Tag: Jail

  • Ector County Jail Sells $19,000 in Vapes in One Month

    Ector County Jail Sells $19,000 in Vapes in One Month

    Credit: Ye Jinghan

    Authorities in Ector County, Texas started selling e-cigarettes to inmates at their Law Enforcement Center started on May 8th. Jail Captain James Mckinney started with 2,000 vapes. One costs about $14.

    “Regular, menthol, peach, ice peach and then berry. I ordered 400 of each and we were sold out last week,” said Mckinney.

    They were so popular, Mckinney just ordered 4,000 more, according to CBS7.

    In total they’ve made $19,476.50, profiting $11,776.50 on the e-cigarettes in just one month.

    “If you’re making money off the inmates it has to go back to benefit the inmates, whether it be the mattresses I buy for them, the clothes, sheets, anything that benefits them, basketballs,” said Mckinney.

    They’ve only had about 10 inmates alter the products out of the hundreds currently at the jail.

    “If they tamper with them we’ll take them away for 14 days, if they tamper again with them, we’ll take them away for 21 days, if they tamper a third time then we’ll take them away until we say they can get another one,” said Mckinney.

  • Ector County, Texas Approves Vapor Sales in Jails

    Ector County, Texas Approves Vapor Sales in Jails

    Credit: Lucitanija

    The Ector County Commissioners Court approved selling e-cigarettes to inmates at the Ector Law Enforcement Center..

    “Their correction grade, the inmate they’ve gotta barcode on it they will scan it the inmate has to give this particular unit back to get another one if it’s altered in any way they won’t get another one,” said Sheriff Mike Griffis, according to CBS7.

    All of the revenue will go towards the jail, at no expense to taxpayers, Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett says it will offset costs to keep the inmates locked up.

    “The supplies it takes to pay for the inmates, their beds, their pillows, all those types of things taxpayers are on foot for so we are certainly going to look to relieve all taxpayer items to the best of our ability,” said Fawcett.

    Griffis says their buying the e-cigarettes at $3.85 a piece selling them for around $14. They’ll start with 1,000 and see how it goes…

    “I hope we sell a bunch of them and make a lot of money. The vendor said y’all may make $1 million a year selling these,” said Griffis.

    One e-cigarette is equivalent to one pack of cigarettes.

    Fawcett says other counties have used this before, as the e-cigarettes act as a behavioral tool.

    “Whenever you have inmates who cooperate who are on good terms it helps with our jailing numbers, our staff when you have good inmates you don’t see as much turnover with staff,” said Fawcett.

    Griffis says the e-cigarettes are fairly indestructible, basic enough to hopefully not pose a safety threat.

  • Texas County to Discuss Selling Vapes to Inmates

    Texas County to Discuss Selling Vapes to Inmates

    Credit: Rawf8

    A county sheriff in Ector County, Texas told county commissioners that he believed the jail can make “a million dollars” from selling e-cigarettes to inmates.

    Sheriff Mike Griffis is scheduled to speak to the commissioners on Tuesday. The agenda item of “consider, discuss, and take any necessary action to approve the sale of e-cigarettes to inmates at no cost to the county or taxpayers; all proceeds collected will be used at the Ector County Detention Center,” according to Yahoo.

    “We are not only looking at this as a behavioral tool, but a financial tool to help offset some of the taxpayer-funded items that we have to provide inmates in the jail,” Griffis said. “We hope to implement it within the next few weeks.”

    Griffis explained to the Odessa American the cost of the e-cigarette will be $3.85 each and come in a 50-count package.

    The jail plans to have an initial order of 1,000. The cost to the inmates will be $14 (a 364 percent increase) which includes $1.07 in sales tax. Griffis said there will be stipulations for inmates to purchase an e-cigarette with their commissary funds.

    Griffis said inmates can only purchase and have one e-cigarette at a time. Griffis said before the inmate can purchase another e-cigarette they have to return their initial e-cigarette purchase. Griffis also explained that if the e-cigarette has been tampered with the inmate won’t be able to purchase any more e-cigarettes.

    “If it’s abused, that inmate will not be eligible to get another one,” Griffis said.