West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 95 - Jails And Prisons Standards Commission › Title 95 - LEGISLATIVE RULE JAIL AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITY STANDARDS COMMISSION › Series 95-03 - Minimum Standards For Construction, Operation And Management Of Holding Facilities › Section 95-3-16 - Communication, Mail and Visitation

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
16.1. Inmate
				Correspondence. Written policy and procedure shall govern inmate
				correspondence; they shall be available to all staff and inmates, reviewed
				annually and updated as needed.
16.2. Limitations. There shall be no
				limitation on the volume of lawful mail, including letters, packages and
				publications, which an inmate may send or receive, or on the length, language,
				content or source of the mail, except where there is clear convincing evidence
				to justify the limitations for reason of public safety or facility order and
				security. Outgoing mail shall be at the inmate's expense except as provided in
				16.3.
16.3. Indigent Inmates.
				Indigent inmates shall be provided sufficient stationary and postage for all
				letters to attorneys, courts, and public officials, as well as, two personal
				letters, without cost.
16.4. Mail
				Processing. Incoming and outgoing mail shall not be held for more than 24
				hours, excluding weekends and holidays.
16.5. Inspection. Inmate letters, both
				incoming and outgoing may be opened and inspected for contraband, but shall not
				be censored. The letters shall not be read or rejected except where there is
				reliable information that there is a threat to order and security or that they
				are being used in the furtherance of illegal activity. Inmates shall be
				notified when incoming or outgoing letters are rejected.
16.6. Cash. Procedures shall provide for the
				inspection of inmate letters to intercept cash, checks, money orders and
				contraband. A receipt shall be given the addressee.
16.7. Sealed Letters. Inmates shall be
				permitted to send sealed letters to a specified class of persons and
				organizations, including, but not limited to: courts, counsel, officials,
				administrators of grievance systems, and members of the parole authority. Mail
				to inmates from this specified class of persons and organizations shall be
				opened only to inspect for contraband and only in the presence of the
				inmate.
16.8. Telephone Access.
				Residents shall be afforded the right to reasonable telephone access. Unless
				phone access is provided by pay phones in the cell blocks, local phone calls
				shall be free. Telephone calls shall not be monitored unless so authorized by a
				prior court order. Facility personnel shall take written messages of incoming
				calls to inmates, and such messages shall be delivered no later than the end of
				the shift during which they were received. Inmates shall be permitted to return
				calls within a reasonable time.
16.9. Number and Hours of Visitors.
				Visitation shall be at least four times weekly including weekends, holidays and
				evening hours as well as daytime hours. Said scheduled hours shall be of at
				least three hours in duration. Visits shall not be limited to less than one
				half hour. Visitors whose schedule cannot accommodate the jail's visiting hours
				may upon request be granted special hours.
16.10. Visitor Registration. Visitor
				registration upon entry into the facility shall be required. All circumstances
				under which visitors may be searched shall be in written policy.
16.11. Posting. A schedule of visitation and
				visitation policy shall be posted.
16.12. Limitations. Any visitor shall be
				allowed except those excluded by court order. Inmates shall receive visits from
				immediate family regardless of age.
16.13. Searches. Inmates may be searched
				prior and subsequent to visitation. Visitors may be subject to nonintrusive
				personal searches.
16.14. Privacy.
				There shall be no monitoring of conversations between inmates and
				visitors.
16.15. Counsel. The
				number of visits with counsel shall not be restricted during reasonable
				hours.
16.16. Contact Visitation.
				Contact visits, in an appropriate physical setting, shall be available to
				inmates unless otherwise requested by a party, or unless the inmate's behavior
				is so extreme as to risk causing serious harm to a person. Denial of contact
				visitation shall be recorded and explained in the inmate's file.
16.17. Publications Restriction. Written
				policy and procedure define the type of publications allowed in the facility
				and the inspection procedure. Restriction of access to publications shall be
				directly related to the maintenance of the order and security of the
				facility.