The New Mexico Corrections Department recently began operating its own prison commissaries instead of contracting with a private vendor for the service, a move officials say has drastically reduced prices for inmates.

Cutting out the middleman will allow the department to offer the same products at the same or reduced prices, and generate money that will be reinvested into its Corrections Industries Division — an enterprise fund that operates independently from the department’s general budget, according to officials.

The move may even allow the department to increase profits by expanding the service to other facilities such as county jails, the divisions' Deputy Director James Yates said in a phone interview.

"To be honest, I just think we can do a better job," Yates added.

Commissarie

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