This is why the question, Can I send stamps to an inmate? doesnt have only one answer. Charging prisoners to return MIM lit to sender, Books must be softback, 5 books at a time, hardcovers can be removed before shipping. All facilities in California allow you to send money to an inmate's trust account. Family and friends can send inmates money in different ways, depending on what the correctional facility allows. Commissary money can purchase basic necessities like: Choosing healthy meals in prison is possible, but supplementing prison meals can help an inmate stay healthy and enjoy eating. have shown that inmates who kept close contact with their loved ones had better chances of adapting to life upon release, as well as fewer chances of reoffending. Purchase stamps. used books okay, hard covers should be removed and noted on invoice, New books, newspapers and magazines must come from publisher or accepted distributor. Additionally, when an inmate receives a photo it can let them see the things you have been discussing with them in letters or over the phone.the offendercan see what that new car, boat, baby, pet, or vacation you took actuallylooks like, think of it as old fashioned Instagram. Just remember to be tasteful. Sending physical mail can often be even more special to an inmate. To send money to an incarcerated individual, you first need to open a free account with JPay.com.You can send an Email by following these 3 simple steps: Open a JPay.com account. Only approved inmate items can be sent. To get the best experience, youll need to upgrade to a newer browser. You can find the inmates facility address by selecting the prison they are in. Inmates in California can receive funds by mail, or online via an electronic funds transfer. Click on the "Email" tab and follow the prompts. You can write them love letters, creative ones, or those of encouragement, but before you do so, make sure to check the inmate mail guidelines that each prison has. 3 Ways to Send Money Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Paid service with a fee Funds post to an inmate account within 1 - 3 days Prisons usually allow inmates to go to the commissary once a week or once every two weeks. Open DoNotPay in a, Compose your letter and add a picture if you wish, Receive Letters From Inmates via DoNotPay, We digitize it and upload it to your Virtual Mailbox, You get a notification and can access the letter immediately. Cards that include electronics (like singing cards), cards that have extra thick stock or pop-up features, and cards that include multiple layers are never allowed. Resolve Other Issues With DoNotPays Help. Whether you send stamps to an inmate in an envelope or an. For the latest information regarding in-person visiting, visit CDCRsVisitation Information PageandVisitation FAQs. For the most part these are the only items that can be mailed to an inmate (with the exception of Holiday packages). What does that mean 'from the publisher'? If you reside outside of California, you can only send a postal money order. Prisoners are allowed to receive such packages on a quarterly basis. Photos are great to receive when your incarcerated for many reasons. Before we let you in on our AI-powered system, you may need to. The first is by calling someone collect. Copyright 2023 California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, DOM Article 43 policy regarding Inmate Property. Anyone wishing to send an inmate a letter may do so, but the letter cannot contain anything that potential can put the safety and the security of the institution in jeopardy. The type of reading material you send is also subject to those rules. However, some correctional facilities don't allow inmates to receive these items, depending on security levels. The Florida Department of Corruption, excuse me, Corrections, seems to operate as if they are above the law. What the majority of thesecompanies do, is print out the letters you type and mail it in with a stamp, meanwhile they charge you double, even triple or more to mail and it arrives no faster then if you just sent it yourself. If inmates receive new books, they have to send home or donate the old ones. Postal Service. Here are more ways you can contact a prisoner and show them youre there for them: DoNotPay can answer more of your prison-related questions. If the inmate is in a federal prison, you can search the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. If your loved one is allowed to receive stamps, paper and envelopes by mail, make sure you comply with any restrictions. California Prison Mail Policies according to state documents and reports from prisoners. Please be sure to package your stamps securely to prevent folding, beding, or water damage. May 1, 2012 - 10:19pm. This is a shop inside a prison that sells coffee, snacks, hygiene items, and writing supplies. For instance, you can't send sharp objects that can potentially be used as weapons. If you can afford to do so, sending your loved one even $20 a month can dramatically improve their time while incarcerated. We know a better way: Writing to a prisoner is a great way to keep in touch. Mail made easy. To send an inmate mail, you must locate the institution or rehabilitation facility that is holding the inmate. If the inmate requests the return address from the envelope, the address is torn off and given to the inmate. Not Allowed: * Mail containing more than 10 individual photos per letter regardless of how the photos are printed. Whether you send stamps to an inmate in an envelope or an inmate package, the most important part is addressing it properly. Only 1 book shipment per month of 10 or less books. . Address the mail to the facility where your intended recipient is. I find the best way to send photos to an inmate is to print them through Walgreens or a similar online service, often for under 10 per photo (always search for online coupons to save). There were many reports on drug smuggling in envelopes and under postage stamps, which is why some prisons dont accept mailed stamps. All mail you send to an inmate should be formatted as follows: Inmate Name, ID number Unit (if known) Institutions Name Facilities address. This is a shop inside a prison that sells coffee, snacks, hygiene items, and writing supplies. Purchases from vendors are at the buyers sole risk. Remember all phone calls may be monitored or recorded. Since 2003, the CDCR has contracted with a number of statewide and national companies that ensure inmates receive packages. Include the inmates booking number on the check or money order, and make it payable to the inmate. According toPrisonPro.com, sending correspondence is the number one best way to help your loved one feel connected to home. You can see the list of all the dos and donts when sending mail to an inmate in California in the table below. Open DoNotPay in your web browser and do the following: How does sending letters with DoNotPay work? JPays email service is a fast, feature-rich way to correspond with your incarcerated loved one. When sending funds through the mail, some institutions will require you send it to the inmate, while other facilities (Folsom, Mule Creek, California State Prison Scramento, San Quentin and WascoState Prison)will require you to send it to a contracted vendor called JPAY using this deposit form. Postal Service mail. Inmates may receive legal publications from any publisher, book store or book distributor that does mail order business. To send money to an inmate first: Lookup the inmate's CDCR number using the Inmate Locator. Cards cannot have glitter, stickers or anything decorative/added to them. Reading takes people to another world and provides an adventure that is especially enjoyable for an inmate. Sending cards by mail is one of the moreinexpensive things to send inmates,to let them know they are being thought of. Dont despairwe can offer you some solutions for managing your, Request a refund and compensation for delayed or canceled flights, Take people or companies to small claims court, Sign up for services without phone verification, Protect yourself from stalking and harassment, Get in touch with your loved ones in jail, Skip the phone queue when contacting customer service reps, Protect your work against copyright infringement, Everything You Need To Know About Writing Letters to Inmates, How To Add Money To Inmate Phone Accounts Online, Sending Money to an Inmate Has Never Been Easier, How to Stay In Touch With Inmates at Clements Unit, How to Contact Inmates at Jim Rudd Transfer Facility Easily, Connect With Inmates at Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center, The Easiest Way to Send Commissary Packages to an Inmate, Get in Touch with Inmates at Bent County Correctional Facility, The Easiest Way to Send Packages to an Inmate in Washington, The Fastest & Most Reliable Way to Send Money to an Inmate, How to Pay Your Houston Water Bills Online Hassle-Free, How to Remove My Case From The Internet Instantly, How to Recover Your Forgotten Workday Password Hassle-Free. Click on the inmate's name and discover the prison or institution. Can I Send Stamps to an Inmate in California? This information is needed to communicate with an inmate. Be sure to enterfacility name and the address that inmate mail is received at (which may not be the same as the physical address). Read our guide about sending money to an inmatefor more information. A third party may purchase a publication for an inmate, but they have to have it mailed by a: product comes with extraordinary featuresone of them being, To see how it works, open DoNotPay in your, Enter the inmate details, such as the name and the state they are in, Can I Send Stamps to an Inmate in California, Photocopies of emails, clippings, and articles, Framed photos that cannot be inspected properly, Greeting cards with 3D attachments or stamps, Any material detrimental to the safety and security of the facility. With a few simple steps, well help you find them. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. Non-confidential mail must also be read before being delivered to the inmate or mailed to the individual outside of prison. Sit back and relax while we do the work. Dont forget to follow these rules even when you come up with, Any items with illegal, violent, or sexual content, Letters with perfume, stickers, glitter, or paper clips. Inmates may receive up to 10 pages at a time, the pages can be drawings, a child's school work, articles cut from a newspaper or magazine, but may not contain glue, stickers, glitter or any other embellishments such as lipstick perfume etc. 3190(i)(2) "Legal Material, including legal reference material, books, and legal pads not available in the institution canteen, pursuant to section 3161. All you need to do is focus on writing to the prisoner you want to stay in touch with. Determine where the inmate is located using the Facility Locator. When using a single stamp, only 5 photos can be sent at a time. You can't send whatever you want to an inmate. Torn pages not allowed. Aside from the stamps inmates get for the one or two free letters a week, how can they get more stamps? , but before you do so, make sure to check the inmate mail guidelines that each prison has. Remember, when sending items to an inmate it is best to send a letter first. The funds will be released to the inmate the fastest if the funds are sent via certified check. Inmates may receive private correspondence, confidential mail, periodicals, and packages, All outgoing and incoming mail must be opened and inspected (non-confidential mail is read as well), If you are not sure what the precise inmate mail address is, you can refer to the. Inmates can possess max 5 books or magazines, All mail from MIM or with content from MIM is banned. Write a letter to the inmate and realize that staff of the prison or institution will read the mail. Rules help keep everybody safe and prevent illegal exchanges. Of course the cards must be appropriate and cannot include suggestive material, even in satire. While inmates dont have direct access to the internet or internet messaging services, many correctional facilities now offer internet-based services loved ones can use to send communication. At no time may you send any other items to an inmate directly from you. One of the big scams out there that I have been noticing is various "Inmate Service" companies that claim you can contact your inmate online, or send them a message through their website. When selecting books, you should consider topics and genres your loved one enjoys, as well as sending material that can help them further their rehabilitation. You type out your letter on our website, we print it out, and send it to your incarcerated loved one. Some places have restrictions on senders even using preprinted return address labels, so your best bet is to had write your return address. Mailing and Emailing Inmates at Adult Pre-Trial Facility When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please address your mail as follows: Inmate's First & Last Name, Inmate Jacket ID# Tulare County Detentions 36714 Road 112 Visalia, CA 93291 All mail sent to an inmate at the Adult Pre-Trial Facility must include the sender's name and mailing address in the top left corner of your mail. A prepaid phone account set up by family or friends to receive inmate calls, An inmate phone account you can deposit funds into, Record secure voicemails for your inmate 24/7, Visit with your inmate via video at home or at a facility, Schedule a video visit or facility visit with your inmate, Easily pay for facility-required background check fees, Stay in touch with inmates by sending electronic messages, Share special moments with inmates by sending a photo or video, An inmates commissary account used for a variety of items, An inmate account used to pay for tablet-related content and services, Payment options for electronic monitoring, parole, restitution, community supervision and other fees, Help inmates learn with courses, modules, videos and other educational materials, Unlimited listening enjoyment with a music library of rock, pop, rap, country and more, Fun and entertainment for inmates to play popular games and puzzles, Keep inmates informed with access to popular and current real-time news stories, A robust library of ebooks with thousands of titles to educate and entertain, Easy access for listening to streaming local news, talk radio and music, Audio service for inmates to listen to TV channels broadcasted in facilities. We are also licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Unfortunately, stamps, envelopes and paper are contraband in many U.S. jails. Sending the inmate illegal material may result in revocation of mail rights for the inmate. Sending Books, Letters, and Photos to an Inmate: Important rules you need to know, Never use marker, crayon, glitter, glue, stickers or lipstick on the letter or envelope, Any drawings or markings that can be misconstrued as secret code etc. According to Washington County Sheriff's Office and Jail, if an inmate receives contraband items, those items will be returned to the sender, confiscated until the inmate is released from custody, destroyed, or confiscated as evidence in a criminal investigation. 2. A letter won't be forwarded if it: There is no quarterly limit for book shipments, but an inmate may only have ten books in their possession at any time. Important: All vendors must receive CDCR approval before providing services to institutions. (NMLS #967396). Inmate's use the funds you send them to purchase items like stamps, envelopes, food, snacks, clothing, and hygiene products from the commissary. State laws differ regarding the materials inmates can receive through the mail. Yes. in a way that does not disturb your daily routine. Colorado Universal Service Fund Intrastate Telephone Calls, funds used to communicate with loved ones. Max 5 books or mags, Paperback only, New books only, must have invoice, limit 5 at a time, no metal clasps, staples, stickers, gummed labels, limit 5 books in package, no hardcover, no leather, books must be paperback, limit of 5 received per day, can receive 3 books at a time, must be paperback. Ordering books for an inmate through Amazon is easy, you just have to make sure that you select ship by USPS and that you ship it to the inmate's mailing address. Does the inmate have a right to legal services? No used books. You can learn more about how you can save money on inmate callshere. If a sticker is on an envelope, the inmate is given the letter inside, but not the envelope. An inmate is not allowed to receive contraband items unless these are authorized by the facility. We understand how difficult it is to have a loved one in jail and provide for them. Enter the inmates full name and the state they are in. First, most facilities let you hold on to your photos and you can put them up in your cell, keep them as a bookmark, or just carry the photo with youtogive you inspiration throughout the day. This way, all you have to focus on is the content of your letter. For your security and protection, JPay sessions automatically expire. no staples or bindings. Thats not all we can do for you. Inmates incarcerated in California may receive allowable items from anyone who is not currently incarcerated, or anyone who has not been released within the past year. Some facilities let inmates receive self-addressed, stamped envelopes, but check whether there are any limitations. CDCR assumes no liability for such purchases. Sending books and magazines to an inmate is fairly simple. This will help ensure the photos are delivered to the right inmate. Send pictures of the items you write about in your correspondenceyour friends and family, the pets, the neighborhood, etc. These two combine in a way that you and your correspondent have a unique experienceyou will be sending and receiving emails, whereas they will be handling printed and written letters. will result in refusal, Never writeanything in the letters that you wouldn't want a third party to read (all mail is inspected and read by staff). Before you send prisoner stamps, paper and envelopes, make sure these items aren't classed as contraband. If you want to visit an inmate or send them mail but dont know how to find an inmate, DoNotPay has all the tools you need to easily locate them! CDCR assumes no liability for such purchases. To see how it works, open DoNotPay in your web browser and do the following: DoNotPay will find your inmate and give you the name of the facility they are currently in. It may not seem like much to someone on the outside, but when you are incarcerated letters are your lifeblood. An inmate is not allowed to receive contraband items unless these are authorized by the facility. Inmates have a commissary account that acts like a bank account, and they use funds from it to purchase items. California inmates are also allowed to receive new soft cover books directly from a publisher such as Amazon.com. Our apps Connect With an Inmate product comes with extraordinary featuresone of them being Locate Someone. Stamps Mackerel : 1.25 Band-Aids : 0.65 (Limit $9.40 Total Value) Summer Sausage 1.55 Ben-Gay Ointment 5.20 Shredded Beef : 5.85 Carmex Lip Treatment 1.70 Book of Forever Stamps 9.40 Spam 1.25 Chapstick 3.70 Book of 10 - .01 0.10 Beef Bites 2.30 Prilosec Omeprazole 10.50 . The check/money order must be payable to the inmate's name and booking number. There shall be no "Approved Vendor Lists" for any publications. For example, if I were sending an inmate items who is incarcerated atUlster Correctional Facility I would address it as follows:John Doe, 12345Ulster Correctional FacilityP.O. There are two methods inmates can make calls. It's truly maddening!! If the text poses a security threat, your recipient will never get it. However, families that purchase packages directly from a vendor are not impacted by restitution. ** If a return address on an envelope is a sticker label, the envelope is not given to the inmate, but the inmate may copy down the return address. Thats not all we can do for you. For example, Florida Department of Corrections allows inmates to receive self-addressed envelopes only up to the equivalent of 20 (1 ounce) first class stamps. Want To See What Else DoNotPay Can Do for You? Family and friends can send inmates money in different ways, depending on what the correctional facility allows. 4 x 6 is the largest photo you should send. Since 2003, the CDCR has contracted with a number of statewide and national companies that ensure inmates receive packages. An inmate package or letter doesnt always have to contain something they need. c. Pretrial, Holdover, and Detainee Inmates. Any funds sent to an inmate will still be subject to restitution as ordered by the sentencing court. 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Order business state documents and reports from prisoners remember all phone calls may be or! Are at the buyers sole risk mail from MIM is banned cards by mail, online. All the dos and donts when sending items to an inmate package, the CDCR contracted!