E-Cig Sales Help Fund Oklahoma County Jails

Oklahoma law says every county must run a jail, but jails are expensive, so sheriff's departments are trying to come up with new ways to raise money without getting it from taxpayers.

One way is to sell e-cigarettes to inmates. Washington and Muskogee Counties already do it and Rogers County just got approval.

The specially made e-cigarettes are sold for $10 a piece to the inmates and are good for 500 puffs which is the equivalent to three or four packs.

Shannon Cleek is in jail for buying a BB gun while on probation. He is demonstrating one of the e-cigarettes the Rogers County jail just got approval to sell to inmates, like they do chips and pop.

Shannon says he and most of the guys in here will buy them when they go on sale.

"It's kinda like the old saying, you don't appreciate nothing until you take it away. That's something you don't really need but it's good to have," he said.

He was a smoker on the outside and says just having something to ease the desire will calm nerves and help pass the time.

The jail says it could bring in $3,000 to $5,000 a month. The law says that money must be spent on inmates - things like blankets, supplies, equipment

They say any amount will help with a jail budget that edges up to $3 million a year.

"It doesn't cost taxpayers any money, no extra labor, nothing out of our pocket to do this," said Major Bob Darby, Rogers County Sheriff's Office.

The e-cigs are odorless water vapor and are specially designed for jails, no charger inside, no metal parts. Once they're empty, the inmates must turn them back in before buying another.

The jail says like any privilege, this one can be taken away, which is an incentive for good behavior.

"Play by the rules, you have the privilege," Major Darby said.

For those who don't think inmates deserve this type of privilege, Major Darby says everyone in a county jail is innocent until proven guilty. It's not like a prison, where people are convicted of a crime.

These people can't afford to pay their bond or their fines and most haven't been to trial yet.

County jails all over Oklahoma are being forced to be more creative when it comes to adding revenue, especially since DOC pulled its inmates out of county jails, which was a big source of funding.