To help collect more than $300,000 in inmate debt, the Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office is turning to the Internet.<\/p>\n
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin plans to roll out Pay My Jailer, a Web-based collection management system, next week in an attempt to retrieve more than $311,000. The debt, which covers items including booking fees, commissary charges and medical expenses, dates back a decade, Nowlin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sheriff\u2019s office will pay up front to cover these costs, and the inmates are supposed to reimburse us,\u201d Nowlin said.<\/p>\n
Last spring, during his first year as sheriff, Nowlin dispatched a collections clerk to determine the organization\u2019s total inmate debt. Staff worked to compile the data for nearly nine months, he said.<\/p>\n
Nowlin said he visited with a Pay My Jailer vendor at last week\u2019s winter meeting of the Colorado Sheriff\u2019s Association. More than a dozen county jails across Colorado use the service, according to the company\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Dinsmore, chief administrative officer for the San Miguel County Sheriff\u2019s Office, confirmed that the agency signed up to use the online service in 2014, but the department\u2019s record management system wasn\u2019t compatible, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil something changes, we won\u2019t be working with them,\u201d Dinsmore said of Pay My Jailer.<\/p>\n
Based in Kentucky, Pay My Jailer is one of several services offered by Advent Financial Services free of charge to law enforcement agencies. No software has to be purchased or installed.<\/p>\n
The third-party firm profits by charging the delinquent inmate for using the payment service, and according to the company\u2019s website, collections \u2013 100 percent of which is returned to the sheriff\u2019s office \u2013 increase by more than a third.<\/p>\n
\u201cPay My Jailer spends all the time going after the delinquent bills like a collection agency,\u201d Nowlin said, \u201cand all of the money comes back to the taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attempts to reach other Colorado law enforcement agencies that reportedly utilize Pay My Jailor for comment were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
Policies updated<\/p>\n
In other news, Nowlin informed Montezuma County commissioners this week that his office has updated and adopted 157 new policies. Included on 689 pages, the revised standards comprise best practices from both state and federal levels, Nowlin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese new guidelines bring this agency up to the professional standards that are required,\u201d Nowlin told The Journal.<\/p>\n
Employees have 30 days to review the policies, which cover multiple topics including arrests, finances and investigations. Nowlin said his administration is now working to revamp a supplemental detention policy.<\/p>\n
To complement the updated agency standards, Nowlin requires deputies and jailors to complete daily training bulletins, which serve to brief employees on policy procedures. Nowlin said he collects data on the testing to monitor each employee\u2019s understanding of department guidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re making great strides,\u201d Nowlin said.<\/p>\n