By Kathy Mellott
The Tribune-Democrat
EBENSBURG — A five-year deal struck between Cambria County and an Ohio-based company is expected to reduce the amount of mail to the county prison and cut down on contraband, officials said.
The Cambria County Prison Board on Thursday approved a contract renewal with Keefe Commissary Network of Strongsville, Ohio.
Keefe will continue providing commissary services for the inmates along with adding $40,000 worth of computerized kiosks that will enable inmates to keep track of their accounts and give them an opportunity to send and receive email.
“They will be able to order products and check balances, and it will move us further toward a paperless system,” said the prison’s deputy warden of operations, Christian Smith. “One option is for secure emailing, and the family and inmate will pay.”
While details are still being ironed out, Smith said the emailing capabilities will be phased in during 2015.
Qualified inmates will do the electrical wiring for the two kiosks planned per housing unit.
Keefe will maintain the equipment and expects to recoup its investment over the five years of the contract, said the prison’s deputy warden for facility services, William Patterson.
The system will include a safety feature to identify key words and alert corrections officers of potential problems, Smith said.
Under state law, prison officials are not permitted to read correspondence moving into and out of the facility in letter form. But they can inspect any letters by looking in the envelopes.
Still, inmates continue to receive illegal drugs, including a type that comes in strip form and can be affixed to the seal of the envelope, the deputy wardens said.
The county has had a commissary agreement with Keefe for the past 10 to 12 years. The financial terms of the
new deal, which will pay the county 36 cents for each dollar in products purchased by the inmates, is in line with past agreements, Smith said.
The county operated its own prison commissary for a couple of years after opening the facility in 1997. Officials eventually opted to bring in a commissary company.
The service is used by inmates to purchase snacks, personal care items, socks, underwear and similar items, Smith said.
Items, including small snacks, must be ordered by noon Tuesday for delivery to the prison by Thursday, he said.