Oregon Public Broadcasting

Starting this month across 12 counties, prison inmates will no longer get to write letters beyond the prison walls. Instead, they’ll have to use a county approved postcard.

It's part of an effort to save money and as Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, to stop a few of the more creative ways inmates have developed to commit crimes.

Shannon Lien: "It's Monday morning we have a bin of inmate mail to be sent out."

Shannon Lien

Shannon Lien oversees outgoing inmate mail at Washington County Jail.

Shannon Lien: "They cannot contact their victims, or continue criminal behavior, like trying to manipulate someone or send out codes or gang information. So that's why we look at every piece of mail."

She thinks putting everything on postcards instead of in letters is going to cut the workload in half -- saving a good deal of money.

But what I want to know is, has she ever found a nail file?

Shannon Lien: "Well not a nail file per se.  No. It's harder to get out of jail than one would think from TV."

Kristian. "I think I've watched to many cartoons."

Shannon Lien: "You know we don't let in the cakes and that sort of thing.  But the main thing is packages. Any packages have to be books or periodicals and they have to come from the publisher or bookstore."

That's because you can cut a container into a book and smuggle things in.

It turns out, inmates are incredibly creative.

For example, says Corporal Pete Moseler, crayon drawings are banned -- because someone on the outside once melted crayons down, mixed them with heroin, then let them cool. The new, enhanced, crayons were used to draw a picture, which was sent to jail and promptly consumed.

Moseler says, they even have to check the postcards.

Pete Moseler: "You have like meth that can be in a liquid form and this paper is dipped in the liquid and can be used by inmates."

Drugs aren’t the only problem. Moseler says they've had to winnow out some of the more revealing photographs sent in by wives and girlfriends -- pornography isn't allowed. And he says, sometimes they have to make sure up-coming trials remain fair.

Pete Moseler: "We have caught people trying to tamper with witnesses to cases. Try to notify associates in the community to negatively influence the judicial process. We've been able to take action."

Still, there are plenty of people who aren't happy about the move to postcards.

Jann Carson with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, says inmates are complaining about the loss of privacy and the expense of buying the pre-approved cards. 

Jann Carson: "If you think about it, being able to express yourself in a letter form, rather than an abbreviated postcard form, it's just going to allow more communication to take place."

So, while in a letter an inmate might woo a spouse with: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."- style poetry... in a postcard, that gets cut to: "Wish you were here," -- which isn't as compelling considering the location.

Jann Carson: "ACLU of Oregon is doing legal research into this issue right now and we hope to soon figure out whether we have some sound legal grounds to challenge this policy on or not."

To be fair, Washington County's sheriff's office says writing is very important. Corporal Moseler says when people go to jail, it's often the first time they've had the chance to do a little soul searching. And he says, inmates often reach out to try and fix family problems. 

Pete Moseler: "It's real important to know that writing in and of itself is a very good way for people to have that therapy."

Still, that therapy arrives on a postcard emblazoned with the face of Oregon's first law enforcement officer, Sheriff Joe Meek -- complete with gnarly beard and rifle.

The state prison system, meanwhile, isn't considering postcards. That’s because most of their inmates are in the system for the long-term, unlike those in county lock-up who are usually in for shorter stays.