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 inspection 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

Pitney Bowes legal mail sender verification application helped the facility verify the sender of each authorized legal professional. The software enabled the generation of unique barcode labels linked to specific legal professionals with inmates in the facility. Law offices of clients were sent a letter notifying them of the new requirement that any legal correspondence must have these barcodes attached.

All legal mail sent to inmates included barcodes that are now scanned upon receipt, and the sender is now verified through the software. This process verifies the authorized sender while still protecting the confidentiality of legal correspondence.  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.