FLOYD COUNTY, Indiana — Floyd County Jail is transitioning all mail to digital June 7. Inmates will now use tablets, in an effort to cut down on drugs getting inside the jail.
"Things have evolved over the years," Jail Commander Capt. David Furman said. "You can buy paper that is lased with K2 or synthetic paper it's expensive, but they sell it for a much higher profit on the inside of the jail."
He said there have been hundreds of cases over the years, but in the past five years, they have decreased dramatically due to the jail adopting a new process of accepting mail.
The jail has contracted with Securus Technologies, a company that focuses on communication with incarcerated individuals. Each of the tablets is restricted with no access to search engines like Google or Yahoo.
"When Securus first launched these tablets, they implemented them in a correction facility and offered inmates $1000 if they could hack the tablet. No one was successful in doing that," Furman said.
Floyd County is outsourcing its mail to Missouri. Receiving and sending mail through the tablets is free to inmates. Some options like music or book cost money.
Furman said going digital is not an added expense for the jail, taxpayers, or inmates.
►Contact reporter Elle Smith at esmith@whas11.com or on her social media outlets: Facebook or Twitter.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.