Ramsey County approves NCIC inmate communications contract; board highlights free calls and education features

The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners on June 24 approved an agreement with Network Communications International Corp. (doing business as NCIC) to provide inmate communication services at the county adult detention facility.

Ashley Bryant, undersheriff of detention services for the sheriff’s office, told commissioners the contract negotiates two free telephone calls per day per individual and one free video visit. The implementation will occur in phases over 90 days after contract approval: telephones first, then video kiosks, then facility tablets. Bryant said “at no time will there be a communication [outage]; there will be some form of communication that will always be available during that time.”

The contract will also introduce tablets inside the facility containing religious, educational and mental‑health programming. The package includes an "earn‑and‑learn" feature, which allows people in custody to earn credits (“gems”) to access premium content, and an application to access a legal library. Commissioners asked whether the vendor had previously provided services in Minnesota and were told the company already serves the Ramsey County correctional facility.

Commissioners raised concerns about potential downstream price‑gouging for premium services after states required free calls. Bryant said the Federal Communications Commission rules reduced rates for additional minutes to $0.07 per minute and that the team negotiated a “very fair contract.” Commissioners also asked about 24/7 technical support and contractual remedies for nonperformance; staff said service-level and termination provisions are in the contract.

Commissioner Miller moved to approve the contract; commissioners voted by roll call with all present voting aye.