Constructive, unlimited correspondence with family, friends, and
community sources will be encouraged and facilitated. Incarcerated individuals have
the responsibility in the use of correspondence to be truthful and honest.
Institutions have the responsibility to maintain a safe, secure, and orderly
procedure for use of the mail by an incarcerated individual. Mail is additionally
governed by the provisions of department of corrections policy OP-MTV-01.
(2)
Confidential.
a. Confidential
mail, as defined in this rule, will not be read or censored.
b. Confidential mail will be delivered unopened
and then, in the presence of the incarcerated individual, will be opened and
inspected for
contraband and to ensure that the contents are from the return
addressee.
Confidential mail may be read only after a finding of probable
cause by a court of competent jurisdiction that a threat to the order and security
of the institution or abuse of correspondence exists.
c. Confidential letters may be written to: (the
sender's name and address must be appropriately identified on the envelope)
(1) Officers of federal, state, or municipal
courts (judges, judges' law clerks, prosecuting attorneys, court
administrators).
(2) Federal agencies
chief administrative officer, elected or appointed officials.
(3) State agencies chief administrative officer,
elected or appointed officials.
(4)
Clerk of court.
(5) The sentencing state
department of corrections chief executive officer, deputy directors.
(6) Sentencing state board of parole.
(7) Attorney.
(8) The office of ombudsman.
(9) Any additional exception by law or
policy.
(10) Civil rights
commission.
d. Envelopes
containing confidential correspondence shall be marked as "confidential" by the
sender.
(3)
General.
a. Pursuant to Iowa Code
chapter 2C, mail addressed to and received from the ombudsman office shall be
delivered unopened.
b. When sending
confidential mail, incarcerated individuals may be requested to seal the envelope in
the presence of staff after the envelope and letters have been inspected for
contraband.
c. All letters mailed by
incarcerated individuals will be left unsealed for inspection of the contents only.
Envelopes shall contain letters to the addressee only.
d. All other nonconfidential correspondence and
packages, both incoming and outgoing, shall be opened for inspection to remove items
of
contraband.
To facilitate institutional inspection of first-class mail,
writers should avoid enclosures other than the written correspondence. Traditional
items such as snapshots of appropriately clothed individuals and clippings from
published material may be permitted. Each institution shall have guidelines for the
amount and type allowed.
e. With
the exception of weekends and holidays, incoming and outgoing mail will not be
retained for more than 24 hours prior to delivery unless unusual circumstances exist
such as staff shortage, suspected correspondence violations, disturbance, or similar
constraints.
f. Persons under the age of
18 must provide written permission to the warden from parents or guardian before
correspondence with incarcerated individuals will be allowed.
g. Incarcerated individuals under correctional
supervision or detention will not be allowed to correspond with other incarcerated
individuals unless the individuals are
immediate family and approved by the
authority of the institution or both authorities in the case of correspondence
between facilities.
"Immediate family" means mother, father, sister, brother, half
sister, half brother, spouse, son, daughter, natural grandparents, and natural
grandchildren. Legal guardian, foster parents, stepparents, stepchildren,
stepsister, and stepbrother will be included provided a positive relationship exists
or contact will confer a benefit to the incarcerated individual.
h. Incarcerated individuals will be denied mail
privileges with persons that might present a risk to the order and security of the
institution.
i. All outgoing mail must
be sent directly to the individual that the correspondence is written to, and all
incoming mail must be sent directly from the individual that wrote the
correspondence.
j. No limit will be
placed on the number of letters mailed for incarcerated individuals able to pay the
mailing costs. Incarcerated individuals who are unable to pay mailing costs for
legal mail will receive limited assistance which may be recoverable.
k. Stamped, return-addressed envelopes will be
sold through canteen services for all outgoing letters and will be purchased by the
incarcerated individual.
l. Special
equipment may be used to review envelopes for items in the envelopes other than the
letter. When the contents of the correspondence is inappropriate or contraband items
which are not illegal to possess under the law are found in the mail, the mail will
be rejected and the incarcerated individual shall be notified with the option to
return to sender or destroy.
m. When
mail is rejected due to inappropriate contents of the correspondence or
contraband
is found, provided the correspondence is not retained for investigation or
prosecution, the incarcerated individual to whom the mail was addressed will have
the option of paying the postage to return the mail to the sender or having the mail
destroyed by institutional staff. The incarcerated individual must choose one of the
two options within three days of the rejection notice. This rule is in reference to
the return of opened mail per United States Postal Service, Office of Classification
and Rates Administration, Ruling #206.
The sender of rejected correspondence may protest the decision in
writing to the warden.
n. All
outgoing parcel post items will be packed and sealed by the mail room and postage
charged to the incarcerated individual.
o. Letters will not be delivered which are written
in a foreign language or code unless the foreign language is the only language of
the incarcerated individual (exceptions may be made by the warden).
p. The sender's name shall be signed in full at
the end of the letter. The sender's name and address shall appear in the upper
left-hand corner of the envelope.
q. The
incarcerated individual's name, ID number, box number or street address, city,
state, and zip code shall also appear on the envelope of incoming mail.
r. All outgoing mail shall contain a return
address including the incarcerated individual's name and ID number as well as the
name of the institution, address, and zip code.
s. Reasonable size restrictions of envelopes may
be imposed.
t. Each institution shall
have written procedures for disposition (safekeeping and preservation) of
contraband.
u. Only first-class letters
and packages will be forwarded after an incarcerated individual's transfer or
release.
v. An individual may deposit
funds in an incarcerated individual's account by money order, cashier's check, or
electronic funds transfer. Personal checks and cash will not be accepted. Only money
orders and cashier's checks will be accepted for deposit into an incarcerated
individual's account by mail. Money orders and cashier's checks must be made payable
to the Iowa Department of Corrections Incarcerated Individual Fiduciary Account
(IDOC IIFA) and sent to: Fort Dodge Correctional Facility, 1550 L Street, Suite B,
Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501, and must include the incarcerated individual's name and ID
number and the sender's name and complete address. Funds will also be accepted via
electronic funds transfers from authorized vendors. An incarcerated individual's
suspected abuse of requests for money from the public may be cause for limits or
restrictions on the amounts of money which can be received and from whom money can
be received.
w. Misuse of mails will
result in institution discipline and be reported to the United States Postal
Inspector or other state or federal agencies for action.
x. O-mail. "O-mail" is electronic mail that can be
sent to and from incarcerated individuals and the public.
(1) The incarcerated individual's family and
friends shall be responsible for registering on the corrlinks Internet site to
enroll in the O-mail system:
www.corrlinks.com.
(2) Each O-mail message is limited to two pages,
and attachments are not allowed.
(3)
There is a cost for sending an O-mail message, which shall be the responsibility of
the sender.
(4) Incoming and outgoing
O-mail shall meet the same standards as referenced in this rule for incarcerated
individuals' mail.
(5) Staff may review
the contents of O-mail messages.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section
2C.14.
