N. Virginia envisions prisoners who buck the system

Jail officials in Northern Virginia are considering charging inmates for each day they are behind bars, to help pay for upkeep.

Officials in Alexandria and Fairfax County said they are working to enact a program that would require state and local inmates to pay a daily $1 fee, which in some cases would help cover meal expenses.

“We’re looking at doing a fee program. That could be a big boost to us,” said Maj. James Whitley of the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the county’s Adult Detention Center in Fairfax City.

The Fairfax County jail houses about 1,200 inmates.

Capt. David Rocco of the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office said the city is “still working” on the possibility of imposing a daily fee on inmates at the city jail.

“We haven’t made a final decision yet,” Capt. Rocco said.

In July, the Virginia General Assembly authorized local governments to charge each inmate a daily fee of up to $1. The fees have been implemented in jails in Portsmouth, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

The program is about to get started in Harrisonburg, Va.

Rockingham County Sheriff Don Farley said he expects to start charging jail fees as early as January. He said the $1 fee his office plans to charge will help defray the cost of the county jail in Harrisonburg, near the West Virginia state line.

The Rockingham jail now holds 15 federal and 245 state and local prisoners.

“I first got the idea in Colorado when I learned they have [automated teller machines] in their prisons,” Sheriff Farley said.

Federal rules prohibit the $1 daily charges, so federal inmates won’t have to pay the fee, Sheriff Farley said. Indigent prisoners also will be exempt, but they won’t be allowed to use the canteen, where prisoners can buy snacks, magazines and other leisure treats.

“The canteen is just a luxury,” Sheriff Farley said.

Still, the jail could earn as much as $245 a day from state and local inmates, he said.

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