From tube socks to no-shank toothbrushes: What Sedgwick County buys for inmates

No-shank toothbrushes. Sports bras from size 32 to 54. Brown boxers from size small to size 6XL. Beige blankets. Suicide smocks. Cases of balsam shampoo. Lice combs.

The list of clothing, toiletries and linens for use at Sedgwick County’s jails and corrections programs gives the public an inside look at the county’s expenses for people in trouble with the law.

The county asked 57 vendors to bid on such items for inmates.

A suicide smock – designed to help prevent someone from committing suicide – costs about $75.

A pair of black low-top Velcro canvas shoes – in sizes 5 to 17 – costs about $7. A dozen pairs of white one-size-fits-all tube socks cost about $4.50.

Medical scrub-style inmate pants – sizes small to 8XL in red, green, orange and tan – cost about $7 to $8.50 each, depending on the size. Matching shirts cost about $7 to $8 each.

Toenail clippers? The kind with no file – a file could be used as a weapon – cost about $7 for a case of 12.

A 3-inch double-sided lice comb rings up at $1.65 for a dozen.

A case of super-long maxi thin feminine pads with wings costs about $19 for a case of 288. Tampons cost about $41 for a case of 500.

Alcohol- and scent-free deodorant costs about $24 for a case of 12.

A dozen “institutional” 22-inch by 44-inch bath towels cost $16.50.

And those no-shank toothbrushes? They cost just less than $50 for a case of 100.

Joe Thomas, director of the county’s purchasing department, said the bid board recommended contracting for almost all of the 122 different items with Bob Barker Co. Inc. – no relation to the Bob Barker of “The Price Is Right” fame – for three years with two one-year options to renew. The county will buy inmate uniforms from Goodwill Industries of Kansas.

The county spent $33,912 with Bob Barker last year for items for the sheriff’s office and $26,625 for items for the corrections department. It spent $1,674 last year with Goodwill for items for the sheriff’s office.

This story was originally published January 7, 2015 at 6:25 AM with the headline "From tube socks to no-shank toothbrushes: What Sedgwick County buys for inmates."