How Mountain View Scans Your Mail (Why Residents Get Copies, Not Originals)
If your loved one at Mountain View receives a printed copy of your letter instead of the original, that's by design. Since April 2023, general mail is scanned so staff can reduce the risk of harmful items entering the facility. Your message still gets delivered.
Mountain View Correctional Facility scans all incoming general mail to minimize the risk of harmful items reaching residents. This practice took effect on April 7, 2023. All general correspondence must be sent to 809 Cushing Road, Warren, ME 04864. Mail staff (or other designated staff) scan everything, including envelopes, to create an electronic copy.
For general correspondence, scanning is the default. Mail staff scan your letter and the envelope, create an electronic copy, and print that copy for the resident. The resident receives the printout, not your original.
Photographs are handled differently. Allowable photos skip the scanner entirely and are delivered to the resident in their original form. There's also a separate situation worth knowing about. If your mail doesn't meet format requirements but staff have no reasonable suspicion of contraband, they'll photocopy the envelope and any correspondence, give the photocopy to the resident, and notify the resident in writing. The original is then immediately disposed of. So your loved one may receive a photocopy even when nobody suspects you tried to send anything prohibited.
Money note: Checks and money orders included in general correspondence will be processed at the Maine State Prison.
Most scanned mail is printed in black and white. The exception: greeting cards, postcards, or photocopies of paintings and drawings by a resident's minor children that contain color. Those get printed in color.
Once mail clears screening, the facility aims to deliver it within 48 hours. Weekends, holidays, and government shutdown days don't count toward that window.
If your loved one says they only got a photocopy and the original is gone, it likely means the item didn't meet format requirements, even though staff had no reasonable suspicion of contraband. In that case, staff photocopy the envelope and correspondence (or greeting card), hand the photocopy to the resident, notify them in writing, and immediately dispose of the original.
When staff reasonably suspect that incoming or outgoing mail contains contraband or information tied to criminal activity, the process changes. The envelope and its contents are immediately turned over to a facility law enforcement officer for review.
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