Challenge

A correctional institution in the Northeast was facing a growing challenge with falsified legal mail being used to smuggle contraband into the facility. The existing process—swabbing mail for illegal substances—was both time-consuming and unreliable, frequently producing false positives. These errors caused delays in delivering legitimate legal correspondence to inmates and, in more serious cases, false positives led to attorneys losing their privileges, triggering unnecessary legal disputes. The county needed a more consistent way to process legal mail.

Solution

PitneyTrack^® Verified Sender application, built off the existing inbound package tracking software, enabled the generation of unique barcode labels assigned to specific law offices. Law offices of clients were sent a letter notifying them that any legal correspondence must have these barcodes attached. All legal mail sent to inmates are now scanned and verified through the software upon receipt. If a barcode was scanned more than once or could not be validated, the system immediately triggered an alert, allowing the institution to act according to its internal protocols for handling potentially falsified mail.

Results:

As a result, the software provided a more reliable way to reduce falsified legal mail from attorneys’ offices while ensuring legitimate correspondence was delivered to inmates safely and securely. The institution also observed that the solution acted as a strong deterrent against attempts to use falsified legal mail to smuggle contraband into the facility.

Due to its success, the county expanded use of the software beyond the correctional institution to additional county offices. Once attorneys became aware of the process, many began requesting that additional institutions adopt the solution to expedite secure and timely correspondence with their clients.