Kosciusko County Jail will not be accepting any mail for an inmate beginning Nov. 20 under a new policy.
According to a news release from the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office, with the implementation of the new iPad system at the Kosciusko County Jail, new procedures will be put into place for the delivery of outside mail to inmates.
The new system will allow the jail to go paperless and no longer receive mail from the United States Postal Service. The jail will not accept any mail from anyone, including Amazon or any other third party, for an inmate as of Nov. 20. Any mail post marked Nov. 21, 2023. and forward will be returned to the sender.
The iPads have online books for sale, as well as magazines and newspapers, that inmates can purchase access to with money provided by families.
To send mail to an inmate, families will need to start sending the mail to:
Inmate’s Name
PO Box 25938
Tampa, FL 33622
A third-party company will scan any mail received; it will then be sent to the inmate’s tablet. All materials will be reviewed by jail staff prior to it being forwarded to the inmate electronically.
On Oct. 4, more than 300 tablets were delivered to the jail for inmates to use, at no cost to taxpayers.
Securus is the provider of the tablets and secure internet service.
Inmates get four 30-minute visits a month for free, according to Jail Commander Sgt. Kevin Gelbaugh in a previous interview. Anything over that, the inmate has to pay for.
Securus is doing all the training, upkeep and providing the tablets. If the tablet is broken maliciously, charges will be filed for criminal mischief. If it was accidental, Gelbaugh said they’ll then just replaced at no cost.
The tablets do not have sound. Inmates have to have earbuds for the tablets, which they can buy out of commissary.
The tablets are passed out after breakfast before 9 a.m., and the inmates have them until about 10:30 p.m.