By C1 Staff
Companies are focusing on the captive audiences in correctional facilities, churning out gadgets that are see-through to allow corrections officers to check for drugs, weapons or other contraband.
Swintec, a New Jersey company that supplies clear typewriters to inmates, says they haven’t tapped all of the 2-million-plus inmates in America just yet, but they’re seeing more sales each year, reports NBC News.
It doesn’t end at typewriters, either – corrections-approved electronics include headphones, radios, and 15-inch flat screen TVs. They’re constructed to be “prison safe,” which means see-through materials and sealed with “security screws.”
Another company named Keefe Group dubs itself the “nation’s leading supplier” of prison-ready products and electronics, including televisions, typewriters, CD players, portable radios, fans and clocks.
However, it is something the company would like to keep out of the media.
U.S. inmates are expected to spend $750 million in clear electronics, according to an industry analyst at IBISWorld. This figure includes only the sale of goods inside prisons.
“The prison electronics market will likely become larger in coming years as states are allowing prisoners access to more electronics such as tablets,” the analyst said.
Though the public might frown on this practice, both the companies and corrections officials argue that allowing inmates these gadgets helps the convicted to better themselves.
“They give inmates something to do on a daily basis, rather than sit there and be idle, thinking about what else they can do next,” a spokesperson from Swintec said.
While some inmates are using typewriters for their intended purposes and cranking out books behind bars, others are being used to run gambling operations, while still others are using them to complete legal work in their cells, according to NBC News.
“Nobody every takes apart a typewriter because the thing is just too expensive,” said one inmate. “And the kind of people who have typewriters are not the kind of people who need weapons.”