Why You Can't Call an Inmate at WSP — And What You Can Do Instead (Calls, Monitoring, and Emergencies)

At Washington State Penitentiary (WSP), you can’t directly call an incarcerated person. Phone calls have to be initiated from inside the facility - your loved one places the outgoing call to you.

To receive calls, you'll need to set up a prepaid AdvancePay account through ConnectNetwork. Once your account is active and funded, your loved one can call the phone number linked to that account.

Yes - calls are monitored and recorded. This is standard for phone calls between incarcerated people and the outside world, and it's part of facility security.

There’s a narrow exception for legal calls. Unmonitored legal phone calls are provided when the incarcerated person is calling a telephone number that’s recognized by the applicable state’s bar association.

If an answering machine picks up, ConnectNetwork’s standard rule is that you won’t be charged when the call is terminated to the answering machine.

There's one frustrating edge case. Occasionally - depending on line quality and how your answering machine handles tones - the system treats the call as "accepted" and charges you anyway. If this happens, ConnectNetwork may refund the charge, though they might ask you to adjust your answering machine settings or equipment.

In a true family emergency, don't try to solve it by calling repeatedly or waiting for a callback. At WSP, emergencies must go through the prison's emergency messages process. That's how urgent information gets verified and delivered to your loved one.

1. Contact the prison facility and ask for the emergency messages process - tell staff you need to send an emergency message to someone housed at WSP.
2. Provide the details staff request - be ready to share the incarcerated person’s identifying information and the nature of the emergency so the message can be routed appropriately.
3. Follow the facility’s instructions for next steps - emergency messages are handled through the prison’s process, so delivery and any follow-up will depend on what staff can verify and arrange.