Gunn Misses Mark, Then Hits It
JPay comments on commentator’s column
The Muskegon Chronicle columnist Steve Gunn wrote in an op-ed two weeks ago about the “postcard only” policy at the Muskegon County Jail. The facility had been considering the suspension of sealed letters to inmates, instead allowing only stamped postcards to be delivered. According to Gunn’s column, a group called “Letters Are Better” conducted several protests against Muskegon County’s decision.
These protests are the columnist’s jumping-off point for a condemnation of the practice of allowing inmates to receive long-form communication while incarcerated. These offenders should, according to Gunn, spend their time ”thinking about what they did” rather than reading mail from their family. This is a fundamentally wrong position; contact with support systems and loved ones on the outside, even during shorter incarcerations, is a central component of an inmate’s rehabilitation, and a bulwark against institutionalization (and recidivism as well; see our previous blog post).
Gunn eventually steers his column to some very valid points. The county facility apparently had drugs and other contraband reaching inmate via sealed mail. As such, safety and security at the facility was being jeopardized by these mailings, and, as Gunn writes, security must always be the first priority.
He also mentions the labor cost of having county personnel manually sort and screen each envelope. This is a real concern not just for Muskegon County, but for corrections departments across the United States, all of which are currently facing budget shortfalls and other financial constraints. The labor costs associated with this necessary security practice can become prohibitive, and can prompt reactions such as Muskegon County’s: just ban the letters.
Technology, however, presents another solution. Just up the road, at the Muskegon Correctional Facility (which, as a part of the Michigan Department of Corrections, contracts with JPay) inmates can communicate with individuals on their approved visitation list via eMessaging. Facilities that offer eMessaging, including those in Michigan, experience a sharp decline in physical mail received and can reduce the number of hours their staff spends screening and sorting it. This reduction in physical mail decreases the potential for contraband entering the facility without depriving inmates’ friends and family of the ability to write long letters, send pictures, and otherwise maintain beneficial contact with their incarcerated loved ones.
Gunn eventually hits the mark in his column, calling for common sense when it comes to prison security. But common sense doesn’t need to come at the expense of inmates’ rehabilitative prospects; in this case, it can come from smart technology. JPay technology.
4 Comments
Cynthia R*.*
May 19, 2011I think this is ridiculous! The inmates are already being punished by hvn their freedom taken away. They want to put a stop to letters being sent in an envelope cuz of drugs that go thru. well, how are u gna punish ALL the inmates for d few that receive drugs thru envelopes. & also, keep in mind, alot of these inmates are INNOCENT. How are u gna punish them with the rest??? This is absurd! Plz think b4 u act on this …. be in their shoes, them writing letters is like a healing process & their only way to the outide world…. God bless these inmates & may He gv them strength during this difficult decision that was made by one man, Amen.
Joyce McLaughlin
May 19, 2011I use JPay to write to my son and to send him a couple of bucks once in awhile. But his jail does not have a return program where he could write to me. That is still limited to letters that cost money to send (envelopes and stamps. I think contact with family is so nessesary for rehabilation. If there is some one”out there” the prisoner wants to impress so they will be proud of them. then the prisoner should be able to be in touch with them.
And what about us on this side of the fence.? Why are we being punished? Why can’t we have more contact with our loved ones. We didn’t do anything wrong..
JPay Blog » Staying Connected and Cutting Costs
September 13, 2011[...] about the Supreme Court decision regarding the California state prison system, the postcard-only policy in Muskegon County, or the overall budgetary stresses on correctional systems around the county, the amount individual [...]
Tom
January 6, 2012Don’t mind Steve Gunn, he’s a complete and utter idiot. That man doesn’t have the sense God gave a billy goat. What Gunn fails to mention is the fact that, while mail is one method of introducing contraband into the prison, there are methods which are introducing MUCH more contraband than could ever be introduced by mail. Think about it, how much contraband could ever be put in a letter? The methods introducing the real contraband is contact visits and the GUARDS themselves. A letter only conceals small amounts of drugs. People can bring in larger amounts of drugs plus tobacco and one of the worst problems, cell phones. Cell phones are ways to make money by charging others to use it. They can facilitate prison breaks because they’re phone calls that can’t be monitored and they can be used to arrange drug deliveries. Besides, if you allow mail, they then know who is receiving the drugs. Gee, maybe I should be a columnist. Don’t mind me, I just have issues with Steve Gunn…..as if you couldn’t tell…LOL. Anyway, I think I’ve proven my point that mail isn’t the real problem. I guarantee you, hypocrite guards bring in more phones and drugs than could get through by a ton of mail. Like I said, how much dope can fit in an envelope without being easily detected? Just think about it.