Chapter 1 – General Administration

13010.15.2 Writing, Telephoning, Visiting, and Emailing an Incarcerated Person 

• Media representatives may contact any incarcerated person in State prison by mail.  It is not necessary for media to notify the CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation before communicating with an incarcerated person. Incoming non-confidential letters are opened, inspected for contraband, subject to being read, and then forwarded to the incarcerated person. To ensure prompt processing, media representatives should address letters using the incarcerated person’s full name, CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation number, cell or location numbers if known, and the address of the institution where they are housed.

• Most incarcerated people have access to telephones and can make outgoing collect calls on designated telephones according to their privilege group. Limitations are placed on the frequency of such calls to allow equal access to telephones by as many incarcerated people as possible and as determined by their privilege group. When corresponding with an incarcerated person, media representatives may provide a telephone number where they can call them collect.  It is up to the incarcerated individual to initiate the call. Telephone calls are limited to 15 minutes and may be recorded. Media representatives may also record the call with the incarcerated person’s permission. Media representatives do not need CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s permission to record a telephone conversation with an incarcerated person.

• Staff will not take messages and faxes from the media to incarcerated people.

• Media representatives may send email to an incarcerated person who is able to communicate by email via a state-issued tablet provided by an approved vendor. Depending on the facility, incarcerated people may be able to respond electronically, view and print an incoming message, and view photo attachments.

• If a media representative wishes to visit an incarcerated person, it shall be in accordance with the visiting requirements in CCRCalifornia Code of Regulations Sections 3170-3176 and DOMDepartment Operations Manual Chapter 5 Article 42. A completed questionnaire must be submitted and approved by the institution before the visit. Any member of the media, once approved, may visit; however, they shall not bring in cameras or recording devices in a manner inconsistent with the DOMDepartment Operations Manual or State law. No incarcerated person or parolee shall have their visitation limited or revoked solely because of a visit or potential visit from a media representative, nor may an incarcerated person or parolee be punished, reclassified, disciplined, transferred to another prison against their wishes, or otherwise retaliated against, solely for participating in a visit by, or communicating with, a media representative. During an interview, media representatives shall be allowed to bring up to three (3) pens, three (3) pencils, and one (1) pad of paper into the facility. These items shall be searched to protect against an immediate and direct threat to the security of the institution.

• To maintain order, individual safety, prison security and operations, the rules established in the CCRCalifornia Code of Regulations, Title 15, Subchapter 2, Article 7, Visiting, also apply during video visits. Since no recording, videotaping or photography is allowed during in-person visiting, the same rules apply for virtual visits. Failure to adhere to the rules by any party during a virtual visit will result in termination of the video visit, and may include disciplinary action and/or visitor suspension.