• • Incoming certified or registered mail that requires a signature for receipt WILL NOT be accepted.

• • Incoming mail must have the resident’s first and last name and PID number on the correspondence.

• • Upon request, indigent residents will receive postage and stationery through the Resident commissary system.

• • Books, magazines, newspapers, or periodicals will be accepted only if they are sent directly from a bookstore or publisher. Such materials MUST be accompanied by an invoice.

• • ALL RESIDENTS WHO RECEIVE MORE THAN THE ALLOTTED AMOUNT OF BOOKS AND MAGAZINES A DAY WILL BE RETURNED TO THE SENDER. HARDBACK BOOKS ARE NOT ALLOWED. Residents are only allowed five (5) books and five (5) magazines in their cells at any given time. This includes Religious and Legal texts. (ALL EXCESS MUST BE SENT OUT AND WILL NO LONGER BE HELD IN PROPERTY)

• • Legal mail is exempt from standard procedures for inspection. The Housing Supervisor will open all legal mail in the presence of the resident to check for contraband

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  • All incoming mail must have a return address, or it will be marked as dead mail and returned to the Post Office.

RESTRICTED PUBLICATIONS

• • When material received for residents violates MCSO policies, the mail clerk will return the material to the sender or place it in the resident’s property bag.

• • Certain publications are banned because of inappropriate content. For a list of all banned publications please click here, contact the mailroom or have the resident request a copy of the banned publications list as this list changes on a regular basis.

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  • All other periodicals will be censored for inappropriate content before being sent to an resident. Periodicals deemed inappropriate will be returned to the publisher. Only two property bags are permitted in property and if/when an resident exceeds his/her allotted space for property, items will need to be picked up by family/friends within 7 days of notification to the resident or will be destroyed. Excess Federal resident property is mailed to an address per the resident.

UNACCEPTABLE ITEMS IN RESIDENT CORRESPONDENCE
Any mail or contents that the mailroom deems as unacceptable will be returned to sender. The following is a list of items that if sent by mail will not be accepted into the MCSO Detention facilities. The list includes but is not limited to the following:

• • Money orders, checks, or money (currency)

• • Food

• • Polaroid’s, stickers, tape, plastic, wood, cloth, glass, ribbon, metal, magnets, staples, paper clips

• • Illicit or enticing photos

• • Material containing instructions for the manufacture of explosives, drugs, or other unlawful substances

• • Material advocating violence within the facility

• • Material advocating racial, religious, or national hatred

• • Material advocating and encouraging sexual behavior that is criminal or in violation of the facility rules or detrimental to rehabilitation

• • Material that is pornographic, illicit, erotic, and enticing in nature

• • Gang-related material such as signs and/or symbols

• • Material that contains nudity or is sexually explicit in nature

• • Perfume sprayed on the envelope or letter

• • Lipstick

• • Glued contents, paperclips, clasps

• • Sticker address labels not allowed (handwritten only)

• • Gang symbols or drawings

• • Profanity on envelopes

• • Music lyrics printed from the internet that are obscene, violent or deemed inappropriate

• • Newspaper clippings, pamphlets, stamps or envelopes

• • Correspondence sent in cardboard envelopes or bubble envelopes

• • Photocopies of books or magazines will not be accepted

• • No more than ten internet printed pages per envelope will be accepted

• • Personal mail in the form of boxes, packages or oversize envelopes will not be accepted. Such items will be returned to the sender

• • Do not send money to an resident at this address. It will be returned to sender