What to Know About Mail Scanning at Dixon Correctional Center

IDOC has changed how incoming non-privileged mail is handled across its facilities, including Dixon Correctional Center. Under the current process, all incoming non-privileged mail gets scanned or photocopied in the mailroom before delivery.

Mailroom staff scan the front and back of the envelope in color, plus each item inside - letters, greeting cards, photographs. Stick to written correspondence, greeting cards, drawings, and photos. IDOC only accepts these items for scanning, so leave anything else out of the envelope.

The electronic mail scanning is free - no charge to you or your loved one.

No tablet? No problem. The facility still scans and photocopies incoming mail, and your loved one receives paper copies.

Speed Processing Tip

• ✓ Put your loved one’s IDOC number near their name on the envelope.
• ✓ Write the IDOC number on each page you include.
• ✓ If you’re sending photos, add the IDOC number on each photo too.

Once mail is scanned, IDOC won't return the originals. If you're sending something irreplaceable - a child's drawing, a handwritten letter, a one-of-a-kind card - mail a copy and keep the original at home.

Photos work a bit differently. If they come directly from a photo printing vendor (with the vendor's watermark or logo), they'll be delivered in their original form - unless the photos are otherwise unauthorized.

Family Checklist

• ✓ Write the IDOC number near your loved one’s name on the envelope, and on every page and photo you send.
• ✓ Keep it simple: send only written correspondence, greeting cards, drawings, and photos.
• ✓ Don’t mail irreplaceable originals expecting them back - IDOC can’t return original mail after scanning. Send copies and keep originals at home.
• ✓ If you want printed photos to arrive as originals, use a photo printing vendor that mails them directly (with the vendor watermark/logo), since those can be delivered in original form unless they’re otherwise unauthorized.