Technology that has been employed at the Brazos County jail since January 2022 is starting at state prisons.
On the state prison system’s social media, the director of classifications and records says the launch begins a week July 17 at ten units.
Timothy Fitzpatrick says to send inmate mail to a processing center in Dallas.
Inmates with tablet computers will get their scanned mail and photos in color.
Inmates without tablets will get black and white printed copies.
Not subject to scanning is legal mail, books, and magazines.
Click below to hear a statement from Timothy Fitzpatrick that was posted on the state prison system’s social media:
More information from the state prison’s website:
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is excited to announce that we are moving to a digital mail platform to reduce the amount of dangerous contraband in our facilities.
We will soon begin rolling out this program in phases. The digital mail platform will first launch on July 17, 2023, at Polunsky, Coffield, Powledge, Plane, Garza West, Allred, Clements, Halbert, Robertson, and East Texas ISF units, with remaining sites to follow in the coming weeks.
All incoming mail for inmates at these units should be sent to the digital mail processing center where it will be sorted, scanned, and uploaded to the inmate’s secure tablet. These messages and photos will be scanned in color and can be saved to the tablet to be permanently available for the inmate to enjoy.
Please send all U.S. Mail for inmates at the rollout units to:
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Inmate’s Full First and Last Name + TDCJ Number + Unit Name
PO Box 660400
Dallas, TX 75266-0400
Inmates who do not have a tablet will receive black and white printed copies of their correspondence. Legal mail, media mail, books, magazines, packages, and other subscriptions will still be sent to the unit and provided to the inmate.
While no single effort can completely stop the transmission of dangerous contraband, we feel that every measure we can take to improve health and safety in our facilities is worth adopting.
You may have questions about the TDCJ’s new digital mail platform, so we’ve created a list of frequently asked questions to provide further details.
The process for outbound mail has not changed.
For more information, please contact Securus® Customer Service at 1 (800) 844-6591.
Click HERE to be directed to the state prison system’s website list of frequently asked questions.