In California, an ATM is being use to cut down on fraud, theft and mismanagement — in jail.
With help from new kiosks installed at the Mendocino County jail, staff no longer have to put an inmate’s money in an envelope and count it two or three times.
The “EZ” booking kiosks allow jail staff to put money into a machine that counts the money, generates a receipt and then puts the money into the inmate banking system.
“Basically we are trying to get out of the money handling business,” Corrections Lt. John Bednar said. “We are trying to get the human error part out of it.”
Sheriff Tom Allman … noted that the system frees up time for staff. He also said he expects problems with errors or inmates who claim possession of $1,000, for example, to be eliminated by the machines.
“I expect a zero percent mistake ratio with this system,” Allman said.
…Right now, there is one kiosk in the intake area of the jail and another in the booking area, as more money often shows up during booking.
A third kiosk is in the lobby area where deposits can be made to inmate accounts. (The) kiosk in the jail lobby has the capability to accept inmate bail payments and kiosks can accept bail paid with credit cards or debit cards.
Family members can even load money into an inmate’s account online.
These are specially-designed kiosks, not general purpose ATMs. But it shows the increasingly creative ways people are using basic ATM technology.
