Jails cut costs, boost security by limiting inmates' mail

A growing number of the nation’s jails are restricting inmates’ incoming mail to postcards to save money and bolster security.

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Elizabeth Alexander, director of the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, says the idea is “a growing issue” and “a very dumb policy.”

“It’s counterproductive in terms of larger societal goals,” she says. “Ninety-five percent of all convicted prisoners come back into the community. The two things research shows correlate most with staying out of trouble after release are maintaining contact with family and getting jobs. There’s no way to do that through postcards.”

Gwyn Smith-Ingley, executive director of the American Jail Association, a nonprofit organization representing more than 70,000 jail professionals, says these policies cut down on costs, contraband items, and “hidden messages” such as escape plans, but agrees that complicating communication with loved ones “is contrary to what we know about supporting people transitioning back to the community from jail.”

At least two legal challenges to postcard-only policies have proved unsuccessful. After the Maricopa County Jail in Phoenix, instituted the policy in May 2007, a pre-trial detainee complained that it violated his First Amendment right to free speech. A district judge dismissed the case in June 2008.