OAR 291-131-0025: Incoming Mail

(1) Incoming mail shall have on the front of the envelope free from obstruction, the sender's first and last name or organization name and return address, and shall be addressed to the adult in custody using their court name and state identification number (SID). (a) Adults in custody who legally change their name while in custody must verify the change and may seek approval to include their new name under the court name, labeled as a.k.a. (b) If the adult in custody recipient cannot be positively identified, the mail will be returned to the sender. A reasonable attempt will be made to identify the adult in custody recipient. (c) Mail with no return address shall be refused and returned to the U.S. Postal Service or other authorized mail service provider. No notice will be given to the adult in custody . (d) The placement of the return address for international mail shall be in accordance with the sending country’s postal regulations. (2) Incoming mail must be in pen, pencil, or be typewritten, photocopied, or printed. Examples of writing substances that will not be accepted include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) Gel pen; (b) Marker; (c) Wax (such as crayon and some colored pencils); and (d) Abnormally thick ink. (3) Incoming mail must be written on standard weight (20 pound or less) white paper. (4) Authorized Envelopes: (a) Except for mail that is addressed and received directly from the Corrections Ombudsman, a government entity, an approved vendor, publisher, treatment facility, health care provider, or is properly marked as “legal” or “official” mail, incoming mail must be enclosed in a commercially produced envelope using standard weight white paper that is no larger than 9” x 12”. (b) Examples of envelopes that will not be accepted include, but are not limited to, the following: (A) Any non-white envelope. (B) Envelopes larger than 9” by 12” (except as provided in subsection (4)(a) of this rule). (C) Envelopes that are not commercially produced. (D) Envelopes made of cardstock, cardboard, padded, corrugated, or tear-resistant material. (E) Envelopes constructed of heavy weight paper or with security screening features. (5) Transfers and Work Crews: (a) Incoming mail to adults in custody not residing in the receiving facility will be forwarded to the adult in custody if they reside at another Department of Corrections facility. (b) Incoming mail for adults in custody temporarily transferred to another criminal justice agency will be held at the facility for seven consecutive days. If the adult in custody does not return to the facility within seven days, the facility will forward to the criminal justice agency all accumulated and subsequent mail received at the facility. If the criminal justice agency refuses the forwarded mail, it will be held at the department facility until the adult in custody has been returned. (c) Work Crews: Incoming first-class mail for adults in custody temporarily residing at an off-site work location, such as a fire crew, should be held at the facility for no more than ten consecutive days. After ten days, the facility should arrange for first class mail delivery to the off-site work location. (6) Mail received for an adult in custody who has been released, discharged, or has escaped shall be refused and returned to the U.S. Postal Service or other authorized mail service provider. (7) New and used books, magazines, newspapers, and blank journals shall only be received directly from the publisher or distributor. (a) Multiple copies of the same publication to an adult in custody shall be prohibited. (b) Publications that have been previously rejected by the department and altered ( that is, offending pages removed) shall be prohibited. (8) Adults in custody may receive catalogs, advertisements, brochures, promotional materials, pamphlets, sweepstakes, and contest materials solicited by the adult in custody provided the materials are properly addressed with the adult in custody’s court name and state identification number (SID) and are received directly at the correct address where the adult in custody is currently housed. These materials must conform to any content restrictions contained within this rule. (9) Calendars shall only be received directly from a publisher or distributor. Calendars must: (a) Be no longer than 12” wide and 24” long when unfolded; (b) Meet the no freestanding nude or partially nude standards and have no security threat group imagery or graphic violent content; and (c) Have a plastic or stapled binding. Wire bindings are prohibited. (10) No notice or administrative review will be provided to the sender or intended adult in custody recipient for mail refused under subsections (5), (6), and (7) above of this rule. (11) Packages, except books, magazines, and newspapers received directly from the publisher or distributor, require prior authorization from the functional unit manager or designee. The package authorization form must be attached to the outside of the package. (12) Central Administration Review of Publications: (a) Facility mailroom employees shall stamp approval of all accepted books, magazines, and other publications (except newspapers) on the front or inside front cover of the publication, together with the adult in custody’s name and state identification number (SID). Books and magazines without the completed stamp on the front or inside front cover shall be unauthorized and considered contraband. (b) Unauthorized attachments, enclosures, merchandise, or materials in publications may be removed and destroyed to allow the publication to be delivered to the intended adult in custody recipient if the publication is otherwise in compliance with these rules and doing so would not drastically alter or destroy the publication. (c) If mailroom employees determine a publication contains material that is prohibited under these or other department administrative rules, a mail violation notice or publication violation notice and the prohibited material shall be reviewed by a designated Central Administration official, who will affirm, reverse, or otherwise modify the original rejection decision in writing. (13) General correspondence is authorized up to ¼- inch thickness. (a) Legal mail and official mail received directly from the original source are authorized up to three inches thick. Legal mail and official mail that is more than three inches thick require prior approval from the functional unit manager or designee through a package authorization form. (b) Mail received directly from a government entity that is not considered legal mail or official mail is authorized up to three inches thick. Mail received from a government entity that is more than three inches thick requires prior approval from the functional unit manager or designee through a package authorization form. (14) Unauthorized Attachments and Enclosures: (a) Only the canceled postage stamp, package authorization form, address label, and return address stamp (if used) attached to the front of an envelope or package shall be glued, taped, or otherwise affixed to an envelope or package or its contents. (b) Only written correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, small pamphlets, photocopies, carbon copies, handmade drawings, printed web pages, and photographs that meet the content restrictions in these rules may be enclosed in the envelope. (c) Unauthorized items with minimal monetary value ( for example, paper clips, rubber bands, uncancelled stamps, bookmarks, envelopes, blank paper, blank cards, or blank postcards, etc.) may be removed and destroyed, and the remaining mail sent to the adult in custody if the remaining contents are otherwise in compliance with department rules. (d) Freestanding Nude or Partially Nude Images: Newspaper and magazine clippings, photocopies, printed web pages, drawings, photographs, and other media with nude or partially nude subjects, whether human or anime ( that is, cartoon) that depict or display male or female genitalia, pubic area, anus, or female areola may not be attached to or enclosed in correspondence to adults in custody . (15) All images received from a photo company through first-class mail will be treated as individual photos, not publications. Such images are subject to the same content standards as described in the freestanding nude or partially nude images guidelines. (16) The department is not responsible for the loss or damage of individual photographs.