An automated kiosk system that would allow inmates in Miami-Dade County (FL) jails to purchase commissary products and even file complaints has been delayed for more than a year because of software issues, reports the Miami Herald. Some 50 kiosk machines were scheduled to be deployed late last year but now probably won't be in place until early next spring.
The kiosk program, designed to speed up commissary purchases, is part of a contract between Miami-Dade Corrections and Aramark Correctional Services in which Aramark would pay the county a 39-percent commission on sales, generating an estimated $4.4 million over the four-year life of the deal. Currently, inmates must fill out paper forms to request commissary purchases, which leads to delays of a week or more before actual receipt of the goods—a particular problem if the inmate had been released in the interim because it means a lengthy and inefficient refund process.