New contract includes vending machines for Luzerne County inmates

Luzerne County prison inmates will soon have access to vending machines so they can purchase snacks and beverages on demand instead of waiting for once-a-week access to the commissary, said county Correctional Services Division Head James Wilbur.

The service was added in the county’s latest contract with Keefe Commissary Network LLC, which provides inmate commissary supplies and services to correctional facilities throughout the United States. The contract was recently posted on the county website.

Another new feature in this agreement, called “SecurePak,” will allow relatives and friends of inmates to select and purchase toiletries and other commissary goods through a website for delivery to the inmate, Wilbur said.

Wilbur said some family members may be uncomfortable with the lone current option of depositing money in an inmate’s account to be used at the inmate’s discretion.

Commissary profits cannot fund prison operating expenses and must be used to cover purchases benefiting inmates, such as prison library and legal books and hygiene products for those deemed indigent, officials have said.

The secure vending machines will be set up in general population blocks at the prison on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre and in the nearby minimum offenders building on Reichard Street, Wilbur said.

For vending purchases, inmates must enter their personal identification number as they do for commissary orders, he said.

Products in the machines can be changed based on inmate demands.

The machines won’t be accessible to inmates on restricted lockup due to misconduct, he noted.

“It encourages better behavior because the option is only available to the general prison population. It’s an incentive,” he said.

While a vending machine may seem like no big deal to someone on the outside, the gesture of providing access to a snack and cold drink could help alleviate some of the inherent stress of incarceration for inmates, Wilbur said.

He is trying to change the mindset that everyone in the county prison is guilty and there for punishment.

“I think it’s lost on a lot of people that the majority of inmates in county facilities like ours are not sentenced and are here awaiting court proceedings,” he said. “Sometimes they go to court and are found not guilty.”

The county’s new three-year contract with Keefe includes county commissions on the goods purchased from vending machines and the commissary.

More changes

The prison also is working to expand inmate access to computer tablets through another vendor, possibly making one available to each inmate in the general prison population, he said.

Added several years ago, the tablets are currently accessible to inmates through scheduled time slots.

Tablets are used for video visitation. Inmates with money in their accounts can use them to watch movies and listen to music, Wilbur said.

However, the tablets provide more than entertainment and allow access to multiple programs without a fee, he said.

They are programmed with free apps containing educational material, tools to cope with anger management and other problems and law library resources to perform legal research, Wilbur said.

“We want to give them the ability to have education at their fingertips if they choose,” Wilbur said.

Keeping inmates productively occupied is important, the warden said. He reminded the public the county prison has limited space due to its antiquated design, while newer facilities typically have multiple meeting spaces used to help inmates learn and work through challenges.

“In an aged facility like ours, we only have one room for classes, drug and alcohol programs and religious services, so why not give them something else?” he said. “We’re trying to provide inmates with more opportunities to better themselves. That’s the whole goal.”