Wayne Co. Jail moves to digital mail to avoid contraband
WAYNE CO., Ill. (WFIE) - The Wayne Co. Illinois jail is transitioning to a digital mail system for inmates.
The sheriff says it’s necessary because of the ongoing contraband issue in the jail.
Wayne County Jail Administrator Sgt. Mike Miller wears a number of hats all from one room.
He can monitor calls, check surveillance and clear mail arriving for inmates, but searching mail in such a confined space comes with a risk.
“Since I started working here, we’ve always done the mail inspections here, said Sgt. Miller. “Whenever the mail comes in, it’s brought in here. Obviously inspected for any forms of contraband. Recently we’ve started seeing, with the Illinois Department of Corrections, some contraband issues.”
Contraband issues that could pose a threat to correctional officers going through mail.
If certain drugs or items are snuck into letters, it can affect cause a safety issue for those going through the mail. Throw in the risk of contraband making it to inmates and you have a problem, that’s why the Wayne County Jail made a switch on Monday.
“They will not have the hard copy, everything will go into a mailing center, it will be scanned in,” said Sgt. Miller. “Once it’s approved, every detainee will be able to look at their mail privately from the tablet. They’ll also be able to view it from the kiosk within the cell.”
Sgt. Miller believes Wayne County is one of the first smaller county jails to adopt the new method, and at no additional cost to the taxpayers, he hopes more facilities follow their lead.
“We’re all human, errors can occur. We always have multiple officers on the floor,” said Sgt. Miller. “If you get interrupted on a call or something in the back and you’ve already opened the mail, another officer may look at it and think it’s been scanned and bring it directly into the facility.”
Sgt. Miller says they haven’t seen many contraband issues at their jail, this is just a proactive step to help keep things safe.
Personal mail must be sent to an address in Kentucky where it will be scanned and delivered by cell kiosk or tablet.
Here’s the address:
Wayne County Jail IL
PO Box 76550
Highland Heights, KY 41076
Click here to see a document with more information from their Facebook page.
The Sheriff says this change comes at no additional cost to the county.
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