As of Feb. 1, the Texas County Jail will have a new policy in place regarding mail received by inmates.
Sheriff James Sigman announced there would be six main elements to the change:
• Inmates will only receive post cards no larger than 5×7.
• No letters or envelopes will be accepted.
• Postcards containing stickers, adhesive labels, watermarks, stains, lipstick, Liquid Paper (“or other white-out”) and/or any other suspect alteration or adulteration will be returned to sender.
• Postcards must contain both the sender’s and recipient’s full name and address.
• Once a postcard or other unaccepted mail has been received and returned, a note of reasoning will be added to the inmate’s file.
• Legal mail must be approved by the jail administrator and must contain the full name of the sending agency or department on the exterior to be considered legal mail.
Sigman said there are several reasons for the jail mail policy change.
“We have had times when inmates have received items we consider to be contraband enclosed in the envelopes they receive,” he said. “There have been instances where drugs have been placed under the stamps on the envelopes as well. This new policy will also save time, which saves money. Under the current mail policy, all incoming mail has to screened, which means someone has to sit down and open every envelope and check for contraband.
“That process can be very time consuming.”
Sigman said similar procedures are already common.
“Most jails are already using the postcard mail policy with the pre-stamped postcards which helps to eliminate the possibility of hiding illegal substances under a stamp,” he said. “This also cuts down on the man-hours needed to check the mail.”
Legal mail will still be accepted in envelopes after the new policy kicks in.
“Under our policy, legal mail is mail from attorneys, Division of Family Services, Family Support, etcetera,” Sigman said. “Mail in envelopes that are not clearly marked from an agency will not be accepted as legal mail and will be returned to sender.”
For more information, call the Texas County Sheriff’s Department at 417-967-4165.