Quick FAQs
No. Multiple facilities are still experiencing call failures, dropped connections, and video visitation disruptions.
According to impacted families and incarcerated individuals, hardware changes have not resolved the issues.
Calls often disconnect immediately after being answered or accepted, forcing repeated attempts that can take close to an hour for a single failed call.
Yes. Reports span Bellamy Creek, St. Louis facilities, and Central West.
What’s Being Reported on the Ground
Earlier this week, Clutch reported on GTL/ViaPath contractual obligations for uptime, and how those standards are not being met. Since then, new reporting from sources indicates that Michigan prison phone and video visitation systems remain unstable despite recent intervention by Global Tel Link/ViaPath.
At present, Michigan DOC contract personnel is reviewing call logs from three facilities, but more data will likely be needed, considering additional issues.
At St. Louis Correctional Facility, maintenance personnel reportedly replaced phone hardware. Yet the following morning, a call connected only long enough to prompt the recipient to “press 0 to accept” before disconnecting immediately. A similar failure occurred on February 1 at approximately 8:37 a.m., with the call lasting just long enough for a brief greeting before cutting off.
These are not isolated glitches. They are recurring failures that prevent meaningful communication altogether.
Bellamy Creek: “Twenty-Five Tries” to Make One Call
Conditions at Bellamy Creek appear especially severe. One incarcerated person reportedly attempted to call his mother approximately twenty-five times before a call finally connected.
According to the source, calls routinely disconnect either when the recipient answers or immediately after pressing “0” to accept. Each attempt requires waiting in the call queue, turning a single unsuccessful call into an extended process that can consume close to an hour.
Bellamy Creek is also experiencing disruptions to video visitation. Visits reportedly cut off mid-session, compounding the instability already present in phone communications.
St. Louis Facilities: Calls Fail Before Acceptance
At St. Louis facilities, including Central West, some calls reportedly fail even earlier in the process. In these instances, calls do not progress far enough to allow recipients to accept them at all.
The cumulative effect is that families cannot reliably receive calls, and incarcerated individuals cannot predict whether communication attempts will succeed.
GTL Follow-Up That Never Came
According to the source, GTL committed to providing a follow-up call within three days to address the reported failures. That three-day window has passed without contact.
As of publication, sources report no meaningful improvement following recent hardware changes at any of the identified facilities.
Here’s What Families Can Do
If you have GTL call logs showing dropped calls, missing minutes, billing discrepancies, or repeated service failures, those records matter. They create a paper trail the Michigan Department of Corrections cannot dismiss as anecdotal.
What to gather
- Download or screenshot your GTL call logs.
- Include dates, times, call duration, and any charges or missing minutes.
- If available, add screenshots of error messages or account notices.
- Write a brief note describing what happened and how often it occurs.
How to submit
- Email everything to hello@clutchjustice.com.
- Use a clear subject line, for example: “GTL Call Log Issue – Facility Name.”
- Include the facility name and housing unit if you know it.
- You may redact personal phone numbers if you prefer.
What happens next
- Clutch Justice will review and catalog the records.
- We will forward verified logs to our contacts at Michigan Department of Corrections as part of an ongoing documentation effort.
- Patterns across facilities help force accountability, service credits, and policy scrutiny.
This only works if families speak collectively. Your logs help turn individual frustration into documented evidence.
Why This Matters
Communication is not a luxury inside correctional facilities. It is a stabilizing force that supports mental health, family cohesion, and successful reentry. When prison communication systems repeatedly fail, the harm extends beyond inconvenience.
Each dropped call represents time lost, emotional stress compounded, and families left in a state of uncertainty. For incarcerated people, repeated failures reinforce isolation. For loved ones on the outside, the system becomes another unpredictable barrier layered onto an already difficult reality.
When vendors operate as gatekeepers to basic human connection, reliability is not optional. Persistent failures, unfulfilled follow-ups, and ineffective repairs raise serious questions about accountability, oversight, and whether profit-driven correctional technology is meeting even the most basic standards of service.
