York County Prison

A. Mail Privileges

A. An inmate is permitted to correspond with the public, his/her attorney, and public officials.

B. There is no limit to the number of correspondents to whom an inmate may send or from whom an inmate may receive mail.

C. An inmate may not:

i. Correspond with another inmate, co-defendant, witness or victim(s) of the inmate’s criminal acts or his/her immediate family without prior written approval of the Warden/designee;

ii. Correspond with a current or former employee, current or former volunteer, current or former contract employee without prior written approval of the Warden/designee;

iii. Send or receive correspondence containing threatening or obscene materials, as well as correspondence containing criminal solicitations or furthering a criminal plan or misconduct offense;

iv. Write to an individual who has informed the Prison, in writing, that he/she does not wish to receive correspondence from the inmate;

v. Correspond with any prohibited party directed through a third party;

vi. Send or receive battery-operated greeting cards;

vii. Send or receive “bill-me-later” or free gift transactions;

viii. Receive correspondence containing homemade artwork. Mail cannot have any item affixed to it with glue or other types of adhesives, including tape (excluding a mailing label that is affixed to the envelope). An unaltered, commercially manufactured greeting card, other than a battery operated greeting card, will be permitted.

ix. Receive Polaroid photographs or photographs containing nudity, which for the purpose of this is defined as showing any male or female genitals and/or pubic area and/or female breast area.

x. Exposure of any of the above areas through “see through” materials is considered nudity for purposes of this definition.

D. When an inmate wishes to correspond with another inmate in the prison, they must submit a request to their counselor; the request slip must include the name of the other inmate, the relationship between them, and the reason why they need to write to them. The request will be forwarded to management for review and approval/denial.

E. All inmates who have no funds in their accounts will be permitted to mail three (3) free pieces of general correspondence and at least five (5) pieces of legal mail per week. Inmates must place the initials NF (no funds) in the upper right hand corner of the envelope where a stamp would be placed.

F. There will be no limit on the number of letters that an inmate may send at his/her own expense. Envelopes, stamps are available for purchase through Commissary.

Incoming Correspondence:

A. All incoming mail shall be forwarded to the business office for sorting. The mail for various departments and inmates shall then be forwarded to the Mail Room to further sort the mail and review incoming packages. Mail and packages that have contraband attached or scribed on the outside of the letter/box shall be returned to sender unopened.

B. Incoming mail may not have pictures, drawings or writings in crayon or colored pencil, contain stickers, water marks or discoloration to the envelope or contained paper materials as they can be used to transport illegal or controlled substances.

C. Incoming mail may contain photographs (no more than 5), letters scribed in pencil or pen, legal documents and forms, and other paper products that serve a legitimate purpose (application for employment, birth certificate, etc).

D. When incoming correspondence contains official documents (driver’s license, birth certificate, social security card, welfare card, medical records, etc.) the items shall be confiscated, inventoried and secured in the Records Department property room.

E. Incoming mail may not contain personal checks, cash or stamps. The prison will not accept envelopes, writing paper or card stock, stamps, personal checks, and cash sent through the mail.

F. Money orders will be accepted and must have the inmate’s full name. It may take up to 24 hours for it to be processed into the inmate’s account.

G. In the event that incoming mail contains some contraband, the entire mailing shall be deemed contraband. None of the items will be given to the inmate and shall be reviewed in accordance with prison policy.

H. The prison will not accept a mail item that has postage due.

I. Security staff shall open and inspect all incoming correspondence for contraband, unless it is legal correspondence. Legal correspondence shall be processed in accordance with prison policy.

J. Any mail that does not pass the metal detector will automatically be returned to the sender unopened. The inmate will not receive a notice.

K. Incoming correspondence must have the inmate’s approved name printed in a legible, undisguised manner. Mail with no return address shall not be opened and will be returned to the Post Office. The inmate will not be notified.

L. Incoming correspondence containing contraband shall be confiscated and held for further inspection and disposition. The contraband shall be returned to the sender (if known), turned over to law enforcement if warranted or it shall be destroyed.

M. All incoming mail shall be delivered to the inmate within 48hrs, unless the mail contains content requiring a review.

N. The prison doesn’t hold mail for inmates that are not currently housed at YCP. All such mail is automatically returned to the sender.

Outgoing Correspondence:

A. Outgoing correspondence should not have obscene material or contraband attached or scribed on, or contained in the mail. Homemade envelopes are not permitted. Such mail will be opened, returned to the sender, or disposed of at the inmate’s expense.

B. Outgoing correspondence must have the inmate’s approved name printed in a legible, undisguised manner with the inmate ID number clearly written.

C. The inmate shall seal and place all outgoing correspondence in the wicket of his/her door or in the collection boxes in your area.

D. Inmates who have funds on their prison account must purchase stamps from commissary and place it on outgoing mail in order for mail to be sent through the postal service. Any attempt to send mail without postage will be returned to sender. If the inmate is on a restrictive housing status and depletes their stamps then the inmate needs to submit a request slip to the mailroom authorizing the deductions from their finance account for postage.

E. All outgoing non-legal correspondence may be reviewed when authorized by the Warden or designee when there is reason to believe that it reveals or discusses illegal or unauthorized activity, in accordance with prison policy.

Incoming Legal Correspondence:

Legal Mail Definition: Legal Mail is mail that is addressed to or from an attorney, a judge who serves in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any of the 50 states and any judge who serves on the Federal Bench or any administrative agency including all Appellate Court judges, the Attorney General of the United States and the Attorney General of Pennsylvania, the District Attorney of any county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, any Court from any jurisdiction in the United States provided that the correspondence will be treated as legal mail if the title and office of the sender for incoming correspondence or addressee or outgoing correspondence are unambiguously identified on the envelope clearly indicating that the correspondence is legal mail as defined herein.

A. Mail from a court or an inmate’s attorney will be opened for the first time in the presence of the inmate and inspected for contraband, but not read.

B. If upon opening the envelope the staff member notices that the contents contain no legal material, the staff member shall not issue the contents to inmate. The staff member must complete a Daily or Disciplinary report and forward it along with the mail to the shift supervisor.

Outgoing Legal Correspondence:

A. Outgoing legal correspondence will not be opened, read, censored, or reproduced outside the presence of the inmate, except under the following conditions:

i. Prior approval of the Warden or designee;

ii. Permission to open and read legal correspondence shall only be granted when there is reason to believe the correspondence may reveal or discuss planned or future criminal activity, including but not limited to the following:

1. Any information relating to a possible escape;

2. The introduction of weapons, drugs, money, or other contraband that presents a clear threat to the security of the facility;

3. Any information relating to a possible prison disturbance or other activity that presents a clear threat to the security of the facility;

4. Any information relating to other criminal activity.

Incoming Publications:

A. All books, magazines, newspapers must be new and mailed from the original source (publisher). New publications that are sent directly from a publisher, bookstore, book club and distributor are accompanied by a packing slip with the sources name, shall usually be deemed to have come from the original source. Used publications are not allowed. Periodicals from Internet sources such as Amazon.com are not allowed.

B. The books, magazines, newspaper subscriptions must be paid in advance.

C. No catalogs will be permitted and will be destroyed.

D. Inmates are not to have any more than five (5) books in their possession at any time.

E. Any books larger than 11”x13’ and or weighing more than 4 lbs. must be approved by the Warden/designee.

F. The following publications or photographs may be rejected by the Warden/designee if:

i. It depicts or describes procedures for the construction or use of weapons, ammunition, bombs or incendiary devices;

i. It depicts, encourages or describes methods of escape from correctional facilities or contains blue prints, drawings or similar descriptions of any jail or prison;

ii. It depicts or describes procedures for brewing of alcoholic beverages or manufacture of drugs;

iii. It depicts, displays or is drawn to promote or represent gang graffiti, illicit activities or recruit members;

iv. It is written in code;

v. It depicts, describes or encourages activities, which may lead to the use of physical violence or group disruption;

vi. It encourages or instructs in the commission of criminal activity;

vii. It advocates violence of any kind or literature that promotes hatred towards any group;

viii. Material, sexual or otherwise, which by its nature or content poses a threat to the security, good order or discipline of the institution or facilitates a criminal activity.

Review Process:

A. A Committee of employees designated by the Warden/designee will inspect each of the publications as well as incoming photographs. The Committee will review all the publications and photographs to make a determination of whether they comply with the above standards. Such a Committee of employees will be rotated among prison staff.

B. Incoming material deemed to be inappropriate or deem to be contraband shall be withheld from the inmate. If a determination is made to withhold any such material, you will be advised in writing as to the reasons the material was withheld. If any material is withheld, you may:

i. Have the mail destroyed.

ii. Have the mail returned to sender (at your cost).

iii. Challenge confiscation through the Inmate Grievance System within (10) days, by indicating the grounds for the objection.