To stop contraband (including drugs and weapons) from entering jails and prisons, family and friends must go through private vendors to send food, clothing, and other gifts to incarcerated loved ones.pic.twitter.com/tYz22L93Ot
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To stop contraband (including drugs and weapons) from entering jails and prisons, family and friends must go through private vendors to send food, clothing, and other gifts to incarcerated loved ones.pic.twitter.com/tYz22L93Ot
Care packages for incarcerated people are part of a lucrative industry that provides a range of services. Some care package companies also bundle other services like phone and commissary.
The privatization of services at correctional facilities means families are forced to do business with these companies and vendors — or go without. But some say that sending packages through these companies can be onerous and expensive.
Prices can be unpredictable depending on where a person is incarcerated. For example, at one prison in Pennsylvania, a radio from Access Securepak costs $22. In another jail in Nebraska, the same radio from the same program costs just under $13.pic.twitter.com/rHZHv0667G
One care package company reported net sales of over $375 million dollars from care package, commissary, and technology programs in 2012.pic.twitter.com/4E38pGW4xv
Packages for incarcerated people may also be limited by factors like weight, price, item count, and frequency.pic.twitter.com/PygPh2C054
The timelines are strict, says Joi Davis, whose husband has been incarcerated since 2003: “If you miss the window, even by one day, you can forget it.”
So how does the prison care package system work? Let’s break it down.
Families shop from catalogs supplied by care package companies, featuring only items that are prison- and jail-approved. That means no glass, no metal containers, no personal hygiene products with alcohol, and no sweatpants with pockets.
Perhaps because prison meals often leave much to be desired, food tends to dominate care package offerings. Food typically must be in hermetically-sealed and tamper-proof packages, which rules out most fresh options.pic.twitter.com/qZKNSGDZS6
Although there are many items families and loved ones may send from the catalogs, they are unable to send personalized gifts.
One mother with an incarcerated son laments, “We want to love the prisoner. We don’t love their crime, but we love them… It would be so nice to send a pair of socks or something I went and picked out for him.”pic.twitter.com/cBerPNjvT3
Ultimately, the families and loved ones of incarcerated people are left with few options and sometimes high bills.
Joi Davis estimates that she spends $500 to $600 each month to stay in touch with her incarcerated husband via phone calls, visits, and care packages. “It eats up the money, but you don’t want your loved ones to go without,” she says.pic.twitter.com/Arnii50r0A
Take a deeper dive into the big business of care packages for incarcerated people in our story, partnered with @voxdotcom:https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/12/20/the-big-business-of-prisoner-care-packages?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sprout&utm_source=twitter …
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