What Will Get Your Mail Rejected at Bergen County Jail: Prohibited Content Checklist
Mail rules can feel unforgiving—especially when you're just trying to stay connected. This checklist covers what Bergen County Jail rejects so you can screen your letter or reading material before sending it.
Every piece of mail at Bergen County Jail gets inspected by the Bergen County Sheriff's Office. This isn't just a rubber-stamp process - staff can reject anything they consider a threat to jail security or operations, even if it looks like a routine letter or publication.
Sending reading material? Watch the source. Magazines, newspapers, and books must ship directly from the publisher. Anything forwarded from home or mailed secondhand will likely be refused.
- ✓ Information about explosives (in a letter or a publication)
- ✓ Information about weapons (in a letter or a publication)
- ✓ Information about controlled dangerous substances (in a letter or a publication)
- ✓ Anything describing escape plans
- ✓ Anything discussing lock picking or locking devices
- ✓ Correspondence or publications that appear to be written in code
- ✓ Material describing activities that would be subject to criminal prosecution under New Jersey or U.S. law
- ✓ Content that incites violence or destructive/disruptive behavior toward law enforcement, sheriff’s office personnel, inmates, visitors, volunteers, or facility programs/procedures
- ✓ Material that incites violence based on race, religion, creed, or nationality and could reasonably lead to violence inside the facility
Bergen County Jail prohibits sexually explicit or obscene material. That means content that - taken as a whole - appeals to prurient sexual interest, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value, and depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way. This includes explicit descriptions or images of sexual acts, masturbation, excretory functions, lewd exhibition of genitals, sadism, masochism, or bestiality.
- Assume it will be reviewed - All inmate mail received by the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office is subject to inspection.
- Screen what you’re sending - Read through your letter (and flip through any printed pages) and remove anything that fits the prohibited categories above.
- Confirm the source for publications - For magazines, newspapers, and books, make sure they’re shipped directly from the publisher.
Note: Not sure if something crosses the line? Check with the jail before mailing it. Since all mail gets inspected, guessing wrong means delays or rejection.
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