Keefe Commissary Network Strips Prisoner Property
In February the Keefe Canteen Network discontinued the Remington electric razor, a $62.00 dollar purchase prisoners must rely on to shave. Single use disposable razors were discontinued in 2021.
The institutional store is an essential privilege for incarcerated people nation wide. In Massachusetts the DOC has launched a war on personal property and many canteen items have been removed and never replaced. Since the beginning of 2024 Brother typewriter ribbon is discontinued, so is Skull Candy headphones. In certain instances Keefe says manufacturer's cancelled production, like with Van Heusen dress shirts and sweaters. Even the sale of toilet paper was discontinued. Many snack and food items have been completely removed and never substituted or replaced. The relationship between Keefe Corporation, the largest vendor to prison systems nationally, and Massachusetts DOC is complicated and fraught. Prison officials receive a kick back of at least %17 percent of sales. Money used for an inmate fund and rank and file slush fund. Lately, Keefe say's: ''our vendors have discontinued production'' or ''supply chain disruptions'' have caused price increases. The pandemic contributed to the loss of many canteen items. But, prison officials will order items removed for cause. Making jailhouse alcohol, for example, caused sugar and sugary items discontinued. Assault and suicide contributed to the loss of single use disposable razors. Lately, clothing has been bit-by-bit stripped from the Keefe Canteen Network and not replaced. In the past, for example, until about 2021, prisoners in Massachusetts could purchase Chino dress pants in blue and black. They were discontinued. As have been Reebok sneakers and other pieces of clothing allowed for decades. In 2022, prison authorities started designating personal property as contraband when a prisoner is moved from medium or low security to the states' only maximum security institution Souza-Baranowski. Many prisoner's who owned their property for years suddenly are forced to throw it away as contraband. For too long the Massachusetts Department of Correction has been stripping away civil rights and essential privileges. The DOC know they can get away with it because fewer incarcerated people challenge their decisions. In the past prison officials had to fight an army of jailhouse lawyers - not so much today. Prison authorities have made fighting lawsuits by prisoners much too difficult. And the DOC counts on this when they strip away personal property and essential rights and privileges. In NCCI-GARDNER and MCI-Norfolk, the property department force inmates to throw away legal papers. In Gardner, for example, prisoners can only keep legal work that can fit in one box. And, clothing and appliances are routinely thrown away or not allowed by officials. The grievance process is not effective. Anyone locked up knows it's a waste of time. And nobody wants to fight the administration over a losing battle involving property. Today's prison population in Massachusetts is just 6000. And prison officials are doing what they want with it. There is no end in sight.