PHOENIX — Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says jail inmates will start paying for their own meals starting next month in a move that could save taxpayers more than $900,000 annually in food costs.
The policy would charge inmates $1.25 per day for their meals. It would apply only to those inmates who have money in personal accounts or “on their books.”
Arpaio estimated that about 2,000 of the nearly 10,000 inmates in the system will end up paying for food each day.
Those who can’t afford to pay will still receive food, but Arpaio said prison officials will track their free meals.
Inmates can accrue money in their accounts in two ways. If they’re carrying cash when they are arrested, it goes into an account. Later, friends and relatives can send them money.
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Prisoners with funds in their accounts will be charged for those meals. Inmates who can’t pay will have an open tab, so they would face those charges if arrested again and return to one of the county facilities.
A policy charging inmates for food was authorized by the Legislature in the late 1990s, but Arpaio said he stopped requiring them to pay when he started charging for visits to medical professionals.
But the economic downturn, and a countywide edict for departments to slash 20 percent off their budgets, has forced sheriff’s officials to consider a variety of cost-cutting measures.
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