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Managing Inmate Funds, Multnomah County Auditor OR, 2011

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Managing Inmate Funds
December 2011

Steve March
Multnomah County Auditor

Audit Staff
Fran Davison
Craig Hunt

We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient,
appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on
our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

Office of
Multnomah County Auditor
Steve March
County Auditor

501 SE Hawthorne Room 601
Portland, Oregon 97214
Phone: (503) 988-3320

Fran Davison
Nicole Dewees
Judith DeVilliers
Shannon Grzybowski
Craig Hunt
Amanda Lamb
Mark Ulanowicz

Date: 12/29/2011
To:

Jeff Cogen, Multnomah County Chair
Deborah Kafoury, Commissioner, District 1
Loretta Smith, Commissioner, District 2
Judy Shiprack, Commissioner, District 3
Diane McKeel, Commissioner, District 4

From:

Steve March, County Auditor
Craig Hunt, Principal Management Auditor
Fran Davison, Senior Management Auditor

Subject:

Managing Inmate Funds Audit

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office manages inmate-related funds for those incarcerated in County jails.
While different, there are three interrelated areas: Inmate Trust Accounts; Inmate Welfare Funds; and
Commissary. Inmate Trust Accounts are funds held in trust for those in custody, with any balances returned
upon release. The Commissary sells a variety of products to inmates with any profits going to the Inmate
Welfare Fund which pays for enhanced inmate programs and activities. This audit focused largely on the
processes for managing cash flowing into and out of Inmate Trust Accounts, but also examines some Inmate
Welfare Fund issues. The audit did not look at commissary operations per se.
Funds come into the system when those booked are carrying cash or when friends or family bring money for
inmates in custody for purchases, expenses or bail. Managing cash takes time to both handle and monitor,
which we believe could be streamlined. The Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating more efficient ways to
handle both cash received at booking and from friends and family. Due to the current design of cash handling
processes, a reconciliation of the Inmate Trust Accounts to both the bank and the County’s financial system
(SAP) cannot be practically accomplished. The Sheriff’s Office is exploring changes to resolve reconciliation
difficulties.
In terms of the use of the Inmate Welfare Funds, the Sheriff’s Office is making improvements. They’ve reduced
the number of law libraries and are working on a solution that will make these libraries more cost effective.
They also approached the Board of County Commissioners to adopt a new Inmate Welfare Fund resolution that
better identifies revenues and requires budget approval by the Inmate Welfare Committee. The Board adopted
that resolution in April 2011.
We want to thank the Sheriff’s Office staff who provided assistance in this report and its recommendations.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................1
Background .....................................................................................3
...... Inmate trust accounts ..................................................................5
...... Inmate Welfare Fund .................................................................6
...... Inmate Welfare Fund phone commissions ................................7
...... Commissary ...............................................................................7
...... Cash in to inmate trust accounts .................................................9
...... Cash out of inmate trust accounts ..............................................12
...... Inmate accounting system ..........................................................13
Audit Results ...................................................................................13
...... Cash handling processes should be
...... streamline and updated .......................................................13
...... Cash machines offer cash handling efficiencies .........................15
...... Purchasing commissary online reduces
...... cash handling in the jails .......................................................16
...... Continue to pursue cash alternatives to reduce paper
...... currency in the jails ................................................................16
...... Cash alternatives are available for the Property Unity ...............18
...... Cash alternatives are available for Facility Security Officers ....19
...... The design of inmate cash handling process should allow
...... the Fiscal Unit to demonstrate full accountability of
...... inmate funds..........................................................................19
...... The Fiscal Unit must be able to reconcile the inmate
...... accounting system to the bank and SAP ................................19
...... The Fiscal Unit should correct an Inmate Welfare Fund
...... accounting adjustment error ...................................................20
...... The Fiscal Unit should not handle cash .....................................21
...... More timely postings offer efficiencies ......................................21
...... The Inmate Funds Log should be retained .................................22
...... The Sheriff’s Office is making improvements to the Inmate
...... Welfare Fund but some changes are still needed...............23
...... Communication between the Fiscal Unit and Corrections
...... would help monitor phone revenues ......................................23
...... Law library changes will reduce costs .......................................24
...... Inmate Welfare Fund revenues are overstated............................25
...... Units involved with inmate funds need updated policy
...... and procedures........................................................................26
Recommendations ..........................................................................27
Scope and Methodology..................................................................28
Response to Audit ...........................................................................31
Appendix ..........................................................................................37

Managing Inmate Funds

Executive
Summary
During FY11, the Sheriff’s Office managed approximately $3.7
million of inmate funds. Managing these funds involves three
interrelated areas:
•

Inmate Trust Accounts track each inmate’s funds held
in trust by the Sheriff’s Office. Each inmate’s receipts and
charges are recorded in their trust account.

•

The Inmate Welfare Fund pays for enhanced inmate
programs and activities using funds generated by inmates.

•

The Commissary sells a variety of products to inmates
at competitive prices. All commissary profits go to the
Inmate Welfare Fund.

This audit focuses largely on the processes for managing cash
flowing into and out of inmate trust accounts. The audit also
examines some key areas of the Inmate Welfare Fund but does not
look at commissary operations. The audit’s objectives related to
inmate trust accounts are to determine whether:
•
•
•

The processes for inmate cash deposits and disbursements
are efficient
Adequate controls are in place to fully account for cash
flowing through inmate trust accounts
Appropriate policy and procedures are in place

Inmates often have cash in their possession when they are booked.
Friends or relatives may also bring money for inmates to the
jails. Inmates use these funds for commissary purchases, health
expenses, self-bail or other purposes.
Managing inmate cash takes time. Sheriff’s Office personnel
spend time counting, and receipting cash coming into the jails,
recording it on the inmate accounting system and disbursing any
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Multnomah County Auditor

remaining funds in inmates’ accounts when they are released
from custody. The Sheriff’s Office Fiscal Unit monitors all funds
flowing through inmate accounts.
We found that processes for managing inmate funds could
be streamlined and could better take advantage of current
technologies. The Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating
more efficient ways to handle cash coming into the jails. They
are also pursuing an alternative that would allow family or
friends of inmates to purchase some commissary items online
instead of bringing money to the jails. The Sheriff’s Office could
complement these efforts by continuing to seek other electronic
alternatives to further reduce the amount of cash coming into the
jails.
Due to the design of current cash handling processes the Fiscal
Unit cannot reconcile the inmate accounting system to the bank
and SAP each month. A monthly reconciliation is a fundamental
control that is needed to detect any errors or missing funds.
To compensate for the lack of a reconciliation, the Fiscal Unit
takes alternative steps to ensure inmate account balances on the
inmate accounting system are accurate. However, while controls
are in place for inmate account balances, errors could still occur on
SAP or cash could be missing.
Once a reconciliation is performed, the Fiscal Unit can pinpoint
the amount of an accounting adjustment error in the Inmate
Welfare Fund made in FY06. As a result of this error, the
beginning working capital of the Inmate Welfare Fund is currently
understated by approximately $83,000 to $86,000.
To increase security over inmate funds and to best fulfill their
monitoring role, the Fiscal Unit should not handle cash. Under the
current system, cash is sent to the Fiscal Unit where it is recounted
before it is deposited to the bank.
Multiple Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Divisions and Units
are responsible for handling inmate cash and tracking inmate

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Managing Inmate Funds

activity. The Sheriff’s Office had updated written policies and
procedures in some, but not all, Units involved processing inmate
funds. All Units involved with inmate funds will need updated
policy and procedures.
The audit’s objectives specifically related to the Inmate Welfare
Fund were to determine whether:
• Inmate law library responsibilities could be more cost
effective
• Controls are in place to ensure that all revenue from phone
calls is collected
• Appropriate policy and procedures are in place
The Sheriff’s Office is making improvements to the Inmate
Welfare Fund. The Sheriff’s Office recently reduced the number of
libraries in the jails and is currently pursuing a solution that will
make their law libraries more cost effective while still meeting
inmate needs. Another improvement was made in April 2011
when the Board adopted a new Inmate Welfare Fund resolution.
The new resolution better describes revenue sources and requires
approval of the annual budget and all expenditures by the Inmate
Welfare Committee.
Some changes to the Inmate Welfare Fund are still needed. One of
the functions of the Inmate Welfare Fund is to provide services for
indigent inmates. Accordingly, all associated losses from indigent
inmates should be recorded in the Inmate Welfare Fund. The
Sheriff’s Office should also update Inmate Welfare Fund policies
and procedures in the Corrections Division manual to reflect
current practices.

Background

From the time inmates are booked into custody until they are
released from jail, the Sheriff’s Office manages inmates’ cash.
Inmates often have cash in their possession when they are booked
or later when their family or friends deposit cash on their behalf
for commissary, self-bail or other purposes. Approximately
$3.7 million of inmate funds flowed through the jails in FY11.

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Multnomah County Auditor

Managing these funds involves three interrelated areas:
• Inmate Trust Accounts are essentially a banking service
that the Sheriff’s Office provides to manage inmate money
held in trust.
• The Inmate Welfare Fund pays for enhanced inmate
programs and activities using funds generated by inmates.
• The Commissary sells a variety of products to inmates at
competitive prices.
This audit largely focused on how the Sheriff’s Office manages
inmate cash. Specifically, the audit’s objectives related to
managing inmate cash were to determine whether:
• The processes for inmate cash deposits and disbursements
are efficient
• Adequate controls are in place to fully account for cash
flowing through inmate trust accounts
As shown in Exhibit 1 below, multiple Multnomah County
Sheriff’s Office Divisions and Units are responsible for handling
inmate cash and tracking inmate activity. Within the Corrections
Division, the Detention Center and Inverness jails accept cash
though Facility Security Officers. Auxiliary Service’s Property
Unit in the Enforcement Division manages inmate cash received
at booking and cash disbursed when inmates are released or
transferred from the Detention Center. Business Service’s Fiscal
Unit ensures accountability of inmate funds. The Criminal Justice
Information Unit maintains the inmate accounting system.

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Managing Inmate Funds

Exhibit 1 Divisons and Units responsible for Inmate Welfare Funds

Sheriff

Undersheriff

Business Services
Division
Fiscal Unit

Criminal Justice
Information

Corrections
Division

Enforcement Division

Detention Center Jail

Auxiliary Services

Facility Security Officers
Property Unit

Commissary
Property Unit

Inverness Jail
Facility Security Officers

Inmate Programs/Volunteers
Religious services
Volunteer coordination

Inmate Classification
Phone contract
Source: Sheriff ’s Office

Inmate trust accounts

When an inmate is booked into custody, the Sheriff’s Office sets
up an individual account on the inmate accounting system where
money in inmate’s possession at the time of arrest can be securely
deposited and used later by the inmate. Additional money may be
brought to the Detention Center or Inverness jails by relatives or
friends for deposit into the inmate’s account. Inmates may spend
the money in their accounts for self-bail, commissary items, health
costs, or for other purposes.

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Multnomah County Auditor

Inmate Welfare Fund Inmate Welfare Fund monies are generated by inmates, and used
for inmates. The Inmate Welfare Fund contributes to institutional
tranquility in a variety of ways. Funds are spent for a Jail
Chaplain to coordinate volunteer programs which meet prisoner
needs regarding religious expression. A Volunteer Coordinator
recruits volunteers for educational tutors, Alcoholics and Narcotics
Anonymous sessions, interpreters, and counselors. Funds are
used for law libraries in both jails to provide legal resources for
inmates. Inmate Welfare funds are also used for a Fiscal Specialist
for inmate accounting, indigent inmates, armored car services for
money transport, movie videos and newspapers.
Exhibit 2 summarizes the sources of Inmate Welfare Fund
revenues for FY10 and FY11. Revenues for the Inmate Welfare
Fund include:
• Phone commissions (80%)
• Commissary profits (10%)
• Other sources (10%) –hygiene kit fees, DNA testing fees,
disciplinary fees, hearing fees, other miscellaneous fees, and
donations
Exhibit 2 Combined FY10 and FY11 Inmate Welfare Fund Sources of Revenue

Phone commissions
Commissary profits
Hygiene kit fees
DNA testing fees
Disciplinary fees
Hearing Fees
Booking video fees
Donations
Miscellaneous

Source: Auditor’s Office analysis of Sheriff ’s Office data.

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Managing Inmate Funds

Inmate Welfare Fund Inmate phone calls generate most of the Inmate Welfare Fund
phone commissions revenues. When inmates make phone calls, the person called is
charged a fee, not the inmate. The person called has the option to
accept or decline the call. Charges are a flat fee plus a per minute
charge.
The Sheriff’s Office Inmate Telephone Services Program is
contracted out. The Sheriff’s Office receives a percentage of
call revenues and a signing bonus as part of awarding the phone
contract. All phone equipment is owned and maintained by the
contractor. There are approximately 90 phones at the Detention
Center and 100 phones at Inverness Jail. Generally, inmates have
access to phones from 8am to 11pm each day.
Commissary The Sheriff’s Office Auxiliary Unit manages commissary
operations for both jails. All profits from commissary sales go to
the Inmate Welfare Fund. The commissary offers inmates products
such as potato chips or candy bars at competitive prices. Inmates
with money in their trust account may order commissary two times
a week with a limit of $50 per order. Indigent inmates are allowed
to order specific commissary items twice a week such as shampoo,
deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, or stamped envelopes regardless
of their ability to pay.
The Auxiliary Unit has 3.73 FTE budgeted in FY12 to operate
the commissary. Auxiliary Unit personnel purchase, receive and
inventory goods, process inmate orders, deliver orders to the
jails and record the activity on the inmate accounting system.
During FY11, about 54,000 orders from inmates were filled. The
commissary has been self-sustaining and has operated at a profit
since its inception in the late 1970s.
The inmate trust accounts, Inmate Welfare Fund, and commissary
are closely interrelated. Exhibit 3 shows these relationships and
the flow of cash into and out of inmate trust accounts.

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Multnomah County Auditor

Exhibit 3 Interrelationship of Inmate Welfare Fund, Commissary and Inmate Trust Accounts

INMATE
CASH IN

ACCOUNTS

COMMISSARY

Booked into custody

INMATE
TRUST

Deposited on behalf
of inmates
Inmate labor

ACCOUNTS

Hearing fees
Account request fee
Copy fees
DNA testing fees
Hygiene kit fees
Disiplinary fees

Page 8

Profits

INMATE
WELFARE
FUND

Health costs

CORRECTIONS
HEALTH

Self bail

COURTS

Damages caused
by inmate

SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Inmate Request

INMATE
FAMILY/FRIENDS

Release

Source: Auditor’s Office analysis

CASH TO

INMATE
CASH OUT

INMATE

Managing Inmate Funds

Cash in to inmate
trust accounts

As shown in Exhibit 3, cash is received when the inmate is
booked into custody, when family or friends deposit cash on
behalf of the inmate, or when the inmate receives money from
performing inmate labor. Average monthly deposits into inmate
accounts during the first 11 months of FY11 totaled $308,178 or an
estimated $3.7 million a year.
The Auxiliary Service’s Property Unit, Facility Security Officers,
and Fiscal Unit process cash receipts. Exhibit 4 shows these Unit’s
cash handling tasks.
The Property Unit has three shifts and operates 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. From July 2010 through May 2011, there were
approximately 18,900 bookings involving 13,000 inmates having
a total of $1,086,000 cash in their possession at booking. Some
inmates were booked multiple times during this time period and
not all inmates booked had cash.
Facility Security Officers at the Detention Center and Inverness
jails receive money from the inmates’ family or friends. Family or
friends may bring money to one of the jails at certain times of the
day. Only cash, money orders government checks, payroll checks
and cashiers checks are accepted. Including self-bail deposits,
$2.23 million was received from family or friends depositing
money on behalf of inmates from July 2010 through May 2011.
Facility Security Officers at the Detention Center process all cash
deposited by family or friends on the inmate’s behalf for self-bail.
Provided they are eligible, these deposits allow inmates to bail
themselves out of jail. From July 2010 through May 2011 self-bail
transactions totaled $1.36 million.
The Fiscal Unit receives all cash and supporting documentation
from both jails through an armored truck courier service. There is
a delay from when the activity took place in the jails to when the
Fiscal Unit receives the cash and supporting documentation from
the courier. For example, cash received on a Friday and over the
weekend at the Detention Center may not be delivered to the Fiscal
Unit until the following Wednesday morning.
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Multnomah County Auditor

The Fiscal Unit is also responsible for ensuring that the inmate
accounting system reconciles with the bank statement and the
County’s SAP system. Other duties include following up on
inmate account inquires, recording hygiene kit transactions,
managing inmate transport checks, and administering a periodic
process to turn abandoned funds over to the State Division of
Lands as required by law.
The Sheriff’s Office pays inmates who work on the Corrections
work crew $1 for each day worked. However, no cash exchanges
hands when inmates are paid. Corrections personnel track days
worked by inmates and enters it on the Sheriff’s Warrant and
Inmate Tracking System (SWIS). The days worked on SWIS
automatically transfers to the inmate accounting system providing
inmates’ credit. On average the Sheriff’s Office paid $6,500 per
month in FY11 for inmate labor.

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Managing Inmate Funds

Exhibit 4—Units involved processing inmate cash receipts
Unit

Location

Activity

Cash handling tasks

Property Unit

Detention Center

Booking cash

-Establishes new inmate accounts on
inmate accounting system
-Counts cash received
-Issues hand written receipts
-Puts cash received into cash register

Facility Security
Officers

Detention Center and
Inverness jails

Cash from
family or
friends on
inmate’s
behalf

-Queries inmate account on inmate
accounting system to determine if
the inmate is still in custody and to
monitor deposit limits
-Counts cash received
-Issues hand written receipts
-Puts cash in envelope with receipt
and slips through slot of locked safe

Property Unit
at the Detention
Center
and
Auxiliary Unit
personnel at
Inverness

Detention Center and
Inverness jails

Processing
cash received
by Facility
Security
Officers

-Gathers cash from safe once a day
-Counts cash and compares it to
receipts and Inmate Fund Log

Facility Security
Officers

Detention Center

Cash for selfbail

-Ensures proper forms are correctly
completed
-Counts cash received
-Issues hand written receipts
-Takes cash to Property Unit

Property Unit

Detention Center

Cash for selfbail

-Receives cash from Facility Security
Officers and counts
-Records receipt on the inmate
accounting system

Fiscal Unit

Multnomah Building

Processing
cash received
from the
Detention
Center and
Inverness
jails

-Counts cash received
-Separates cash received by Facility
Security Officers from Property Unit
cash
-Prepares deposit slips and records
total deposits on inmate accounting
system
-Compares Facility Security Officer
deposit to detailed activity on inmate
accounting system
-Compares Property Unit’s internal
cash register tape to activity on
inmate accounting system
-Records accounting information on
SAP

Source: Auditor’s Office analysis

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Multnomah County Auditor

Cash out of inmate
trust accounts

As shown in Exhibit 3 above, cash can be released from
an inmate’s trust account for a variety of reasons including
commissary purchases, Corrections Health charges, and Inmate
Welfare Fund charges such as hygiene kits, hearing fees, copies or
disciplinary fines. Cash does not exchange hands with these types
of charges. Instead, funds are transferred from inmates’ accounts
to the Sheriff’s Office or Corrections Health. Exhibit 5 below
shows activity for July 2010 through May 2011.
Exhibit 5 Inmate Account Charges—July 2010—May 2011

Type of charge
Commissary purchases
Corrections Health
Inmate Welfare

Amount
$617,700
$306,600
$049,000

Source: Auditor’s Office analysis of inmate accounting system data

The Property Unit releases cash from their cash register or issues
checks to inmates when inmates are released from custody.
Total cash going out from the Property Unit to inmates averaged
approximately $112,700 per month or $1.35 million per year in
FY11.
When inmates are released, the Property Unit may issue up to
$1,000 cash and/or a check depending on the balance of the
inmate’s account and how much cash is in the register. The
Property Unit sends the inmate’s cash and/or check and their other
property to the Release Officer. The Property Unit and the Release
Officer count any cash released.
When inmates are transferred to other jurisdictions, the Property
Unit always issues a check regardless of inmates’ account
balances. The Sheriff’s Office participates in a cooperative
agreement between other jurisdictions called the Northwest Shuttle
System. Under this agreement, a check must be issued for any
balance in the inmate’s account.
Finally, The Sheriff’s Office issues a check to other people or
organizations when inmates request a release of their funds.
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Managing Inmate Funds

Inmate accounting system

The County internally developed the inmate accounting system
in the mid-90s and customized it to fit the Sheriff’s Office and
Corrections Health operations. In September, 2005 the mainframebased system was changed over to a client-server platform but the
system has not been materially changed otherwise since it was
initially put into service.
The Sheriff’s Office or Corrections Health records all inmate
transactions on the inmate accounting system. Summary
transactions from the inmate accounting system are then posted to
the County’s SAP system at month end.

Audit Results

Cash handling processes should be streamlined and updated
Cash handling processes address the amount of time personnel
spend processing cash, timeliness of deposits, security of
cash, as well as convenience for depositors. The Sheriff’s
Office is currently investigating more efficient ways to handle
paper currency entering the jails. Based on practices in other
jurisdictions, the Sheriff’s Office may be able to complement these
efforts by decreasing the amount of paper currency entering the
jails using electronic cash alternatives.
The Property Unit and Facility Security Officers received a total
estimated $3.6 million during FY11. The manner in which this
cash is processed from initial receipt to deposit in the bank is
inefficient and untimely. As illustrated in Exhibit 6, cash received
by Facility Security Officers is counted multiple times as it is
routed through the Property and Fiscal Units to the bank.

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Multnomah County Auditor

Exhibit 6 Flowchart of cash received by Facility Security Officers

Source: Auditor’s Office analysis

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Managing Inmate Funds

Cash received by the Property Unit at booking takes a similar
route as shown in Exhibit 6 except Facility Security Officers are
not involved and cash received is put into a cash register. Each
shift the Property Unit counts cash and balances the cash register.
The Property Unit routes any cash taken out of the register to the
Fiscal Unit through the courier service before it is deposited to the
bank.
Handling cash takes time. The Sheriff’s Office estimates that the
Fiscal Unit spends approximately 2-3 hours per day handling
inmate cash at a cost of $23,000 per year. At the Inverness Jail
cash handling costs approximately $11,000 per year. The Property
Unit at the Detention Center also spends a sizable amount of
their time counting booking cash, balancing the cash register and
recounting cash received by Facility Security Officers. An estimate
of the cost of cash handling for the Property Unit is not available.

Cash machines offer cash
handling efficiencies

Shortly before our audit began, the Sheriff’s Office began
investigating cash handling alternatives to improve efficiency.
There is currently a proposal for installation of a cash counting
and disbursing machine in the Property Unit and cash counting
machines at the Facility Security Desks at each jail. With these
machines cash is only touched once at the time it is received. The
machines, not Sheriff’s Office personnel, will count cash and issue
receipts. Other efficiencies and features of this proposed system
include:
• Cash is deposited to the bank within 24 hours of receipt
• Once cash is deposited into the machine, the amount
deposited is guaranteed
• The Property Unit cash register would not be used except
as a backup
• The Property Unit at the Detention Center or Auxiliary
Unit personnel at Inverness Jail would not have access to or
recount cash received by Facility Security Officers
• The Property Unit would access an electronic report
to record cash received at the Facility Security Desk
facilitating timelier posting
• The Fiscal Unit would not handle cash
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Multnomah County Auditor

• The Fiscal Unit should be able to complete a bank
reconciliation because booking cash would be separated
from release cash
The Sheriff’s Office also has some concerns about using cash
machines, because they are not specifically designed for booking
and release functions. In addition, although productivity gains
would be realized with less cash handling, the cash machines
would increase Inmate Welfare Fund expenses.
Purchasing commissary The Sheriff’s Office is currently in the process of seeking vendors
online reduces cash handling who offer inmate care package purchases using the internet.
in the jails Under the current system, family or friends must bring cash for
commissary purchases to one of the jails for deposit. Commissary
purchases over the internet offer several advantages:
•
•

•

The amount of cash coming into the jails should decrease
Purchasing inmate commissary online through care
packages offers a convenience for the purchaser by
eliminating the need for a visit to the jail facility
Commissary sales may increase

When inmates have a negative account balance, any funds
deposited on their behalf must first be applied to their debt. Family
or friends may choose not to deposit money for commissary
purchases knowing it would be used pay off debt. Commissary
purchases over the internet is one alternative to address this
problem. The Sheriff’s Office is also working on changing the
inmate accounting system to allow inmates with a negative account
balance to purchase a limited amount of commissary items when
they receive funds.
Continue to pursue cash The Auditor’s Office fully supports the Sheriff’s Office efforts to
alternatives to reduce paper make inmate cash handling processes more efficient as well as
currency in the jails their efforts to reduce the amount of paper currency flowing into
and out of inmate trust accounts. Other cash alternatives such as
receiving more money for inmates through the internet could be
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Managing Inmate Funds

used in conjunction with other changes under consideration. The
Sheriff’s Office is looking at a number of options but have not yet
found solutions that completely satisfy their needs. We performed
an extensive investigation of other jurisdictions to examine
alternatives ways of receiving and disbursing funds which could
be used to further reduce paper currency in the jails and cash
handling.
Appendix 1 shows some of the jurisdictions we contacted and how
they reduced paper currency coming into their jails. Jurisdictions
have configured cash alternatives in any number of ways to meet
the unique operational needs of their jails. Receipt alternatives
range from using lobby kiosks or third-party vendors that accept
inmate deposits to full-service, customized vendor solutions that
handle booking, deposits to inmate accounts, and bail transactions.
Some jurisdictions also put remaining inmate funds on debit cards
when they were released.
Entirely eliminating paper currency from the jails is not possible
because inmates have cash in their possession when they are
booked. The proposed cash machines could greatly reduce the
number of times paper currency entering the jails is handled. The
extent to which paper currency can be removed from the jails
through electronic cash alternatives involves several different
organizational divisions and units, who may have differences
in opinion about how to integrate these alternatives into their
Units. Accordingly, there are many variables involved in making
decisions about reducing paper currency in the jails that would
require full participation from multiple stakeholders.
Fees are an important variable for stakeholders to consider.
Typically, vendors of cash alternatives make their money by
charging fees. This cost of removing paper currency from the
jails using electronic cash alternatives is passed on to inmates’
family or friends or to inmates. From our research we found that
electronic cash alternatives are widely used in other jurisdictions
and fees are charged for these services. To allow progress Sheriff’s
Office stakeholders will need to work through different viewpoints
about charging fees.

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Multnomah County Auditor

As shown in Appendix 1, fees generally range from a flat fee to
a percentage of the amount deposited. For example, one vendor
charges a $2.50 fee per credit or debit card kiosk transaction while
another charges fixed fees based on the transaction amount plus
a percentage of the amount over $200. Fees could be an undue
hardship on depositors or inmates if they are too high.
In addition to fees, another variable to consider when investigating
ways to reduce the amount of paper currency in the jails is the
interface of electronic cash alternatives with the inmate accounting
system which contains confidential information. Some jurisdictions
we investigated received funds electronically without using a direct
connection to their inmate accounting system. Public information
such as the inmate identification number assigned by the Sheriff’s
Office, facility name where the inmate is housed and the inmate’s
name can be provided to vendors without allowing them access to
the inmate accounting system.
Electronic cash alternatives have many advantages. Electronic cash
receipts can be convenient for depositors and may provide inmates
with more funds. When inmates have more funds, it is possible that
commissary sales could increase or inmates could payback more
or incur less debt. Facility Security Officers could spend less time
handling cash.
The Property Unit and Facility Security Desks are good candidates
for further investigation of electronic cash alternatives to remove
paper currency from the County’s jails.
Cash alternatives are
available for the
Property Unit

Page 18

The Property Unit is involved in the booking and release process.
Appendix 1 illustrates cash alternatives for other jurisdictions
in the “Booking” and “Inmate Release” columns. As already
discussed, the use of a cash machine is already under consideration
for cash received at booking. The Sheriff’s Office decided against
using debit cards because they do not want to charge inmates debit
card fees. In addition, a check writing system is already in place
and must be used under the Northwest Shuttle Agreement for all
transferred inmates. The Sheriff’s Office is considering a $100
limit on cash issued to released inmates.

Managing Inmate Funds

Cash alternatives are
available for Facility
Security Officers

Facility Security Officers handle two types of cash receipts:
money received on behalf of inmates for commissary or other
items or money for self-bail. Appendix 1 illustrates electronic
cash alternatives of other jurisdictions in the “Deposits to Inmate
Account” and “Bail” columns. The amount of cash that is received
and handled by Facility Security Officers could be reduced by
choosing among the various alternatives that would best fit
Sheriff’s Office operations.
As discussed above, online commissary purchases will help
take paper currency out of the jails. Other options for deposits
include kiosks in jail lobbies, as well as internet and over-thephone deposits. In many cases funds can be deposited to inmate
accounts at all hours. Kiosks generally accept cash, and credit or
debit cards. Some jurisdictions we contacted stopped accepting
paper currency for deposits to inmate accounts. Other jurisdictions
continue to allow cash deposits but offer other electronic options
to depositors for convenience.

The design of inmate cash handling processes should allow the
Fiscal Unit to demonstrate full accountability of inmate funds
Currently, the manner in which cash flows through the jails does
not practically allow the Fiscal Unit to reconcile the inmate
accounting system to the bank and SAP. Cash received by the
jails is also processed by the Fiscal Unit. To best fulfill their role
of monitoring and verifying inmate activity and to protect Fiscal
Unit personnel, the Fiscal Unit should not handle cash. In addition,
timelier posting of certain inmate activity gains some efficiencies.

The Fiscal Unit must be
able to reconcile the inmate
accounting system to the
bank and SAP

As part of its monitoring role the Fiscal Unit should prepare a bank
reconciliation each month that independently verifies that the sum
of all positive balances on the inmate accounting system agrees
with the bank statement and SAP once all timing differences are
taken into account. A bank reconciliation detects errors that could
accumulate over time and is also an important task to detect any
missing funds.
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Multnomah County Auditor

The inmate accounting system cannot be reconciled to the bank
or to the County’s SAP system. Reconciliation problems are not
caused by the inmate accounting system. The Fiscal Unit ensures
inmate account balances are accurate by comparing detailed cash
register activity for each shift to the inmate accounting system
using daily cash register reports and cash register tapes. However,
while inmate accounts on the inmate accounting system can be
entirely accurate, errors can still occur on SAP or cash could be
missing.
Reconciliation problems are caused by current cash handling
processes. The cash register in the Property Unit intermingles
booking and release cash. Further, there is no set cash register
balance that triggers a deposit to the bank. Whether to send register
cash to the Fiscal Unit for deposit into the bank is a judgment call
made by the Property Unit.
When cash is received at booking, it goes into the cash register.
Inmates receive cash from the register upon their release. When
the cash in the register is more than the anticipated cash needed for
inmate releases, cash is taken out of the register, sent to the Fiscal
Unit and deposited into the bank. The result is an intermittent net
cash register deposit of booking cash less release cash. With this
process there is no practical way for the Fiscal Unit to match the
activity of the net cash register amount deposited in the bank to
the booking and release activity recorded on the inmate accounting
system.
In addition to intermingling booking and release cash, the Property
Unit must sometimes wait to get an inmate’s identification number
so that an account can be set up on the inmate accounting system.
In these cases cash has been received but not recorded and causes
difficulty identifying timing differences.

The Fiscal Unit should
correct an Inmate
Welfare Fund accounting
adjustment error
Page 20

The Fiscal Unit needs to pinpoint the amount of an error that has
been causing reconciliation differences since FY06. In FY06,
the Sheriff’s Office made an adjustment to the Inmate Welfare
Fund on SAP to correct problems that resulted from switching the
inmate accounting system over from a mainframe to a client-server

Managing Inmate Funds

platform. The adjustment was incorrect. As a result of this error,
the beginning working capital of the Inmate Welfare Fund has
been materially understated since FY07.
The County General Ledger Unit attempted to perform a
reconciliation in FY07 and concluded that the write-off adjustment
recorded on SAP was too high. We concur with this assessment.
Based on our work with monthly reconciliations from September
2010 to January 2011, we estimate the error is within a range of
$83,000 to $86,000. Once reconciliation differences are exactly
the same for two months, an adjusting entry to the Inmate Welfare
Fund can be made to correct the error.

The Fiscal Unit should
not handle cash

The Sheriff’s Office Fiscal Unit performs monitoring, recording
and independent verification roles for inmate trust accounts,
commissary operations and the Inmate Welfare Fund. The
Fiscal Unit ensures that all inmate activity from the Property
Unit, Facility Security Officers, and Commissary activities are
accurately reflected in inmates’ accounts. To properly carry out
these roles, the Fiscal Unit should not have custody of cash.
The Fiscal Unit currently receives cash, counts it, prepares deposit
slips, records total deposit amounts on the inmate accounting
system, and reconciles deposits to the bank statement. They record
adjusting entries on the inmate accounting system, record receipts
and summary disbursements on SAP, and reconcile the inmate
accounting system to the bank and SAP. Although fiscal duties
are spread out among several Fiscal Unit personnel, individual
duties are still incompatible with the Fiscal Unit’s roles. With
their current duties, by simply having custody of cash Fiscal Unit
personnel would be able to take cash and conceal that it was taken.
This is an inappropriate assignment for fiscal personnel because
they are personally at risk if cash is ever missing regardless of
their innocence.

More timely postings
offer efficiencies

Inmate accounts must be kept as up-to-date as possible. The Fiscal
Unit made many adjustments because activity was posted after
inmates were released. Many of these late postings involved cash
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Multnomah County Auditor

received on behalf of the inmate at the Facility Security desks or
for hygiene kits that are offered when inmates are booked into
custody.
Facility Security Officers check to see if an inmate is still in
custody when cash is received. Between the time the cash is
received and posted, the inmate could be released. When this
happens a positive balance remains on the inmate’s account unless
the full amount deposited is applied to existing debt. If unnoticed,
any positive amount will remain in a former inmate’s account
and ultimately go through the time intensive process of turning
abandoned funds over to the State Division of Lands. When a late
posting of cash is noticed, the Fiscal Unit must issue a check. As
discussed above, the proposed cash machines offer a solution by
allowing the Property Unit to post cash received at the Facility
Security desk more frequently.
The amount of any hygiene kits that are not posted is often
discovered when inmates are transferred to another jurisdiction but
after a check for the wrong amount has been issued. Even though
hygiene kits only cost $1.89, the Fiscal Unit voids the wrong check
and reissues a new one. When inmates with positive balances who
received hygiene kits that were not posted are released to the street,
they will receive too much cash.

The Inmate Funds Log When family or friends deposit money on behalf of an inmate,
should be retained each deposit is recorded on the Inmate Funds Log. The document
establishes an initial control over cash received. If any cash is
not recorded onto the inmate accounting system or is otherwise
missing, the Inmate Funds Log can help isolate the difference.
Presently, the Inmate Funds Log is discarded by the Facility
Security Unit after six months. Facility Security Officers should
send the Inmate Funds Logs from both jails to the Fiscal Unit on a
monthly basis.

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Managing Inmate Funds

The Sheriff’s Office is making improvements to the Inmate
Welfare Fund but some changes are still needed
The remainder of this report examines some specific areas of
the Inmate Welfare Fund including phone revenues, inmate law
libraries, and how indigent inmate charges are absorbed. Because
phone commissions are the largest source of revenue for the
Inmate Welfare Fund, better communication between the Fiscal
Unit and Corrections would help monitor phone activities. The
Sheriff’s Office is currently making progress on plans to reduce
law library costs. Finally, policies and procedures should be
updated and reflect current practices.

Communication between
the Fiscal Unit and
Corrections would help
monitor phone revenues

Approximately 80% of Inmate Welfare Fund revenue is generated
from inmate phone calls. While there are a number of factors
that influence phone revenues, they typically trend with inmate
population. We compared inmate phone revenues with the average
monthly population of the two jails and found some changes in
revenues that could not be explained by changes in population.
We recognize that changes in phone revenues can occur for
several reasons. Operational factors that may have affected
phone revenues were difficult to identify. For example, we
could not reliably identify any operational changes that affected
inmate access to phones because the decline in revenues we were
investigating happened over two years ago.
We did learn that on more than one occasion inmates found
ways to make phone calls without being charged. These
fraudulent calls likely contributed to phone revenue losses. The
Corrections Division discovered the problems and has since made
improvements to its phone system under its new contract.
Monthly, the Fiscal Unit monitors Inmate Welfare Fund phone
revenues and receives phone statement details. The Corrections
Division is responsible for and understands the details of
phone operations. The Fiscal Unit could communicate with the
Corrections Division on a regular basis to share information on
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Multnomah County Auditor

revenue trends. The Corrections Division could then use this
data to timely investigate any operational changes that may have
impacted revenues.

Law library changes will Providing inmates access to the courts is a constitutional
reduce costs requirement and can be accomplished in several ways. The
Sheriff’s Office chose to establish law libraries in each jail to meet
this need. The legal materials in both jails are paper books and
are reviewed for adequacy by the County Attorney’s Office. The
Sheriff’s Office is currently pursuing a solution to make their law
libraries in the jails more cost effective.
Law library expenses have been increasing. Exhibit 7 below
illustrates that from FY05 to FY09, law library expenses had
increased from $98,850 to $149,430 before decreasing to $121,498
in FY11.

Exhibit 7 Law Library Expenditures
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0
FY05

FY06

FY07

FY08

FY09

FY10

FY11

Source: Auditor’s Office analysis of SAP financial information.

From FY05 through FY09 the jails had a total of four law libraries.
To reduce costs, one library was closed in FY10 and another
library closed in FY11. In addition, the Sheriff’s Office attributes
the upward trend to the increasing cost of paper materials for the
libraries.
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Managing Inmate Funds

The Sheriff’s Office has looked at switching from paper-based
libraries to an electronic system several times over the last 10
years. Until recently, the Sheriff’s Office determined that a paperbased system was less expensive than an electronic system. The
Sheriff’s Office is presently investigating an electronic law library
system that would use approximately six kiosks in each jail. This
option is expected to cut law library expenses in half.
Inmate Welfare Fund
revenues are overstated

One of the uses of Inmate Welfare Funds is to assist indigent
inmates. Often, inmates do not have enough funds to pay amounts
billed for indigent inmate commissary, hygiene kits, disciplinary
fees, hearing fees, stamps or other miscellaneous charges.
Amounts actually collected from inmates, if any, may be less than
amounts billed. The extent that amounts billed exceed amounts
collected result in negative inmate account balances. At a later
date, inmates may have money deposited into their accounts, and
the funds will be applied to recover these negative balances.
Currently, Inmate Welfare Fund revenue reflects amounts billed to
inmates. As a result revenues are overstated. In contrast, Inmate
Welfare Fund revenue should actually show inmate amounts
collected plus any amounts recovered from prior months. The
difference between what is currently recorded and what should
be recorded as Inmate Welfare Fund revenues is charged to
the General Fund. Exhibit 8 illustrates these concepts with a
hypothetical example.

Exhibit 8 Inmate Welfare Fund revenues example

Billed to inmates
Collected from inmates
Recovered from prior months
$1000
$650
$200
Currently, the Inmate Welfare Fund would show $1,000 revenue and the General Fund
would be charged a $150 loss.
The Inmate Welfare Fund should only reflect $850 revenues ($650 + $200) and the
General Fund should not be charged.
Source: Auditor’s Office analysis
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Multnomah County Auditor

The General Fund was charged approximately $7,000 for the
first six months of FY10. Management explained that amounts
charged to the General Fund were substantially higher in the past
until stricter limits were recently imposed on the frequency of
indigent inmate commissary along with a significant reduction in
the number of items eligible for indigent commissary. When the
amounts were higher, management decided the losses were too
large to be absorbed by the Inmate Welfare Fund and has continued
the practice of posting these losses to the General Fund.

Units involved with inmate
funds need updated policy
and procedures

We found that the Sheriff’s Office had updated, written policies
and procedures in some, but not all, Units involved with inmate
funds. Because of the importance and interdependent nature of
properly accounting for inmate funds, policies and procedures
must be complete and kept up-to-date.
In April 2011, the Sheriff’s Office updated and the Board approved
a new Inmate Welfare Fund resolution. The new resolution clarifies
the Fund’s purpose, expands listed revenue sources to align with
actual practices, and requires the Inmate Welfare Fund’s annual
budget and all expenditures must be approved by the Inmate
Welfare Committee.
The Sheriff is responsible for appointing an Inmate Welfare
Committee to govern the Inmate Welfare Fund. The Committee’s
current members include the Sheriff, Undersheriff, Chief Deputies
from Corrections, Enforcement and Business Services, the
Inspector of Internal Affairs and the Human Resources Director.
Corrections Division procedures were last updated in FY01.
Revisions are needed to align all sections with current practices.
Special attention should be given to the composition of the Inmate
Welfare Committee. According to Corrections Division procedures
there should be a least six members with at least one member
from Inmate Programs, Fiscal Unit, Property/Commissary, and
Corrections Security Staff. Currently, Inmate Welfare Committee
members are primarily command staff; however, a representative
from the County Attorney’s Office and staff from the other areas
may attend and provide input.

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Managing Inmate Funds

We found that Facility Security Office and Auxiliary Unit cash
handling procedures aligned with current practices. Some of the
Fiscal Unit procedures are detailed in the Business Design Manual
for the inmate accounting system. However, the manual does not
address many of the Fiscal Unit’s activities.
There are several potential changes under investigation that could
have a significant impact on current cash handling practices.
As processes change procedures should be updated as soon as
possible to reflect current practices.

Recommendations

As we conducted this audit the Sheriff’s Office was investigating
current cash handling processes to achieve better efficiency,
making their law libraries more cost effective and soliciting
vendors to administer inmate care packages. These improvements
had not yet been implemented. We encourage the Sheriff’s Office
to continue these efforts.
1. Improve inmate cash processes:
a. To reduce the amount of inmate cash flowing through the
jails, the Sheriff’s Office should continue to pursue electronic
alternatives to receiving cash.
b. To best fulfill their role of monitoring and verifying inmate
cash activity and to protect their personnel, the Fiscal Unit
should not receive or handle cash.
c. Inmate cash handling processes in the jails must be
designed to allow timely reconciliation of inmate funds to the
bank and to SAP. In order to accomplish this:
1. Cash received from booking inmates must be separate
from cash disbursed to inmates upon their release.
2. A set register balance is needed to trigger a withdraw
of register cash for deposit in the bank.
3. A limit must be set on amounts disbursed to inmates
upon release. There is a proposed limit of $100 that
could be further reduced to $50 pending current changes
under consideration.
d. Once inmate funds can be reconciled to the bank and to
SAP, an adjusting entry should be made to the Inmate Welfare
Fund on SAP to correct an accounting adjustment error made
in FY06.

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Multnomah County Auditor

e. The Fiscal Unit should receive and retain the Inmate Fund
Logs on a monthly basis from the Facility Security Office.
2. To reduce the number of inactive positive inmate accounts
as well as corrections made to inmate accounts, cash received at
the Facility Security Desks in both jails should be posted more
frequently. Efficiency could also be improved if the Property Unit
posts hygiene kits provided to inmates closer to the point they are
issued to inmates instead of having the Fiscal Unit post at a later
time.
3. All indigent inmate losses and recoveries should be reflected in
the Inmate Welfare Fund.
4. All organizations in the Sheriff’s Office involved with inmate
trust accounts, commissary or the Inmate Welfare Fund should
update their policy and procedures and reflect any changes made
to cash handling processes. The Fiscal Unit should expand their
procedures beyond the inmate accounting system’s Business
Design Manual.

Scope and
Methodology

The audit’s objectives were to determine whether:
• The processes for inmate cash deposits and disbursements
are efficient
• Adequate controls are in place to fully account for cash
flowing through inmate trust accounts
• Controls are in place to ensure that all revenue from phone
calls is collected
• Inmate law library responsibilities could be more cost
effective
• Appropriate policy and procedures are in place for the
inmate welfare funds and trust accounts
To accomplish the audit’s objectives we first gained an
understanding of inmate trust accounts, commissary operations,
the Inmate Welfare Fund and their interrelationship. To help gain
this understanding we interviewed personnel involved managing
inmate funds and activities including the Sheriff Office Business

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Managing Inmate Funds

Services manager, Corrections Division, Auxiliary Unit, Facility
Security Office, Corrections Health and Fiscal Unit managers,
staff in the Facility Security Office, Property Unit and Fiscal Unit,
and the County Attorney’s Office. We also reviewed polices and
procedures from the Corrections Division, Auxiliary Unit, Facility
Security Office and Fiscal Unit. During the audit we:
• Obtained budget and financial data and conducted a seven
year trend analysis of commissary operations and the
Inmate Welfare Fund
• Observed and diagramed how inmate cash moves through
the jails and the Fiscal Unit
• Received all inmate transaction data from the inmate
accounting system from July 2010 through May 2011,
verified the data’s reliability and conducted tests on the
data
• Conducted an assessment of inmate cash handling controls
• Analyzed reconciliations of the inmate trust fund to the
bank and SAP
• Reviewed alternative cash receipt and disbursement
systems of other jurisdictions
• Monitored Sheriff’s Office efforts to improve cash
handling practices and law libraries
Our audit did not examine all aspects of Inmate Welfare Funds.
Specifically, the Department of Criminal Justice’s Welfare
Funds was not included in our scope. We also did not examine
Corrections Health activities except for its access to inmate
accounting system functions and how often inmate accounts
were archived. We only obtained a preliminary understanding of
commissary operations, inmate volunteer services and Chaplain
services.
We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally
accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require
that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate
evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and
conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the
evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and
conclusions based on our audit objectives.
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Multnomah County Auditor

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Managing Inmate Funds

Responses to Audit

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Multnomah County Auditor

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Appendix

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Multnomah County Auditor

Page 34

Inmate Release

Sacramento County,
California

Pima Coounty, Arizona

Marion County, Oregon

King County, Washington

Page 35

Oregon Department of
Corrections

Bail

EZCard kiosk, Internet and phone deposits
accepted.

TouchPay lobby kiosk, Internet and phone
deposits accepted.

Lobby kiosk, Internet and phone deposits
No electronic options used at booking Check issued by TouchPay vendor
accepted.
EZCard lobby kiosk accepts cash, credit and
debit desposit. Internet and phone
EZCard electronic booking kiosk accepts EZ card release swipe card. No charge transactions accept credit or debit card
deposits. Also offers online inmate gift packs
cash
for first use.
Lobby cash machine accepts cash, credit or
debit deposits. Deposits accepted by Internet,
Combination of cash and checks issued phone and in-person at Western Union. Offers
No electronic options used at booking at release.
Aramark gift services for inmate commissary
Deposits accepted by Internet, phone using
JPay, Access Corrections and Western Union
Does not book inmates
Oregon Trail card issued at release.
and in-person at Western Union. Considering
Investigating bank debit card
lobby Kiosks.

TouchPay accepts deposits over
phone, Internet or kiosk.

Court accepts cash, credit and
debit cards. TouchPay, over
phone, Internet or kiosk.

Fees start at $2.95 for online deposit
less than $20. Increase as deposit
increases.

Not available

--

Use bailbondsmen

Internet transactions range from
EZCard kiosk accepts cash, credit
$4.99 for $20 deposit; $8.99 for $100 and debit card. Inmate can selfdeposit; 8% of amount for +$200
bail with a credit card.

Kiosk and Internet fees range from
$7 per cash transaction to $7 +3.5%
for credit/debit cards

Cashier accepts money orders;
deposits up to $300 accepted online, by phone or inperson kiosk.

Online fees start at 3.99 for $20
Cash, Western Union or EZCard
deposit up to $9.99 for $200 deposit. Kiosk

Kiosk and Internet fees range from
$7 per cash transaction to $7 +3.5%
for credit/debit cards

JailATM accepts Internet and phone deposits. $2.50 for each kiosk transaction (may Cash, credit and debit cards
Lobby kiosk also accepts cash and credit card be additional fees for credit card
accepted. A surcharge is added to
deposits.
use).
credit and debit card transactions.

Fees start at $3.95 for online deposit
Uses GovPay to accept bond
of $20. Increase as deposit
payment by Internet or phone.
increases.

Access Corrections accepts Internet and phone Fees start at $2.95 for on-line
Combination of cash and checks issued deposits. Lobby kiosk accepts cash and credit deposits and $3.95 for telephone
Currently researching booking machine at release.
cards.
deposits.

EZCard electronic booking kiosk accepts EZ card release swipe card. No charge
cash
for first use.

TouchPay debit card release

Researching booking options to
Columbia County, Oregon eliminate cash.

Davis County, Utah

Debit card release. No charge for first
use.

No electronic options used at booking

Fees for Electronic Deposits

No fee for cash or debit transactions
Recently switched vendors. Deposits accepted at kiosk. Internet fee is $8 for up to Jail kiosk accepts cash, credit and
at lobby kiosk and Internet.
debit card.
$150 deposit.

Deposits to Inmate Account

Check issued at business office during
business hours. Considering debit card
JPay accepts Internet and phone deposits.
at cost of $3 each.

TurnKey kiosk system will accept cash at
Check issued by TurnKey vendor
booking. Coins go into property bag

Booking

Chatham County, Georgia
Electronic booking kiosk accepts cash
(1600+ADP)

Boone County, Indiana

Benton County, Oregon

Jurisdictions

Examples Electronic Options Employed by Other Jurisdictions
Managing Inmate Funds

Multnomah County Auditor

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