KOAM TV 7 Joplin and PittsburgFirms tour Jasper County jail before making bids to make repairs

Firms tour Jasper County jail before making bids to make repairs

Contractors hoping to get the job of making repairs to the Jasper County jail get a first hand look at what's needed.

Representatives of six firms toured the jail in Carthage, Missouri, checking out its electronic locking systems.

Officials say they expect the job to take up to six months and cost between $500,000 and $600,000 to replace the jails security system.

Jail supervisors say inmates can jimmy many of the locks and get out of their cells.

Some companies came from as far away as Wisconsin to bid the job and say the jail's current system is archaic.

"You walk into facilities like this, see what these poor people have been dealing with all these years, and your heart goes out to them," says Jeff Pronschinske of Arnold & O'Sheridan.  "This technology is so old, it's time to bring them into the 21st century and it would make their job a lot easier.  It would make their facility more secure and safe."