M2W2

WRITING LETTERS
Inmates always appreciate a letter. Most assuredly it will be read several times. The rule is that you must be the one to initiate correspondence. Birthday cards and Christmas cards are especially encouraged. Never use your home address when writing to an inmate. You must use the office’s post office box in Snohomish. You may write directly to the inmate, just use the post office box for the return address. Have your friend write back to you at the post office box, they can address it to you at that P.O. Box. When a letter arrives for you, we will drop it unopened in another envelope and mail it to you. We do randomly screen letters from inmates to volunteers and will open any letter that causes suspicion or is otherwise questionable. We will note on the envelope when this has been done. You can then make a small donation to the agency periodically to cover the cost of the postage to forward it to you.

Your return address is:
Your Name
P.O. Box 293
Snohomish, WA 98291-0293

The Inmate’s address is :
Inmate Name & DOC Number
Institution name and Unit (optional)
P.O. Box or Street Address
City, WA Zip

Institutional Addresses:

MAIL RESTRICTIONS
www.doc.wa.gov/family/mail.asp
All incoming mail to a Washington Institutions must go through security and be cleared before being delivered to an inmate. It can take up to 7 days from the day you mail it, until it reaches the inmate. Also, it is very important that letters are to be addressed correctly by using the correct return address and to always includes the inmates name and DOC number.

There are restrictions on what can be mailed into an inmate.The following is partial lists of what types of incoming mail are not allowed and will be rejected:

1. Writing in gel or glitter pens
2. Stamps, writing paper or envelopes
3. Money, in any form
4. Stickers or scotch tape on the envelope (address labels are okay.)
5. Multi-layered home made cards
6. Greeting cards that are padded, laminated, musical and/or bigger that 8″ x 10″
7. More than a single magazine article
8. Book clippings of any size
9. More than 10 newspaper clippings
10. Publications not mailed directly from the publisher or retailer
11. Sweepstakes, contests, lottery tickets, games of chance
12. Threats of physical harm
13. Blackmail or extortion threats
14. Contraband
15. Weapons, ammunition, bomb or incendiary device construction plans
16. Escape plans or operational details of existing security devices
17. Plans for criminal activity
18. Mail that is in code
19. Mail in a foreign language, when efforts to interpret have been unsuccessful
20. Obscene or sexually explicit material
21. Prejudicial, bigoted, and discriminatory material

MONEY & GIFTS
One rule is not to send money or gifts to an inmate. Also, do not receive money from an inmate to purchase goods or to be used for any other purpose. If an inmate asks for money or a Package you can say, “It is against the rules, I can’t.” Basic living supplies, including stamps, are available to inmates through an inmate welfare/betterment fund.

BOOKS, TAPES, AND ANYTHING ELSE
M2 policy forbids gifts of any kind. You may not give them anything except your time and friendship. DOC ensures that all inmates have access to basic needs items. Indigent inmates are supplied with work and living unit clothing and shoes, basic toiletries, some writing paper and pre-franked envelopes, and a Bible, Koran or Torah (in various translations). Inmates will complain that they need something, but really what they are saying is that they don’t like what they have been supplied and they want something better (cooler). It may break your heart but you can not give them anything, not even a magazine subscription.