The above # for Inmate Calling Solutions at Dane COunty Jail, MAdison, WI has been changed to 608-284-6971, but the other information is correct. It is .34.4 cents per minute with no connection fee.

One of my children starting receiving anonymous phone calls like this from the Dupage County Jail in IL. The Kid was really upset by it.  At first I thought it was a prank, because the caller ID was blocked.  My thanks to the previous posts, this is the only site discussing this issue.   It seems the Dupage Jail is using a similar system but not the same provider.   I think the company is PCS.   I had to call the Dupage Jail twice to have the calls stopped.  1st time they gave me an 800 and the Jail's ID code, but it as a completely automated system to setup accounts with no way to a live person. On the 2nd call the staff asked for the number and said it would be put on a block list.   I called the Dupage Sheriffs Office 630.407.2000, because I could not find a direct number to the Jail.   It?s all very strange.

I received 14 calls from (608) 819-1280 over a two week period from the WI jail.  Thanks to the comments previously posted, I was able to block future calls.  Again, the contact number to block calls is (866) 228-4031.

Caller gave name of Micheal ? Automated voice said it was from a prison and would I accept charges.
I said no and hung up.

To all concerned, 608-819-1280 is the outgoing trunk line for Inmate Calling Solutions, the company that Dane County contracts with to run the inmate phone service for the three facilities comprising the Dane County Jail. Inmates can call collect or pay for the call at their end--if they have the money. Charges are 34.4 cents per minute whether local or long distance and whether collect or paid for by the inmate. There is no longer a connection fee.  No tax-payer money is used for the 200 plus phones or the equipment to support them, or for maintenance and repair. Each inmate initiated call is preceded by a recording telling the called party the name of the facility (Dane County Jail) that the call is coming from and the name of the inmate. All calls are recorded. The called party must press "5" to accept the call whether it is collect or paid for by the inmate. The called party also has the option of pressing "9" to block all future calls from the Dane County Jail. For questions, you may contact the on-site ICS administrator at (608) 284-6020 or call the general Jail number at (608) 284-6100.

First, thanks everybody for your very helpful postings!  Last night at 10:40 pm, my elderly mom was startled awake by a call identified by her caller ID as "inmate calling 819-1280."  She did not answer.  When I checked into it, it did originate from the Dane County Jail in Madison, WI.  The phone system provider is a company called Inmate Calling Solutions.  I called ICS's toll-free number provided by Tim (above)--1-866-228-4031.  Their phone representative blocked her number from receiving such calls.  Thanks Tim.  

Below is an interesting newspaper article from  The Capital Times, September 21, 2007, regarding inmate calls:


Jail phone profit stream dries up in 2009
County Board agrees to new provisions

Nathan J. Comp
Correspondent for The Capital Times
September 21, 2007

The days of Dane County profiting when jail inmates call relatives or do their laundry are drawing to a close.

After nearly three hours of debate -- sometimes heated, sometimes convoluted -- the Dane County Board late Thursday passed an ordinance that begins weaning the county of a controversial stream of revenue starting in the spring of 2009.

The new law, which takes effect after a contract with Inmate Calling Solutions expires, is stronger than a proposed compromise that had won support from County Executive Kathleen Falk and Sheriff Dave Mahoney.

The proposal's sponsor, downtown Madison Supervisor Ashok Kumar, called it "the best case scenario."

Approved on 24-11 vote, the ordinance requires the county to enter contracts that provide the lowest possible costs to inmates rather than one meant to make the county money. Under the current contract, charges to inmates' families -- which included $4.25 connection fees and up to 50-cent per minute rates -- had brought in close to $1 million annually to the county.

Under the two-year contract with Inmate Calling Solutions, the county is getting 57 percent of the profits generated from inmate phone calls. The money goes to the county's general fund.

Proponents of Kumar's proposal argued that the profiteering was immoral and unjust, while opponents fretted over the proposal's cost to the county.

Several supervisors lamented the county's reliance on these contracts.

"We're addicted to this money," said Supervisor Dave de Felice, of Madison. "We've lost all of our moral compass and direction for a million bucks a year."

Before the debate began, 16 citizens -- ranging from student activists, a mother with a son in jail and a UW-Madison Law School professor -- spoke out in favor of the ordinance, saying that it was the board's moral obligation to end the profiteering off of the county's poorest and most disenfranchised residents. About 20 more registered their support, but didn't speak.

"The fact of the matter is that a large percentage of the people in Dane County Jail are there pre-trial and can't afford to make bail," argued law professor Krista Ralston. "They are there on minor crimes. They cannot afford the costs of this profiteering. They can't afford to call their families."

Former Supervisor Andy Olsen delivered a nuanced oratory, which concluded with him suggesting the board "chip away" at the issue rather than pass the ordinance.

Falk and Mahoney initially opposed the proposal, worried that, even with a two-year delayed effect, the county would still be left with a substantial hole in its $500,000 million annual budget. Last year, the county generated more than $1 million annually from inmate phone call, laundry and commissary services.

Both backed the measure after revisions to the proposal tied it to a comprehensive audit of Dane County's criminal justice system. The report, prepared by the Institute for Law and Policy Planning and released last month, contained several recommendations for making the county's justice system more efficient, including speeding court proceedings to get inmates out of jail quicker.

If the county embraces the recommendations, the report predicts, the county can stop sending inmates to other counties' jails and will not need to build a new jail. After weeks of negotiations between Falk's office and the proposal's sponsors, it was agreed that revenues currently generated by inmate phone calls would be recovered through savings from reducing the number of inmates shipped to out-of-county jails, which costs upwards of $3 million annually.

But the board struck down those revisions last night, after which Supervisor Richard Brown moved to postpone the vote for six months. Kumar quickly consulted with Brown, who apparently felt the proposal was on the verge of being killed. After much debate, Brown's motion to postpone the vote failed, 23 to 12.

According to Kumar, the audit tie-in never had much support and he doesn't expect Falk to veto it.

"Except Falk, me and some others, no one really wanted it," Kumar said after the meeting. "I doubt she's going to veto it. It's a progressive issue and she's a progressive person. And if she does, we'll override it."

Falk's office wasn't immediately available for comment today.

County Board vote on limiting jail profits
  For: Carousel Bayrd, Richard Brown, Dave de Felice, Elaine DeSmidt, Patrick Downing, Mike Hanson, John Hendrick, Brett Hulsey, Ashok Kumar, Al Matano, Mark Opitz, Rich Pertzborn, Kyle Richmond, Paul Rusk, Bob Salov, Ruth Ann Schoer, Tom Stoebig, Shelia Stubbs, Barbara Vedder, Matt Veldran, Donna Vogel, Dorothy Wheeler, David Worzala, Scott McDonell.
  Against: Eileen Bruskewitz, Duane Gau, Gerald Jensen, Jeff Kostelic, Jack Martz, Patrick Miles, Dennis O'Loughlin, Dave Ripp, Dale Suslick, Dave Wiganowsky, Mike Willett.
  Absent: Chuck Erickson, Vern Wendt.

I have had the same problem from the same number for the past few months.  I finally was directed to call IC Solutions (Inmate Calling Solutions) at 866-228-4031 to have my phone number blocked from that facility.

Call came from Dane Co. Jail, Madison, WI. The caller said it was a wrong number but still wanted me to arrange a three way call for him. I said no and hung up. It was a collect call and cost me $4.35

The call is from Dane County Jail in Madison, WI.  It is a collect call which is expensive

call came in and caller didn't leave a message

Call came in.  Caller didn't leave a msg.

608-819-1280 called repeatedly acting like I knew him.  Thanks to Tims comments I called IC Solutions (Inmate Calling Solutions) at 866-228-4031 to have my phone number blocked from that facility. It was easy to have my number blocked and they advised me it was inmate Kennith Sanders trying to reach me.  I don't know Kennith Sanders.  Thanks to everyone who posts on this site.  It was very helpful to me and I hope I can help someone else.

Call came in at 9:24 no one said anything when I answered other than a recording...this isn't the first time I've had calls like this...

got a call from 608-819-1280

Been getting this call every night for the last few days.  Haven't answered it but my mother-in-law has been getting it too (she lives in same town) and answered it once but nobody responded.  My wife traced it to the corner of Park St. and W. Washington in Madison which is loosely close to the jail I guess.

Called. Didn't leave message

Need to know where this call came from.

Thank you

Ive received 2 of these calls.

I got two of these calls last night at 2:45 in the morning.  When I saw the missed calls on my cell phone I was wondering who would be calling me at that time in the morning without leaving a message.  Rather than calling the number to find out who called me ( with my caller ID off of coarse ) I thought it would be better to look up the number on the web.  After seeing where this came from this really infuriates me!  Why would I be getting a call from something like this?  Does the Do Not Call list even apply to this?

I was awoken by this call and when I answered it was a recording. It happened yesterday and freaked me out since I didn't know where it came from and there were 2 inmates who had escaped from a nearby prison!

I was awoken by this call and when I answered it was a recording. It happened yesterday and freaked me out since I didn't know where it came from and there were 2 inmates who had escaped from a nearby prison!

yeah I just got a call from this number also, and it's not the first time. in the past year or so i have gotten several, always spread out and random. but it's the Dane County jail. you're most likely going to get a recording and at the beginning of the recording the person who is calling you is supposed to say their name, similar to a collect call. I couldn't understand the name of the person calling me today and I have no idea of anyone that I know being in jail so it's weird to me. hope this helps.

I just received two calls from this number on my cell phone. I answered to silence both times and then I hung up.

Dane country Jail. Their provider is IC Solutions so if you set up an account with them,  something like 20/month, your phone calls will be a lot cheaper, though they dodge direct questions when you ask them about connection fees and per minutes. I know ICS owns the phones there but am not sure if they still charge you the connection fee plus minutes even if you have an account, again dodging the questions because they are a national service.

No, it wouldn't apply because it's not a solicitation and inmates cannot call at 2:45 in the morning I think the latest they can call is 9 or 10 pm, unless you are in a different time zone?

call came in and caller didn't leave a message

Dane country Jail. Their provider is IC Solutions so if you set up an account with them,  something like 20/month, your phone calls will be a lot cheaper, though they dodge direct questions when you ask them about connection fees and per minutes. I know ICS owns the phones there but am not sure if they still charge you the connection fee plus minutes even if you have an account, again dodging the questions because they are a national service.

Call came in.  Caller didn't leave a msg.

The call is from Dane County Jail in Madison, WI.  It is a collect call which is expensive

Call came from Dane Co. Jail, Madison, WI. The caller said it was a wrong number but still wanted me to arrange a three way call for him. I said no and hung up. It was a collect call and cost me $4.35