909.02 INCOMING MAIL

1.1 Assigned staff shall open all incoming mail and inspect it for contraband. Except as provided below, no incoming mail shall be read or censored. All incoming mail, which is not from the inmate's attorney of record, a judge or court, addressed to inmates confined in a Level 4 or 5 unit, is subject to being read in its entirety or in part. In addition, the incoming mail of an inmate in any other custody level may be read if there is a reasonable belief that the inmate is using the mail to further a crime or circumvent Department regulations or other written instructions.


1.1.1 Unless there is a legitimate correctional concern relating to security, safety, ciminal activity or a threat to the orderly operation of the prison, the contents of correspondence shall not be revealed to any other person.


1.1.2 Incoming mail that is read by staff and determined to be detrimental to the security or safe operation of the institution, that might impede the protection of the public or facilitate criminal activity may be forwarded to the Criminal Investigations Bureau for further action. Such mail may include:


1.1.2.1 Mail with content that describes or encourages activities which may lead to the use of physical violence.


1.1.2.2 Mail containing information involving escape plots, plans to commit illegal activities or to violate Department or Institution regulations or other written instructions.


1.1.2.3 Mail written in code.


1.1.3 This mail may be subject to censoring or non-delivery.


1.1.4 Mail described in section 909.02, 1.1.2 shall be delivered to the inmate within 72 hours, unless it is determined that such mail is not to be delivered.


1.1.4.1 If the mail is not be delivered to the inmate, the inmate shall be notified of such within 72 hours, unless doing so interferes with an ongoing investigation.


1.1.5 Incoming mail that does not meet the standard described in 909.01, 1.1.2 shall be delivered according to normal institution procedures.


1.2 Incoming legislative correspondence shall be opened and inspected only in the presence of the inmate to whom it is addressed. Staff shall not read or censor this type of correspondence.


1.3 Postage stamps shall be available through commissary purchase only.


1.3.1 If mail is received containing postage stamps the mail shall be delivered to the inmate. The postage stamps shall be treated as unauthorized property and handled in accordance with Department Order 909, Inmate Mail/Property.


1.3.1.1 This Order is not applicable to Legal Mail containing self addressed stamped envelope(s) for return of mail to the Attorney of Record nor is it applicable to ASPC-Florence / Central Unit pursuant to the Gluth injunction.


1.4 Unauthorized property or materials that are to be returned to the sender shall be held in the complex or unit mail room no longer than 90 days, allowing the sender or inmate to arrange the return of items, not otherwise illegal, to persons outside the institution. The return shall be accomplished at the inmate's or sender's expense.


1.5 Inmates may receive money orders, cashier's checks or certified checks in accordance with Department Order #905, Inmate Banking/Money System, payable to "The Arizona Department of Corrections for the account of (inmate's name and ADC number) ."


1.5.1 Mail Room staff shall send a receipt to the inmate in the envelope/container from which the monetary instrument was removed and forward all money orders, cashiers checks, cash and personal checks received to the Business Office. The Business Office shall process appropriate monetary instruments to the inmate's account and return all cash and personal checks to the sender in accordance with the appropriate Department Order and/or Technical Manual.


1.6 Inmates may receive prepaid publications mailed directly from the publisher/retailer. The contents of these publications may be inspected.


1.6.1 Those inmates in a receiving status at a Diagnostic Reception Center shall be permitted to receive only newspaper publications.


1.7 If a publication contains material that is considered contraband, the publication shall be seized and processed as contraband. To be considered contraband, the publication's content shall contain one (or more) of the following elements:


1.7.1 Instructions on the manufacturing of homemade weapons, bombs, explosives or escape materials.
1.7.2 Instructions on the manufacturing of alcoholic beverages.


1.7.3 Material that constitutes a direct and immediate threat to the security, safety or order of the institution.

1.7.4 Material that is deemed obscene under applicable constitutional standards. A publication is deemed obscene when ALL of the following apply:


1.7.4.1 The average person, applying contemporary state standards, would find that the publication, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest.

1.7.4.2 The average person, applying contemporary state standards, would find that the publication depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual activity as defined in this written instruction.


1.7.4.3 The publication, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

1.8 The Operations Officer for Programs shall review publications that may be considered by staff to be obscene as outlined in Section 909.02, 1.7.4 through 1.7.4.3.


1.8.1 A non-inclusive list of potentially obscene material is automatically reviewed each month, and updated accordingly.


1.8.2 Wardens shall forward to the Operations Officer for Programs any publications that are potentially obscene as defined above.


1.9 Following each publication review, the Operations Officer for Programs shall e-mail all Wardens and Mail/Property Rooms a Notice of Result - Publication Review (see Attachment H), indicating one of the following:

1.9.1 The publication shall be allowed.


1.9.2 The publication shall be excluded because it meets the criteria as outlined in sections 909.02, 1.7 through 1.7.4.3.


1.9.2.1 The specific criteria shall be listed on the notice, detailing the specific reason(s) as to why the criteria applies to the publication.


1.10 Wardens shall:


1.10.1 If a publication is allowed, order the release of that publication.


1.10.2 If a publication is excluded, issue a hard copy of the "Notice of Result - Publication Review" to each inmate at that institution that has received or is subscribing to the publication being excluded.


1.11 If an inmate disagrees with the exclusion of a publication, the inmate shall send an Inmate Letter to the Operations Officer for Programs within 10 calendar days, outlining the disagreement.


1.11.1 The Operations Officer for Programs shall respond, in writing, to the disagreement, by either amending or upholding the previous decision.


1.11.1.1 If the Operations Officer for Programs determines that the previous decision requires amendment, a new e-mail indicating the amended decision shall be sent to all Wardens and Mail/Property Rooms.


1.11.2 The specific criteria used in either amending or upholding the previous decision shall be listed on the written response to the inmate, noting the applicable portion of the statute, and providing the specific reason(s) for allowance or exclusion of the publication.
1.11.3 The decision of the Operations Officer for Programs shall be final.


1.12 A copy of each "Notice of Result - Publication Review" shall be maintained by Prison Operations, with a copy of the notice attached to one example of each excluded publication, for two years from the publication date.

1.13 The Operations Officer for Programs shall, each month, compile a listing of publications that have been reviewed, and whether the publication was allowed or excluded.

1.14 Sexually-explicit material that is not covered up or stored by an inmate, or is displayed by an inmate in any way, shall be confiscated, and the inmate shall be subject to disciplinary action.


1.15 No one shall furnish, present, provide, make available, give, lend, show, advertise or distribute to a minor in the custody of the Department, any item, obscene or otherwise, that may be considered harmful to minors.


1.16 Inmates may receive newspaper clippings, magazine articles, cartoons or copies of material from the Internet enclosed within incoming mail. Any such items are subject to the criteria listed in 909.02, 1.6 through 1.15


1.17 Staff shall not deliver incoming bulk mail unless each piece is individually addressed to the intended recipient(s) by name and ADC number.


1.18 Staff shall deliver inmate mail within 24 hours, excluding Sunday and holidays.

1.18.1 Staff shall deliver telegrams and similarly urgent incoming mail no later than 12 hours after receipt at the institution.

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