FBOP Unrolls E-mail Correspondence Program

WASHINGTON — The Federal bureau of prisons plans to outfit all of its facilities with an e-mail program for inmate correspondences by 2011, according to reports.

The Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System was introduced several years ago and is already in place at some FBOP facilities, where inmates send thousands of e-mails a day.

With the system, inmates have limited computer access and cannot use the Internet. It was designed to help prepare inmates for release with basic computer skills while streamlining the written-correspondence process. It will also help eliminate drugs and other contraband, which are often hidden in inmate mail.

Inmates pay 5 cents a minute to use the system. Additional costs are paid with profits from commissary and telephone services.

Inmates can only send and receive messages from individuals on an approved contact list and the person on the contact list must agree to receive messages before e-mails are sent.

Messages can be screened for key words to ensure that inmates are not breaking any laws or violating FBOP rules with their messages, and e-mail privileges can be revoked.