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| Visitors banned from bringing paper money into prisons after Aug. 1 |
| By KTVT (Texas) |
| Published: 06/15/2001 |
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Visitors to Texas prisons can carry only coins into the institutions as of August to cut down on an influx of paper money in inmates' pockets, officials said. The Texas prison system will prohibit visitors from carrying paper money because officials have seen an increase in paper money in cells and work areas. Prisoners are prohibited from having cash, which is typically used for illegal activities, said Gary Johnson, director of TDCJ's Institutional Division. 'Only a small minority of the thousands of visitors try to break the rules, but they can be quite creative,'' Johnson said. ``But I don't think they can smuggle in quarters as easily as they have $20 bills.'' Inmates and visitors are often caught passing bills mouth-to-mouth while kissing, prison officials said. Some have also hidden cash inside candy bars, Johnson said. Visitors caught trying to pass money to inmates are told to leave the unit and are barred from future visits. Inmates caught with cash lose privileges such as watching television and their ability to make purchases in the prison commissary. Inmates make purchases at the commissary by using their Inmate Trust accounts, which are set up like a bank account with debit card access. Under the new rules, visitors to state prisons will be limited to bringing no more than $20 in change for use in prison vending machines. |
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