As of Sept. 1 Spokane County Detention Services will enact new rules restricting incoming and outgoing mail to 5.5”x 8.5” postcards.
Legal correspondence will still be accepted in envelopes, and inmates can still receive approved magazines, books and newspapers.
All incoming and outgoing inmate mail has been inspected for security reasons in the past, and inmate privacy has been protected within the limitations of maintaining a secure facility. Those protections are not expected to change with the shift to postcards.
The principal benefit of the change is added safety to inmates and staff. Potentially hazardous substances can be secreted into envelopes which corrections officers have to open.
In addition to the requirement that correspondence be made by non-glossy, pre-franked postcard, rules for addressing mail have been developed as well. Incoming mail must be marked with the sender's full name and address. The card must have the inmate's first name, middle initial and last name. It must also include the inmate's CID number.
Postcards that do not meet the new requirements will be returned to sender. Mail that does not contain a return address will be returned to the post office marked “dead mail.”
Inmates are responsible to notify friends and family of changes of address, and mail received for inmates no longer in custody will not be returned.
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