Chapter 5 – Adult Custody and Security Operations

54030.7 Incarcerated Personal Property Acquisition

• Inmate personal property shall not be accepted at the front entrance gate or visiting desks. Inmates may be allowed to acquire specific items of personal property through the following methods:

  • Special Purchases

    • Facilities shall allow for inmates to purchase the below listed items utilizing funds in their inmate trust account. Special purchases of the below listed items shall not be counted as a personal property package. Special purchases shall be from departmentally approved, special purchase vendors. Special purchases shall be made in accordance with approved local procedure.

    • Facilities may submit for departmental approval, local special purchase vendors as required, to provide religious food items, handicraft material, health care appliances, subscriptions to local newspapers, etc. The facility requesting departmental approval of a special purchase vendor shall submit the approval request to the office of the Deputy Director, DAIDivision of Adult Institutions (formerly Institutions Division), along with rationale for approval and a statement that the vendor meets the local facility’s security and business requirements.

    • Note: The approval criteria for personal property package vendors established in Subsection 54030.9.1 does not apply to special purchase vendors. The approval criteria for religious personal property vendors is established in Subsection 54030.9.3.

• The amount charged an inmate for ordering entertainment appliances, a musical instrument, handicraft material, periodicals, or fiction books as a special purchase shall include a 10 percent service charge. Service charges shall be deposited in the inmate welfare fund.

• Special purchases of health care appliances, correspondence courses, nonfiction books, and legal materials are not subject to service charges.

• Facilities will make available to all incarcerated persons, procedures for special purchases. Purchases of health care appliances, correspondence courses, religious items, and handicraft material require an incarcerated person to obtain prior written approval.

• Health Care Appliances are prescribed by health care staff and subject to approval by designated custody staff. Health care appliances may be purchased by third parties. All health care appliances are to be received by designated health care staff from an approved vendor and inspected by designated custody staff prior to issuance. Health care appliances are not subject to the six cubic foot property limitation and do not count towards the two appliance limit as described in Subsection 54030.7 (refer to
  Subsection 54030.11).

• Correspondence Courses and materials are subject to approval by designated custody and educational staff. Correspondence courses shall be received by designated education staff and inspected by designated custody staff prior to issuance (refer to Subsection 54030.10.3).

• Legal Material is legal reference materials and books, legal pads, and pencils not available in the institution canteen. Legal material purchases are to be received by Receiving and Release (R&RReceiving and Release) staff and inspected prior to issuance (refer to
  Subsection 54030.10.2).

• Religious Items, as described in the RPPM. Inmates shall be authorized to order religious personal property based upon assigned Privilege Group as specified in the RPPM. Religious personal property items shall be ordered by inmates or third parties via a departmentally approved religious vendor.

• Religious items as described in the RPPM are to be shipped directly from a departmentally approved religious vendor in vendor sealed packages and inspected by designated custody staff prior to issuance (refer to CCRCalifornia Code of Regulations, Title 15, Subsection 3134(c)).

• Entertainment Appliances and Musical Instruments, as described in the APPS are to be shipped directly from a departmentally approved vendor in factory sealed packages, received by R&RReceiving and Release staff, and inspected prior to issuance. Packages that are damaged or opened shall be refused (Subsection 54030.10.6).

• Books and Periodicals, purchases and subscriptions shall be submitted according to local procedures and may be purchased for an inmate by a third party. (Note: For purposes of this subsection a departmentally approved vendor is any publisher or book store that does mail order business as outlined in CCRCalifornia Code of Regulations, Title 15, Subsection 3190(k)(7)).

• Handicraft Material, restricted to inmates approved to participate in the handicraft program. Handicraft items shall be received by the handicraft manager and inspected by designated custody staff prior to issuance (Subsection 54030.10.4).