General:
Inmates shall be permitted to correspond with whomever they wish outside the jail, except that the jail may prohibit:
- Written correspondence with inmates in other corrections facilities; and
- Written correspondence which jail officials reasonably believe would jeopardize the safety, security, order, discipline, or treatment interests of the jail.
Delivery Schedule:
Incoming mail shall be delivered Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
Incoming mail should be delivered to inmates within 24 hours of the mail being received by the jail, excluding weekends and holidays.
Outgoing mail should be mailed out the day it is received from the inmate, except mail which is:
- Received after the close of the business day, which shall be posted the following business day;
- Received on weekends or holidays, which shall be posted the following business day;
- Held for translation, which shall be posted within two working days; or
- Held for violation of law or jail regulation.
Screening Mail:
Incoming mail will be opened and inspected by PCF staff for contraband prior to delivery to inmates.
Outgoing mail will be opened and inspected for contraband after receipt from the inmate and prior to being sent out of the facility.
If publications or other personal communications are rejected on the basis of content, the entire publication will be rejected rather than removing the offending pages, passages, or words.
Rejecting Mail:
Reasons that incoming and outgoing mail may be rejected include, but are not limited to:
- Material depicting activities that present a significant risk of physical violence or group disruption (e.g., material dealing with the subjects of self-defense or survival, weaponry, armaments, explosives, or incendiary devices);
- Information regarding escape plots, plans to commit illegal activities, or plans to violate PCF rules or facility guidelines;
- Information regarding the production of drugs or alcohol;
- Sexually explicit material, as defined below;
- Threats, extortion, obscenity, or gratuitous profanity;
- Cryptographies or other codes that may be used as a form of communication;
- Outgoing mail with envelope markings or information other than the return address and the recipient’s address;
- No return address;
- Use of PCF forms, other than as intended;
- Photographs exceeding 5×7 inches;
- Polaroid photographs;
- Stickers, tape, glitter, glue, fragrances, or other unknown substances;
- “Bill me later” correspondence;
- Catalog requests (catalogs for authorized purchases will be maintained by the Programming Unit and are available for inmate use); and
- Other contraband. A package received without the Corrections Chief Deputy’s prior authorization is considered contraband.
Publisher-Only Rule:
Books, magazines, newspapers, and other commercially produced material (e.g., cross-word puzzles) procured from outside the jail must be received directly from the publisher, or authorized national-level distributor (e.g., Amazon.com). A list of current authorized distributors shall be maintained by the PCF Mail Room. Per the inmate matrix, any books received over the allowed amount will result in the entire publication(s) being rejected rather than removing the allowed amount. All books received must be new.
Photocopies, clips, or portions of books, magazines, newspapers, or other copyright protected material shall not be permitted to circumvent the publisher-only rule and shall not be accepted.
Legal Mail:
Inmates may access courts and legal counsel via standard mail (USPS).
Legal mail shall not be denied or restricted.
Legal mail must be identified by the sender by writing “legal” on the outside of the envelope to notify PCF staff that the contents contain material that is entitled to legal mail privileges.
Legal mail must display the name and address of the sender on the outside of the envelope.
Legal mail will be verified for authenticity and checked for contraband. Legal mail will be opened by PCF staff in the presence of the inmate sending or receiving it, except when contamination is suspected.
Cash and Other Negotiable Instruments:
Cash, money orders, checks, and other negotiable instruments will not be delivered to inmates.
Cash, money orders, and cashiers checks will not be accepted and shall not be credited to inmates’ accounts. All negotiable instruments will be returned to the sender.
Length and Size of Standard Mail:
As of November, 1 2014, the following changes will be made to mail procedures of PCF:
• All incoming and outgoing mail, except legal mail and other specifically approved items,
must be in postcard form.
• Mail received other than authorized postcards will be returned to sender.
• Postcards must have the sender’s full name and complete return address.
• Postcards for inmates need to be sent to the following address:
Purgatory Correctional Facility
Inmate’s Full Name
750 S 5300 W
Hurricane, UT 84737
• Postcards cannot have anything attached to them like photos, glitter, perfume, lipstick, or any sexually explicit material.
• All postage stamps will be removed prior to the inmate receiving the postcard, so please do
not write on the postcard directly behind the stamp.
• Postcards will not be accepted if they are larger than 6 inches by 11.5 inches.
• Inmates are allowed to have photographs in their possession no larger than 5 inches by 7
inches.
• Photographs may still be mailed to the inmate provided the envelope is clearly
marked “Photographs” and contains no additional correspondence. The photographs
may not exceed 5 inches by 7 inches in size. The inmate’s name and name number
must be written on the back of each photograph.
• Books, magazines, newspapers, and other commercially produced material (e.g., cross-
word puzzles) procured from outside the jail must be received directly from the publisher,
or authorized national level distributor (e.g., Amazon.com).
• No hardback books are accepted.
Photocopies, clips, or portions of books, magazines, newspapers, or other copyright
protected material are considered and attempt to circumvent the publisher only rule
and will not be accepted.
• Packages from private residences, businesses, or post office boxes will be returned to the
sender. A package is defined as a box or mail item (special delivery, UPS, etc.)
larger/thicker than a letter that contains what a reasonable person would observe to be over
100 pages (1/2” thick) of material. Exceptions to include: preapproved medical packages,
attorney/client mail (marked with the designation of “legal privileged mail” or words to
that effect), and soft cover books (see books and magazines above).
• The Purgatory Correctional Facility does not forward mail. Mail for inmates no longer
incarcerated at PCF will be returned to the sender.
Inmates shall not be allowed to receive personal mail packages. Padded envelopes and packages shall be returned to the sender. Inmates are responsible for informing their friends and family of PCF’s mail rules and regulations.
Definitions:
USPS
United States Postal Service
Sexually Explicit
Actual, simulated, or depicted conduct including sexual intercourse (including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, oral-anal), bestiality, masturbation, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person or animal. Any depiction where the viewer can observe any part of the genitals or pubic area of any depicted person, or the breasts of any depicted female person.