A Dane County Sheriff’s Office proposal to end county jail inmates’ access to physical copies of their mail has come under fire from community advocates and members of a County Board committee.
Eight community members spoke at a recent meeting of the Public Protection and Judiciary Committee, opposing a proposed contract with Smart Communications, a company that provides communication services for residents in jail including SMS messages, emails and video calls. The proposal includes the adoption of mail scanning, in which physical mail is diverted to an outside location, scanned and sent to inmates via tablets.
Prisons and jails around the country are adopting mail scanning, including Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections, saying it prevents drugs and other contraband from entering their facilities. Dane County Sheriff’s Office staff make the same case…