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Wiki source code of CH 04 Inmate Mail

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1 **Washington County Sheriff's Office**
2
3 **CORRECTIONS DIVISION**
4
5 Policy Manual
6
7
8 Volume: CH
9
10 Services and Programs
11
12 Chapter: 04
13
14 Inmate Mail
15
16
17 Replaces and/or Supersedes:
18
19 PH 01, PH 02, PH 03, PH 04, PH 09, PH 11, PH 20, OD-05-004-A, 11/10/2014
20
21 Published:
22
23 08/31/2015
24
25 Date Reviewed:
26
27 04/06/2021
28
29
30 Sheriff Cory C. Pulsipher
31
32 Chief Deputy Jake Schultz
33
34
35 **__TABLE OF CONTENTS__**
36
37 CH 04_101 Definitions
38
39 CH 04_102 References
40
41 CH 04_103 General
42
43 CH 04_104 Addressing Mail
44
45 CH 04_105 Legal Mail
46
47 CH 04_106 Delivery Schedule
48
49 CH 04_107 Outside Correspondence
50
51 CH 04_108 Screening and Reading Mail
52
53 CH 04_109 Rejecting Mail
54
55 CH 04_110 Sexually Oriented Publications or Material
56
57 CH 04_111 Inflammatory Publications or Material
58
59 CH 04_112 Publisher-Only Rule
60
61 CH 04_113 Education and Religious Courses
62
63 CH 04_114 Professional Mail
64
65 CH 04_115 Volume of Letters
66
67 CH 04_116 Personal Mail
68
69 CH 04_117 Packages
70
71 CH 04_118 Postal Supplies
72
73 CH 04_119 Cash and Other Negotiable Instruments
74
75 CH 04_120 Media Correspondence
76
77 CH 04_121 Electronic Communication
78
79
80 **CH 04_101 __DEFINITIONS__**
81
82 1. WCSO: Washington County Sheriff's Office
83 1. PCF: Purgatory Correctional Facility
84 1. USPS: United States Postal Service
85 1. Sexually Explicit: Actual, simulated, or depicted conduct including sexual intercourse (including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, oral-anal), bestiality, masturbation, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person or animal. Any depiction where the viewer can observe any part of the genitals or pubic area of any depicted person, or the breasts of any depicted female person.
86
87 **CH 04_102 __REFERENCES__**
88
89 1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Standards:
90 11. 26.
91 1. Utah Counties Insurance Pool:
92 11. ML-V.A.6.
93 1. Utah Sheriffs' Association Jail Standards:
94 11. E01.01.01: Written Inmate Personal Mail Policies and Procedures Required
95 11. E01.02.01: Function of Mail Regulations
96 11. E01.02.02: Delivery Schedule
97 11. E01.02.03: Volume of Letters
98 11. E01.02.04: Length or Size of Letters
99 11. E01.02.05: Providing Writing Supplies and Postage
100 11. E01.02.06: Outside Correspondents
101 11. E01.02.07: Screening and Reading Mail
102 11. E01.02.08: Sexually Oriented Publications or Material
103 11. E01.02.09: Inflammatory and Gang-Related Publications or Material
104 11. E01.02.10: Rejecting Incoming Publications: Content Neutral
105 11. E01.02.11: Rejecting Publications: All or Nothing Rule
106 11. E01.02.12: Corresponding with Media
107 11. E01.03.01: Opening and Inspecting Mail
108 11. E01.03.02: Reading Mail
109 11. E01.03.03: Process for Rejecting Mail
110 11. E01.04.01: Publisher Only Rule
111 11. E01.04.02: Packages
112 11. E 01.04.03: Cash, Money Orders, Checks, and Other Negotiable Instruments
113
114 **CH 04_103 __GENERAL__**
115
116 1. Policy:
117 11. PCF shall have a mail system which:
118 111. Permits inmates to send and receive legal and personal mail;
119 111. Allows inmates to receive approved publications; and
120 111. Functions consistent with the legitimate safety, security, and other legitimate interests of the jail.
121 1. Rationale:
122 11. Mail is an important means of assisting inmates to maintain family and community ties while incarcerated. Unfortunately, inmates may abuse the mail system to attempt to introduce contraband, conspire to violate the law or jail security, or otherwise frustrate the legitimate interests of the jail. Therefore, mail must be regulated and handled in a manner which does not compromise jail interests of safety, security, order, and treatment.
123
124 **CH 04_104 __ADDRESSING MAIL__**
125
126 1. Policy
127 11. Inmates' incoming mail shall be addressed with the following clearly printed on the card, publication or front of the envelope:
128 111. First and last name of the addressee;
129 111. At least first initial and last name of sender; and
130 111. Sender's complete address
131 11. Inmates' outgoing mail shall be addressed with the following clearly printed on the card, publication, or front of the envelope:
132 111. Inmate's first and last name;
133 111. Inmate's name number;
134 111. PCF's name;
135 111. The return address; and
136 111. Receiver's complete address.
137 1. Rationale
138 11. Mail clearly addressed to the individual inmate is necessary to maintain the order and efficiency of the mail system at the facility.
139
140 **CH 04_105 __LEGAL MAIL__**
141
142 1. Policy:
143 11. Inmates may access legal counsel via standard mail (USPS).
144 11. Legal mail shall not be denied or restricted.
145 11. Inmates may purchase additional paper, envelopes, and postage from the PCF commissary for legal correspondence purposes.
146 11. Legal mail includes mail in communication with legal counsel to or from inmates.
147 11. Legal mail shall be identified by the sender by writing “legal” on the outside of the envelope to notify PCF staff that the contents contain material that is entitled to legal mail privileges.
148 11. Legal mail shall display the name and address of the sender on the outside of the envelope.
149 11. Legal mail may be verified for authenticity and checked for contraband. Legal mail shall be opened by PCF staff in the presence of the inmate sending or receiving it, except when contamination is suspected.
150 11. Legal mail shall not be read. A cursory scan of the documents to verify the legal nature therof is permitted.
151 11. Delivery of legal mail shall be documented in the jail computer system.
152 11. Abuse of legal mail privileges shall be documented in the jail computer system and disciplinary actions shall be enforced.
153 1. Rationale:
154 11. Access to courts and legal counsel is a fundamental constitutional right.
155
156 **CH 04_106 __DELIVERY SCHEDULE__**
157
158 1. Policy:
159 11. Incoming mail shall be delivered Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
160 11. Incoming mail should be delivered to inmates within 24 hours of the mail being received by the jail, excluding weekends and holidays.
161 11. Outgoing mail should be mailed out the day it is received from the inmate, except mail which is:
162 111. Received after the close of business day, which shall be posted the following working day;
163 111. Received on weekends or holidays, which shall be posted the following working day;
164 111. Held for translation, which shall be posted within two working days; or
165 111. Held for violation of law or jail regulation. Mail may be held or restricted for disciplinary reasons due to specific mail-related violations. Such violations must be documented and referred to a Disciplinary Hearing Officer (reference policy: [[CG 07 Punitive Discipline>>doc:Policy.Corrections.CG 07 Punitive Discipline.WebHome]]).
166 1. Rationale:
167 11. Restrictions or limitations on inmate access to mail are justified if they are reasonable and further a legitimate governmental interest.
168 11. Delaying mail unnecessarily or failing to staff the mail function sufficiently to avoid unreasonable delay may result in a civil rights claim.
169 11. The courts have not established clearly that any delay in mail is automatically a constitutional violation.
170 11. Weekend delivery of mail has not been required by the courts.
171 11. Delays or temporarily withdrawing mail as a punishment for a disciplinary violation serves a legitimate penological interest by making disciplinary punishment less comfortable.
172
173 **CH 04_107 __OUTSIDE CORRESPONDENTS__**
174
175 1. Policy:
176 11. Inmates are responsible for informing their friends, family or other correspondence of PCF's mail rules and regulations. Inmates shall be permitted to correspond with whomever they wish outside the jail, except that the jail may prohibit:
177 111. Written correspondence with inmates in other correctional facilities; and
178 111. Written correspondence which jail officials reasonably believe would jeopardize the safety, security, order, discipline, or treatment interests of the jail.
179 111. Inmates' outgoing personal mail shall be mailed on a postcard (as described in CH 04_113), or in an envelope for legal, professional or specially approved purposes, with the following clearly printed on the front:
180 1111. Inmate's first and last name;
181 1111. Inmate's name number;
182 1111. PCF's name;
183 1111. The return address; and
184 1111. Receiver's complete address.
185 1. Rationale:
186 11. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld policies which prohibit written inmate-to-inmate correspondence and other written correspondence which would jeopardize the legitimate penological interests of the jail.
187
188 **CH 04_108 __SCREENING AND READING MAIL__**
189
190 1. Policy:
191 11. Incoming mail shall be opened and inspected by PCF staff for contraband or prohibited content prior to delivery to inmates.
192 11. Outgoing mail may be opened and inspected for contraband after receiving from the inmate and prior to being sent out of the facility.
193 11. Electronic inmate mail shall be inspected for prohibited content.
194 11. Mail may be opened and inspected during cell or area searches, if the mail is in the cell or area being searched.
195 11. Jail officials may screen, read, and, if necessary, refuse to deliver personal letters, publications, and other non-privileged mail. However, the objective underlying the screening policies, procedures, and, regulations shall:
196 111. Further legitimate penological interests;
197 111. Be rationally related to those objectives; and
198 111. Be content neutral, except as otherwise set forth in policy.
199 11. If publications or other personal communications are rejected on the basis of content, the entire publication should be rejected rather than removing the offending pages, passages, or words.
200 1. Rationale:
201 11. Correspondence between inmates and the free world provides a means of introducing contraband into the jail and planning actions which would jeopardized jail security, safety, order, and other legitimate interests. Opening and inspecting mail assists in the interdiction of contraband. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the need to open and inspect mail to protect security and other interests. Failure to inspect incoming or outgoing mail has the potential of reducing jail security, increasing risk of harm to staff members and other inmates, and impeding mission accomplishment.
202 11. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Turner v. Safley, set reasonableness as the standard for reviewing inmate mail. The court identified several factors that are relevant to, and that serve to channel, the reasonableness inquiry.
203 11. The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that if a publication contains portions which should be rejected, the entire publication should be refused rather than simply tearing out the offending material.
204
205 **CH 04_109 __REJECTING MAIL__**
206
207 1. Policy:
208 11. If any publication or other mail is rejected, the rejection shall be documented in the jail computer system and the sender, if known, and the addressee shall be notified in writing of the:
209 111. Rejection of the correspondence;
210 111. Reasons that the correspondence was rejected; and
211 111. Process for informally appealing the rejection to the Corrections Chief Deputy.
212 11. Reasons that incoming and outgoing mail may be rejected include, but are not limited to:
213 111. Material depicting activities that present a significant risk of physical violence or group disruption, for example, material dealing with the subjects of self-defense or survival, weaponry, armaments, explosives, or incendiary devices;
214 111. Information regarding escape plots, plans to commit illegal activities or to violate PCF rules or facility guidelines;
215 111. Information regarding the production of drugs or alcohol;
216 111. Sexually explicit material, as defined in this policy;
217 111. Threats, extortion, obscenity, or gratuitous profanity;
218 111. Cryptographies or other codes that may be used as a form of communication;
219 111. Mail with postcard markings or information other than the return address and the recipient's address;
220 111. Correspondence to or from another inmate;
221 111. No return address;
222 111. Use of PCF forms, other than as intended;
223 111. Photographs exceeding 5X7 inches;
224 111. Polaroid style photographs;
225 111. Stickers, tape, glitter, glue, fragrances, paint, crayons, markers or other unknown substances;
226 111. “Bill me later” correspondence;
227 111. Personal mail that has not been pre-approved or is not on a postcard as designated in CH 04_115;
228 111. Defaced or altered postcards;
229 111. Plastic or wrappings on postcards;
230 111. Oversized or undersized postcard; Catalog requests (catalogs for authorized purchases will be maintained by the Programming Unit and are available for inmate use);
231 111. Other contraband. A package received without the Corrections Chief Deputy’s prior authorization is considered contraband; and
232 111. Correspondence in anyway used to circumvent the requirements or prohibitions of this policy, including correspondence posing as mail from a category other than its true classification.
233 1. Rationale:
234 11. The person with whom the inmate is corresponding may not be familiar with the jail's mail regulations, and thus, would be unaware that he/she was in violation of the regulations. The sender, even if aware of the regulations, may wish to argue that the correspondence did not create a violation. The sender has a right to expect delivery of mail to the inmate to whom it is addressed, unless the mail violates the law or is contrary to a jail rule which has a valid, rational connection to a legitimate penological interest. The inmate is also entitled to know if, and why, a piece of mail was rejected.
235
236 **CH 04_110 __SEXUALLY ORIENTED PUBLICATIONS OR MATERIAL__**
237
238 1. Policy:
239 11. Sexually oriented publications or other materials may be rejected if the content would or could:
240 111. Violate state obscenity laws;
241 111. Pose a threat to the security, good order, or discipline of the jail, or would facilitate criminal activity;
242 111. Exacerbate tensions and lead indirectly to disorder, even if they did not lead directly to violence;
243 111. Encourage or support a tendency to objectify other persons;
244 111. Undermine treatment goals; or
245 111. Create a hostile work environment for staff or other inmates.
246 11. Sexually explicit material, as defined in this policy, shall not be permitted.
247 1. Rationale:
248 11. State law makes it unlawful to distribute pornographic material.
249 11. While the First Amendment generally protects access to sexually oriented materials which do not otherwise violate valid federal or state obscenity laws (e.g., child pornography), the legitimate penological interests of corrections management justify greater restriction of access to such material. Admission of publications may lead directly to violence or exacerbate tensions and lead indirectly to disorder. Sexually explicit materials may hamper treatment efforts among the sex-offender population. Thus, it is necessary to restrict the introduction and inmate possession of sexually oriented materials.
250 11. Sexually explicit materials if viewed by other inmates or staff members may be offensive to such persons; thus, creating a hostile work environment.
251
252 **CH 04_111 __INFLAMMATORY PUBLICATIONS OR MATERIAL__**
253
254 1. Policy:
255 11. Inflammatory publications or other materials may be rejected if:
256 111. They would violate state law;
257 111. By their nature or content they would pose a threat to the security, good order, or discipline of the jail, or would facilitate criminal activity; or
258 111. They would exacerbate tensions and lead indirectly to disorder, even if they did not lead directly to violence.
259 1. Rationale:
260 11. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Turner v. Safley, set reasonableness as the standard for reviewing inmate mail. The court identified several factors that are relevant to, and that serve to channel, the reasonableness inquiry.
261
262 **CH 04_112 __PUBLISHER-ONLY RULE__**
263
264 1. Policy:
265 11. Books, magazines, newspapers, and other commercially produced material (e.g., cross-word puzzles) procured from outside the jail must be received directly from the publisher, or authorized national-level distributor (e.g., Amazon.com). A list of current authorized distributors shall be maintained by the PCF Mail Room.
266 11. Photocopies, clips, or portions of books, magazines, newspapers, or other copyright protected material shall not be permitted to circumvent the publisher-only rule and shall not be accepted.
267 1. Rationale:
268 11. A publisher-only rule is permitted by the U.S. Supreme Court.
269
270 **CH 04_113 __EDUCATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS COURSES__**
271
272 1. Policy:
273 11. Educational or religious courses and its accompanying mail must be approved through the Programming Department.
274 11. Upon approval any course correspondence material will be mailed out through the Programming Department.
275 11. The Programming Department will pay postage for the course materials being sent out of the facility.
276 1. Rational:
277 11. Educational or religious correspondences can play a significant role in the rehabilitation process.
278
279 **CH 04_114 __PROFESSIONAL MAIL__**
280
281 1. Policy:
282 11. Professional Mail includes, but is not limited to , correspondence with;
283 111. financial institutions;
284 111. medical providers; and
285 111. courts and other government agencies.
286 11. Inmates may send and receive professional mail directly to and from the professional institution. It must still be approved through the Mail Room prior to being received or sent As set forth in CH 04_107.
287 11. Professional mail not directly sent from or received through the institution shall be pre-approved as set forth in CH 04_115, Subsection 5.
288 11. Requests for approval should be sent to the clerical staff via the Telmate system.
289 11. Upon approval, envelopes stamped “Professional Mail” may be obtained through commissary.
290 11. Professional Mail shall be scanned, sealed, and initialed by a deputy in the inmate's presence. The deputy will then deliver the mail to the Mail Room for processing.
291 1. Rationale:
292 11. Professional correspondences may require the inclusion of additional forms, documents or otherwise lengthy materials.
293 11. Professional correspondence directly from a professional institution does not pose the same security risks associated with professional correspondence form a third party or personal correspondence.
294
295 **CH 04_115 __VOLUME OF LETTERS__**
296
297 1. Policy:
298 11. Inmates shall not be limited as to the number of letters they may send or receive, unless the volume is so great that it results in an unreasonable hardship on mail handling staff.
299 11. If inmates choose to store their mail, they should store it at their assigned housing location. Inmates should not be granted long-term storage for their mail in the Property Room. Short-term (30 days or less) storage in the Property Room may be granted at the discretion of the Property Room staff.
300 11. Inmates shall not be allowed to store mail at their housing location exceeding a single six-inch stack.
301 11. Inmates should be notified of any mail limits or restrictions.
302 1. Rationale:
303 11. Mail is an important inmate link to the family members and friends and should be restricted only in furtherance of legitimate penological interests. Where an inmate receives mail in such volume that it cannot be handled without substantially burdening existing mail room resources, limits on the number of pieces of mail which will be processed each day may be imposed. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that corrections facilities have finite resources for handling mail.
304 11. Limits may be imposed on the volume of letters and other materials which may be stored in housing units. Excessive supplies of mail storage, especially in housing units, increase fire hazard risks (fuel load) and significantly increase search time for staff during contraband searches.
305
306 **CH 04_116 __PERSONAL MAIL__**
307
308 1. Policy:
309 11. Personal mail is any mail not otherwise described in this policy.
310 11. Inmates' incoming personal mail must be received on an approved postcard.
311 11. Inmate's outgoing personal mail shall be mailed on an approved postcard.
312 11. Postcard size requirements:
313 111. Minimum size requirements are 3.5 inches by 5 inches.
314 111. Maximum size requirements are 6 inches by 11.5 inches.
315 111. Authorized postcards may be purchased from the PCF commissary.
316 11. Inmates should not be limited as to the number of outgoing postcards, except that the inmate must be able to afford additional postage, as required.
317 11. Special Circumstance Personal Mail may be sent out, or received by an inmate via envelopes.
318 111. Special Circumstance Personal Mail must be approved by the Support Services Lieutenant via a request through the Telmate system. Each request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
319 111. Upon approval, “Special Circumstance” envelopes may be purchased through the PCF commissary and sent out.
320 111. Approvals for a “Special Circumstance” envelope, at a minimum, must have a legitimate special circumstance (e.g. individuals living in a foreign country, individuals who do not have access, or cannot otherwise use the kiosk system).
321 11. Photographs that are not Polaroid style may be mailed to the inmate provided the envelope is clearly marked “Photographs” and does not contain any type of written correspondence. The photographs must not exceed 5 inches by 7 inches in size. The inmate's name and name number must be written on the back of each photograph.
322 1. Rationale:
323 11. Requiring personal mail to be on postcards reduces the risk of introduction of contraband, improves the efficiency of mailroom operations, and reduces the risk of security breaches.
324 11. The security, safety, and efficiency management of correctional facilities are legitimate penological interests.
325
326 **CH 04_117 __PACKAGES__**
327
328 1. Policy:
329 11. Packages and padded envelopes shall be returned to the sender at the inmate's expense.
330 11. Under special circumstances, a package or padded envelope may be received but must be pre-approved by the Corrections Chief Deputy.
331 1. Rational:
332 11. Allowing inmates to receive packages creates the potential for serious security violations and other problems.
333 11. Incoming packages overly burden mail room staff. The inspection process necessary to search for contraband involves a substantial and inordinate amount of available staff time. Packages and the items inside the packages provide a myriad of possibilities for disguising and hiding contraband.
334 11. The additional property from packages which accumulates in the cells would:
335 111. Increase the risk of theft, gambling, and inmate conflicts;
336 111. Increase the clutter, storage problems, and fire hazard (fuel load) inside cells;
337 111. If excess property has to be stored outside the cell, exceed or tax the storage space available; and
338 111. Result in sanitation problems (especially if food, other perishables, or unclean items are included in packages).
339
340 **CH 04_118 __POSTAL SUPPLIES__**
341
342 1. Policy:
343 11. Pre-paid postcards shall be made available for purchase by inmates for writing personal letters.
344 11. Inmates shall only be allowed to obtain postal supplies through PCF. Postal supplies sent in from family, friends, attorneys (blank postal supplies are not considered legal material), or other persons not incarcerated in PCF shall be refused.
345 11. Indigent supplies for personal mail may be limited to three postage-paid postcards and one pencil per week per inmate. Indigent inmates may also request to receive three sheets of paper, and one postage paid envelope for legal mail or professional mail. Inmates shall be required to request indigent supplies through the Commissary Unit (reference policy: [[CH 08 Commissary>>CH 08 Commissary]]).
346 1. Rationale:
347 11. The jail should provide the means for purchasing writing supplies and postage through controlled means. However, officials should not permit such items to be received by inmates directly from family members, friends, or other associates because allowing supplies to be received directly from family, friends, or other associates substantially increases the likelihood that those with whom inmates exchange mail will introduce or attempt to introduce contraband through the mail.
348 11. Some accommodation should be made to provide a limited amount of postal supplies for indigent inmates. However, the requirement to provide free postage is not a clearly established right for personal mail.
349 11. Stamps can be used as a monetary unit for gambling, paying illicit debts, etc. Therefore, jails are justified in refusing to allow inmates to possess stamps. Stamping or printing the name and address of the jail on envelopes sold to inmates makes it more difficult for inmates to use the mail to operate scams or other illicit activities from the jail. The federal courts have upheld the practice as constitutional.
350
351 **CH 04_119 __CASH AND OTHER NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS__**
352
353 1. Policy:
354 11. Cash, money orders, checks, and other negotiable instruments shall not be delivered to inmates.
355 11. Cash, money orders, and cashiers checks shall not be accepted and shall not be credited to inmates' accounts. All negotiable instruments should be returned to the sender.
356 1. Rationale:
357 11. PCF's current online inmate accounting contract prohibits the acceptance of negotiable instruments via mail.
358 11. Cash in the possession of inmates creates a greater risk of theft, gambling, and other problems related to security and order than maintaining inmates' money in accounts controlled by the jail.
359 11. Policies prohibiting inmates from carrying cash have been affirmed by courts against constitutional challenge.
360
361 **CH 04_120 __MEDIA CORRESPONDENCE__**
362
363 1. Policy:
364 11. Inmates may correspond with the news media. Representatives of the news media may initiate correspondence with an inmate. However, news media correspondence shall not be protected or treated as legal or professional mail. The personal mail requirements set forth in CH 04_115 are applicable to correspondence with the media.
365 11. An inmate may not receive compensation or anything of value for correspondence with the news media, including, but not limited to, publishing under a byline.
366 11. An inmate may not act as a reporter.
367 1. Rationale:
368 11. Inmates are not permitted to operate a business while incarcerated at PCF.
369
370 **CH 04_121 __ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION__**
371
372 1. Policy:
373 11. When timely communication through the mail is not possible, the Corrections Chief Deputy or designee may allow for a reasonable amount of communication by means of electonic device (e.g. Fax or Scan to email) between an inmate and designated legal counsel.
374 1. Rationale:
375 11. Inmates are not entitled to Electronic communication.