Polk sheriff won't cover inmate undies

He changed the menu at Polk County's jail, directing cooks to dish up less-expensive food. He banned basketball, ordering inmates to uproot the jail's hoops. And he changed the jail's TV options to favor educational viewing rather than sports and violent programming.

Now Polk Sheriff Grady Judd is taking on skivvies. His latest cost-saving measure: stop providing free underwear to male inmates.

"There's no state law; there's no federal law that says we have to provide underwear in the county jail," Judd said.

The jail will sell white boxers for $4.48 a pair and white briefs for $2.54 a pair — to inmates who choose to wear underwear.

Judd presented the idea to county commissioners Thursday, saying the plan would save $45,000 a year.

"Why shouldn't they pay like the rest of us pay?" the sheriff said. "We pay to maintain the county jail; to keep them there. Certainly they can pay their way as much as they can afford."

"This is the county jail; it's not a welfare program," he said.

Hillsborough jails and the state's prisons provide free undergarments for inmates.

"We provide the inmates with their clothing and they don't have to pay for it, and that includes their underwear," said Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the state's Department of Corrections. "They can purchase underwear if they want a different kind or more pairs than we give them."

In a cost-saving measure that began last year, some male inmates in state prisons receive boxers made of recycled bed sheets. In one year it saves about $11,000, corrections officials said.

Generally, underwear supplied to inmates is purchased by the corrections department from PRIDE Industries. The standard issue is four pair of boxers and four T-shirts for men. The standard issue for women is four bras and seven pairs of panties.

Male inmates can buy three packs of Hanes boxers, with prices ranging from $7.92 to $12.63 depending on size, or two packs of Players boxers, with prices ranging from $12.38 to $13.22.

Female inmates can buy three packs of Hanes Her Way briefs for $6.12 to $7.89, depending on size. They can buy Just My Size bras for $14.38 each, Hanes Cotton Curve bras for $7.70 and Champion Sports bras for $16.99. Don Leach, former vice president of the American Jail Association, said he is aware of other jails that don't issue free underwear to inmates.

"Inmates don't have a constitutional right to underwear," he said. "It's well within the discretion of the sheriff to not provide inmates with the undergarments. Of course, from the other side of it, he (Judd) might have to increase his laundry cycle to cut down on unhygienic practices because you don't want inmates walking around with soiled clothing on."