NOVEMBER 5, 2009 ISSUE
Question Around the Office
Do Inmates Get Paid To Be in Jail?
Last week, a resident came by our office after leaving the Watauga County Detention Center where he had been in jail the past evening for a pending charge. The resident showed us a check he had received at his release for $1.26 from the “Watauga County Inmate Trust Account” and asked if inmates get paid to be in jail.
According to Watauga County Detention Center Officer Suzanne Lawrence, inmates do not get paid while in jail; rather, friends and family are allowed to deposit money into an inmate trust account, or a “canteen account.” What’s more, any paper money and/or coinage that inmates have on their person when entering jail is automatically deposited into such an account.
Every Monday, jailers ask each inmate to fill out an order form for sundry items such as chips, candy and drinks, and money is taken out of each inmates’ canteen account to pay for the purchases. Any money in the canteen account that is not used by the time an inmate is released is then credited back to them in the form of a check from the Watauga County Inmate Trust Account.
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
