls are one of the main ways you'll stay connected with someone at Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW). Here's what to expect: you don't need to register to receive calls, certain phone features aren't allowed, and most calls can be monitored or recorded—except protected legal calls to bar-recognized numbers.
Phone calls are one of the fastest ways to stay in touch with someone at WCCW, though the rules can trip you up at first. Here's what matters: you don't need to fill out any application to receive calls. Most calls may be monitored or recorded, but legal calls get special protection. And you'll want to avoid certain phone features - three-way calling, call forwarding - because they're not allowed.
No. There's no registration, application, or verification process. If your loved one can place calls, you can receive them - no extra paperwork required.
Calls can't be routed through features that change how they connect. Three-way calling and call forwarding are both prohibited. The safest approach? Take the call directly. Don't add another person to the line or forward it somewhere else.
- ✓ Don’t use three-way calling (adding another person to the call)
- ✓ Don’t use call forwarding (sending the call to a different number)
- ✓ Avoid any other “custom call features” that alter how the call is connected
Phone calls at WCCW may be monitored or recorded under DOC policy. This is part of the facility's security system. Assume regular personal calls aren't private and talk accordingly.
Legal calls are different. The DOC protects attorney-client communication by allowing unmonitored calls - but only when the call goes to a phone number recognized by the applicable state's bar association. If the number isn't bar-recognized, it may not qualify for that protection.
Note: Violating DOC 450.200 (Telephone Use by Incarcerated Individuals) can result in losing phone privileges. Using prohibited features like three-way calling or call forwarding puts those privileges at risk.
- Confirm the phone number is bar-recognized - unmonitored legal calls are provided when the call is made to a telephone number recognized by the applicable state’s bar association.
- Be ready to identify the call as legal - if staff or the system requires clarification, make it clear the call is intended as a legal call.
- Request the unmonitored legal-call option - legal calls are the exception to standard monitoring/recording under DOC policy.
- Document what happened if there’s a problem - write down the date/time and the number used so you can clearly describe the issue if the call’s status is disputed.
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