JPAY EMAILS, PHOTOS AND VIDEOS - WHY DO THEY TAKE SO LONG TO GET WHERE THEY'RE GOING?

In 2018 I posted an article on this site titled IDOC ADMINISTRATORS CLARIFY JPAY EMAIL TIMELINES... SORT OF. In the four years since, people continue to ask why it takes so long to get JPay "media" (mail, photos, videos) to or from prisoners, so it's time for a recap of the procedures the media go through before it's released or delivered. (It may also be time for another lawsuit.)

First, (and it really pains me to say this) the delays in sending or receiving media are not the fault of, or a problem with JPay, rather, the problem is with the facility where the prisoner is housed, where the media can sit for hours, days or weeks before being reviewed by staff.

Here's how this works (according to "those in the know"):

You send media to a prisoner (we'll call him/her Bubba) via JPay. The media then goes to JPay servers in southern Florida, then to the facility where Bubba is housed. If an email does not contain any of the words or phrases that the computer has been programmed to "look" for, (called "flagging") the email could arrive within seconds to Bubba's account. The flagged words/phrases can change at any time, and are kept a relative secret. Obviously words such as drugs, fight, escape, kill, etc. in an email coming in or going out of the prison would be of some interest to prison investigators, and are likely to be caught in the flagging filters, necessitating the email to be screened by staff.

Once an email containing a flagged word/phrase is received in the system, it goes to a review folder in the computer (think of it as an electronic version of an "in-box"). In addition to flagged emails, all emails that have attachments (photos), along with the attachments themselves - and all videos - go to the review folder where officers who have been cleared to do so look through the incoming media to see if there is an "issue" that needs further review. If there is no problem, it is released to the intended recipient.

If a photo/video shows even a [suspected] booby nipple, (could be an elbow with a wart on it) it may be confiscated (also called censored). It doesn't even have to be human, or even real... just a "depicted" female breast (SOP 503.02.01.001, page 5). You can view this and all [public accessible] IDOC SOPs by clicking on the DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION link on the sidebar on this site and following their links.

If, at any point media is confiscated, staff are required to provide Notice (on paper) of Who sent the media, When it was sent, Why it was censored and Who confiscated it - all within a specified time. If an attachment is confiscated, the email may be released, but if the email has an attachment, and the email is censored, both the email AND attachment are confiscated and neither will be released.

Let's say for example the email filters are set to recognize the word "meth" (short for methamphetamine), and an email arrives (or is sent) that contains the word "something". The email will be sent to the review folder because "soMETHing" is automatically flagged in the system. In theory, a reviewing officer would read and release the email immediately to the intended recipient. If the officer has (policy defined) concerns/suspicions regarding content, the email goes to another folder for investigations staff to review. These processes apply to all media, incoming and outgoing.

There are time limits set in policy (SOP 503.02.01.001, pages 6 - 8) for media to be processed, released or confiscated, though lately, these time limits are exceeded more and more often without consequence to staff.

Time limits to process electronic mail seem - at least to me - ludicrous in that mail received through the postal service must be processed and delivered to prisoners within 24 hours of being received by the mailroom, excluding weekends and holidays, unless there are extenuating circumstances (SOP 402.02.01.001, pg. 11, §15, Incoming Mail). Electronic media should be much easier - and faster - to review, even with the greater traffic.

There are a finite number of mailroom staff who open, search, review and process mail (including incoming and outgoing inmate letters, photos, document legal and privileged mail, magazines, newspapers, packages, property, staff mail, intra-departmental mail (including concern forms), staff documents, meter outgoing postage, etc., while hundreds of floor staff are authorized to review electronic media when they are not engaged in other duties.

As it stands, the time limit for the initial review of incoming or outgoing electronic media is 5 working days (not including holidays or weekends). Investigations staff have an ADDITIONAL 5 (working) days. So, if your email was sent on Friday May 20, Bubba might not receive it until Tuesday June 7 with the holiday and weekends (some staff argue the day it is sent, and the day it is released do not count in the time calculations). That is, IF it is released within time limits.

Lately, I have had to send concern forms regarding media held over the time limit. The media is then released after a couple days, then staff reply a day or so later that "it has already been released". Had I not known the media had been sent, I'd never know it was late (or missing).

Here's the takeaway: If media is late, people need to complain and lodge grievances. If not, it will get worse. Contact the Investigations unit at the facility where your Bubba is housed (see the IDAHO PRISON FACILITY INFORMATION link on sidebar). Have Bubba send Concerns and file a grievances when time limits are exceeded. It's your right.