SC Jail Cigarette Privileges
Cigarettes are prohibited in South Carolina prisons but treated as a privilege in the Spartanburg County jail. Reported in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
Powers tried banning cigarettes years ago after issuance of a county ordinance, but two officers began selling cigarettes for $1 apiece, paper matches for 10 cents and a “striker” for 50 cents. The officers were fired.
The Department of Corrections prohibited cigarettes to all inmates and employees in January 2008. Officers are patted down daily to prevent contraband cigarettes being brought into the facilities.
Spokesman Josh Gelinas said the department conducted smoking cessation seminars and distributed nicotine gum to prison inmates before the ban. Gelinas said corrections officials have observed a higher demand for tobacco than other illicit substances and continue to monitor attempts to smuggle cigarettes into facilities.
Jail Director Larry Powers said, based on studies and personal experience, he believes allowing inmates controlled access to cigarettes prevents a black market from developing to sell cigarettes and reduces the personnel hours required to enforce such a ban.
Powers said the legality of cigarette purchases “on the outside” as opposed to narcotics leads to an ample supply for those who might be tempted to smuggle banned cigarettes. Based on that, as well as employees’ desire to smoke, Powers chose to reinstate cigarettes that are sold in packs through the jail’s canteen as a privilege and designate an outside exercise area as the place where inmates can smoke. Powers also designated areas where staff can smoke. He said a survey conducted a few years ago revealed that about 70 percent of Spartanburg County jail employees smoke.
Generic cigarettes are sold for $4.90 per pack, and name brand cigarettes are sold for $5.52 per pack, Powers said. Those prices will go up if a proposed increase in state taxes is passed. The money from the cigarette and other canteen purchases is used to buy basketballs, checkers and chess sets and televisions for inmate use, Powers said.
Last week’s temporary move of female inmates from the main facility on California Avenue to the former jail next to the Spartanburg County Courthouse — now called Annex I — required creation of a separate smoking policy. Some women complained this week about stale air, warm temperatures and problems using the phone.
Powers said the complaints were unfounded. He said Annex I, which is usually used to hold inmates before their court appearances, was inspected and approved by the state as a temporary housing facility. He said ventilation is “somewhat restricted” in Annex I, which was built in 1956 and first occupied in 1958, because officials place plastic over windows to keep in the heat during the winter.
Plans to replace the current windows were put on hold about two years ago because of funding. Powers said the phone service provider worked on correcting issues with the phones this week. Many inmates fumed about not being able to smoke as many cigarettes as they could before the move.
Powers said because Annex I does not have a sprinkler system, the inmates housed there are not allowed to possess smoking materials. Female inmates who request a cigarette are given one at no charge during their outdoor time in a fenced-in area, and the cigarette butts are collected before the inmates return to the building. Powers reminded the female inmates they are in jail.
“The female inmates are right in that they cannot purchase and possess cigarettes, but they can smoke if they retain that privilege, albeit limited,” Powers said. “Again, smoking is not a right. Rather, it is a privilege.”
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