October 31, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jenni Riehle, Riehlej2@michigan.gov
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) will be implementing a new system for verifying privileged mail sent to incarcerated individuals to increase safety and security.
The new system, TextBehind DOCS, will be used by attorneys, courts, legal service organizations, consulates, and others that have the right to send confidential, privileged, and special handling mail to clients within prison.
Several years ago, MDOC instituted the practice of providing photocopies of standard mail to incarcerated individuals, which resulted in a significant decline in efforts to introduce drugs using adulterated paper, stickers, and other mailable items. With standard mail no longer an option to individuals seeking to send contraband into a facility, some turned to falsifying privileged mail to continue their illegal efforts.
TextBehind DOCS will allow the department to confirm the origin of privileged mail while maintaining the confidentiality of mail items through a reliable and free sender identity verification process. This will eliminate the need for facility staff to contact the individual sender to confirm each privileged mail item.
The new system will also mitigate the potential exposure to life-threatening contraband such as Fentanyl that may be smuggled through fake legal mail. Mail marked for special handling that does not utilize TextBehind after full implementation of this system will be returned prior to opening.
Eligible users of this new system will be sent information on how to register and utilize the technology. More information is available on the MDOC website.
Sending drugs to any MDOC facility is a felony and the department supports prosecution in every case. Anyone sending mail to a Michigan prison is responsible for all items that they send. Individuals should never mail items or documents to a prison on behalf of another sender.
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