Inmates incarcerated in San Diego County jails will no longer be able to receive handwritten letters, except postcards. On September 1, a new policy will go into effect that will prohibit inmates from reading letters that are not sent through email or postcard form in an effort to cut down on potential drug smuggling.
According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department website, inmates are allowed to purchase pre-stamped envelopes and postcards from the facility commissary. Inmates who do not have sufficient funds will be given a select number of pre-stamped envelopes; however, family members are able to deposit money for such purposes into an inmate's account online. In addition, inmates are able to send as many letters as they would like to each day, as long as there is no mention of nudity, gang symbols or drug references, in which case the communication would be returned to sender.
"All mail entering and leaving a jail facility is searched for contraband and the writing will be scanned for security issues," the source stated. "The only exception will be 'legal mail' between an inmate and the inmate’s attorney, correspondence from State and Federal Courts, any member of the State Bar or holder of public office, Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB), Internal Affairs, Office of the Sheriff, the Corrections Standards Authority and the Facility Commander or the Assistant Facility Commander."
There are several ways that prisoners and their families smuggle drugs into prison. In the past, experts have found that scribbles written by an inmate's young family member or child contained powerful drugs that were later determined to be contraband. According to The New York Times, opiates that come in paper strip form such as Suboxone have been attached to Father's Day cards, coloring book pages or under stamps that inmates can later sell for up to $25 per hit.
As of September 1, inmates will only allowed to receive rectangular postcards that are 3.5 inches to 4.5 inches high and 5 inches to 6 inches long. While photo postcards will be accepted, anything marked with crayons, stains, makeup or similar substances will be sent back. Police know this new system will not completely eliminate the drug trade within prison walls from taking place, but hope that it will bring some change.
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