By Jason Bergreen
The Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY — The Cache County Sheriff’s Office plans to ban most enveloped mail from its jail this month and restrict inmates’ personal communications to postcards only.
The policy aims to cut costs and reduce the number of letters containing contraband, including sexually explicit pictures or the occasional illegal substance, and those sprayed with perfume.
Jail commander Brian Locke said his facility began allowing inmates to send only metered postcards beginning Tuesday. The facility will only accept postcards starting around Feb. 15. Legal mail, including letters between attorneys and inmates, still will be allowed.
The Iron County Sheriff’s Office implemented a similar policy six months ago, as did the Weber County jail. Iron County Sheriff Mark Gower said the move has cut down on the time it takes to review and process mail and allows the jail to run more efficiently.
“I haven’t noticed any real complaints to it,” Gower said.
But Salt Lake City civil rights attorney Brian Barnard said the practice is unconstitutional, and he plans to look into the issue.
“It’s something that can be and will be challenged not only by the inmates but their families,” he said.
Barnard argues the policy constitutes an invasion of privacy because jail personnel who don’t work in the mailroom — and even other inmates — could see the information. He said inmates and their family should be able to write about a loved one’s illness or death in a private letter instead of a postcard that could be read by anyone.
“It’s not easy running a jail, but you need to be professional when running a jail, and you need to treat jail inmates humanely,” he said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah has received complaints from inmates or family members of inmates from all three jails, said ACLU office manager Reinard Knutsen.
“We are looking into the situation,” he said.
Locke said the Cache County jail receives about 2,000 pieces of mail a month. Some contain lipstick, perfume or other chemicals that can pose a biohazard, he said. Mail also contained pornography, gang-related information and even drugs.
By switching to postcards, the amount of staff time the jail uses to review letters will be significantly reduced, Locke said. The jail had employed one deputy to open and read all incoming mail, a full-time job. Several civilian employees handled outgoing mail.
Locke said the new policy also will save taxpayers money because the jail will no longer have to pay to return inappropriate letters. He said about 10 percent of mail has to be returned.
Though Iron County — the state’s first agency to implement the postcard-only policy — only accepts standard size postcards, the Cache County jail will accept three sizes, including one that is only slightly smaller than a standard letter.
“I’m sure the writing’s going to be very small on them,” Locke said.
Salt Lake County jail Lt. Michael Deniro said his facility has a policy that outlines what mail is unacceptable and ultimately rejected. Six jail employees spend about two hours each day reviewing mail for the safety of prisoners and staff and to maintain the rights of prisoners, he said.
“We have no plans to change our current policy,” Deniro said.
Locke is aware of some of the possible legal challenges, and “if the court says you’re not supposed to be doing it ... we’ll see how that plays out in the future.”
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