Some Mass. county jails have millions in profits off inmates sitting in accounts (MassLive)
Below is an excerpt from an article published by MassLive on August 18, drawing attention to Massachusetts county jails’ profiting from incarcerated people through commissary markups and other means. Prisoners’ Legal Services’ James White is quoted.
Earlier this month, when Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux said he would spend $1.6 million in profits made off inmates to fund air conditioning at his jail facilities, the announcement shined a light on a particular pot of money maintained by jails and prisons across the state.
An inmate canteen fund is financed by the often double-digit percentage markups placed on commissary goods, such as snacks, drinks, postage or clothing, that inmates purchase from what are essentially convenience stores inside correctional facilities. In Bristol County, before Heroux’s tenure, the markup was 32%.
The canteen fund is earmarked by state law to be used, in turn, for the “general welfare” and benefit of inmates. So how did Bristol County’s inmate canteen fund amass to an eye-popping $1.6 million?
It turns out Bristol isn’t out of the ordinary.
A review by MassLive of fiscal year 2023 data shows out of the state’s 13 county jails overseen by sheriff’s departments, five counties — Bristol, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Worcester — had canteen accounts over $1 million. Two of them had funds over $2 million.
Read more at MassLive.
