Going through the days in a prison is not easy. Inmates live there with some limitations and rules. Sending photos can be one of the ways to entertain, motivate or inspire them. By sending photos, an inmate can also see the things that you have talked with them through letters or over the phone. For example, you have told the inmate that your child has become a student in an elementary school and then you send a picture of your child who is wearing the uniform. Surely, it will make the inmate’s feel better.
Rules of Sending Pictures to Inmates
However, when you have a plan to send pictures to an inmate, you need to know the important rules for sending pictures to an inmate in the correctional facility where your loved one is incarcerated. Here are some general rules of sending pictures to an inmate.
- Pictures that you send are usually no bigger than 4”x6”. However, some correctional facilities allow you to send pictures in the maximum size of 8”x10”.
- On the back of the picture, you have to write the name and the ID number of the inmate. So, the mail room staff will be helped with it.
- Make sure that in the pictures there is no nudity and sexually suggestive material.
- It is also prohibited to send pictures which contain violence, drugs, alcohol, tobacco and weapons.
- Often, it is prohibited to send photos that contain hand gestures and tattoos. The reason is because it may have gang implications.
- Polaroids are not allowed.
- Don’t send pictures of images that show maps or blueprints of the prison where the inmate is.
- Don’t send the picture of the inmate or even a picture where the inmate is in such as in a family photo. It is because another inmate may obtain the picture and use it for illegal things.
- Usually, in an envelope, you are only allowed to send 5 photos, but sometimes a facility only allows you to send 3-5 photos. However, there are also correctional facilities that allow you to send up to 10 photos.
You have to note that the staff and other inmates will see the photos that you send so that you have to obey the rules and send the appropriate ones.
You also need to contact the facility where your loved one is incarcerated to know the rules of sending pictures in that facility since the rules can be different from a facility to another facility. It can be done over the phone or accessing the website of the facility.
The Importance of Sending Photos to an Inmate
Never underestimate any attention that you give to an inmate because it will be meaningful for the inmate. When someone is incarcerated, they may feel lonely and sad. They also miss their loved one, but they live in limitations. Sometimes, they may think of making trouble in the cell because of some reasons such as being stressed.
When you send pictures to your incarcerated one, it can remind them that they still have people out there who love them and wait for them to come back. Through the pictures that you send, the inmate can be inspired, motivated and even entertained. So, they will not be sad again, and it can even help them to avoid making trouble in the prison. Sending pictures to an inmate can also make them easier in going through their hard life in prison.
Who is Able to Send Pictures to Inmates?
Not all people are allowed to send pictures to an inmate. People who are allowed to send pictures to an inmate are the inmate’s family members and friends. When their family or friends send them pictures, usually the inmate can feel better while they are in the facility.
People who are not allowed to send pictures to an inmate are offenders who are in remotely-monitored home detention, and witnesses or victims of a crime that the inmate committed.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
