Recent incidents confirm need for Westmoreland County revamped mail policy
Recent incidents like ones at the State Correctional Institutions at Fayette and Greene where guards were sickened after coming in contact with unknown substances has verified to prison officials in Westmoreland County that a new, stricter mail policy is necessary.
Warden John Walton said incidents like those are in the newspaper every day. On Saturday, an officer at the Greene County state prison fell ill after entering into a broom closet to do an inventory. He was pale, nauseated, lightheaded and had elevated blood pressure and respiration, according to prison officials.
He was later stabilized at the hospital.
Walton said the county’s updated prison mail policy, which includes staff copying all regular mail, greeting cards and pictures sent to inmates in the prison, is one way to avoid those types of incidents on a county prison level. Inmates get photocopies of their non-legal mail, and photographs and put with their belongings so they can retrieve them when they leave prison.
Since it was implemented in late June, Walton says he’s received 15 to 20 phone calls from other institutions inquiring about the policy.
“A lot of jails are looking for a means to try to stop inmates from spraying (a contraband) substance on paper and then smuggling it in,” said Walton.
One type of mail that prison officials are having a difficult time in restricting is legal mail. It isn’t copied, but prison staff use the bar association to verify the name, address and phone numbers of attorneys on all legal mail.
However, Walton said in neighboring counties, like Allegheny, there have been instances where someone has stolen letterhead from an attorney’s office in an attempt to smuggle in some sort of substance to someone who is incarcerated.
Although the Westmoreland County Prison doesn’t accept photocopied materials, it is difficult to spot counterfeit legal documents.
In Allegheny County, officials have developed a bar code system for legal documents, which Westmoreland officials are currently looking into.
One of the prison’s biggest concerns is related to inmates who come back into the county’s jail from state institutions or other facilities that don’t have similar policies.
Walton said recently force had to be used on an inmate who was adamant that he wanted his mail.
Because of his reaction, prison officials wonder if the mail was in fact tainted. However, his legal mail after verification was given back to the inmate.
“We’re really trying to keep contraband out of the prison,” said Walton.