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Contraband and Prohibited Mail

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The Department of Correction manages more than 20,000 offenders in the state of Idaho.

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  Contraband

Contraband received is handled as follows:

  • Cash, personal checks, and two-party checks will be removed from the envelope and returned to the sender.
  • Any money order or cashier's check will be credited to the inmate's trust account.
  • Greeting cards that are padded, laminated, musical, or larger than 8"x10" will be returned to the sender in the original envelope along with all other contents of the envelope.
  • Other items not authorized by policy or directive will be inventoried and sent to the property officer. The property officer will send a copy of the inventory to the inmate. The confiscated items will be placed in the property contraband storage and disposed of according to Department policy.

Care will be taken at all levels of the mail handling and delivery system to ensure that mail is delivered intact to inmates and not tampered with, except as necessary to determine compliance with this directive.

  Prohibited Mail

The department has determined that some types of mail pose a threat to the secure and orderly operation of institutions. Specifically, correspondence that:

  • Describes how to obtain, build, or manufacture drugs, intoxicants, weapons, or explosives.
  • Concerns, invites, advocates, aids, or abets escapes, riots, insurrections, threats of physical harm to another person, threats of criminal activity, or plans to send contraband into the facility.
  • Is obscene.
  • Isn't allowed by federal or Idaho laws.
  • Other materials, which in the opinion of the facility head, present a clear and present danger to the ability of the facility head and his staff to control the inmate population, also can be prohibited.

      Withholding of Prohibited Material

    Any items that appear to be prohibited by policy will be withheld immediately and forwarded to the appointed authority other than the facility head. The appointed authority will review the material to determine if it is prohibited and should be withheld. If it is not prohibited, it will be delivered to the inmate.

    If the appointed authority determines that the items should be withheld, the following steps will be taken:

    1. Notify the inmate that the mail is being withheld. The notice will state accurately a description of the material to the extent possible without violating security. The notice will state specifically the reasons the material is prohibited and should be withheld.
    2. The material will be held for 14 days from the date the inmate is given notice of the withholding. If the inmate does not grieve the withholding within the 14 days the material, unless it is illegal, will be returned to the sender.
    3. The inmate may grieve the withholding of the mail within 14 days of the inmate receipt of the notice.
    4. If the material is withheld after review by the facility head, unless it is illegal, it will be returned to the sender. The sender will be given notice of why the material was withheld. The sender will be given notice that the sender may contest the withholding by contacting the facility head, in writing, within 14 days of the date the material is sent out of the facility.
    5. If the correspondence includes plans for or discussion of commission of a crime or evidence of a crime, the correspondence should be referred to appropriate law enforcement authorities. In this case no notice will be given to the inmate, and the correspondence will not be returned to the sender.


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