What You Can't Send to Sampson County Detention Center: Prohibited Items and Card/Photo Rules
Mail that breaks the rules at Sampson County Detention Center gets rejected, delayed, or never reaches your loved one. Use the checklists below to avoid common problems—especially with money, photos, and greeting cards.
At a Glance
- ✓ Cash, personal checks, or money orders (don’t mail these to the mail processing center)
- ✓ Greeting cards or mail with glitter, glue, tape, 3D pop-ups, or electronic parts (lights, music, animation)
- ✓ Magazines, books, packages, or publications of any kind mailed to the mail processing center
Even harmless-looking items can get your mail rejected. Sampson County Detention Center won't accept correspondence that contains, depicts, or relates to sexually explicit activity, gang activity, illegal activity, violence, or drug or alcohol use.
Skip the Polaroids. Photos are allowed, but Polaroids specifically won't be accepted at Sampson County Detention Center.
What's in the photo matters as much as the format. No nude or partially clothed images. No photos (or any enclosures) that contain, depict, or relate to sexually explicit activity, gang activity, illegal activity, violence, or drug or alcohol use. If you're unsure whether a picture crosses the line, pick a different one - family-friendly photos are your safest bet.
Cards Crafts Restrictions
- ✓ Glitter
- ✓ Glue
- ✓ Tape
- ✓ 3D elements (including pop-ups)
- ✓ Electronic components (including lights, music, or animation)
Sending a greeting card? Keep it simple and flat. Sampson County Detention Center allows greeting cards, but anything with glitter, glue, tape, 3D pieces, or electronics will be rejected. Same goes for Polaroid photos tucked inside - even if the message is fine, the format isn't.
Tip: Stick to a plain, paper greeting card with no add-ons, and use standard printed photos (not Polaroids). Keeping everything flat gives your mail the best chance of making it through.
Don't mail magazines, books, packages, or publications to the mail processing center. Even brand-new or shrink-wrapped items won't be accepted through that route.
For regular (non-legal) mail, keep it short: no more than 10 pages per envelope, and pages can't exceed 8.5" x 11". Sending multiple letters? Split them into separate envelopes so you don't go over the limit.
Don't mail cash, personal checks, or money orders to the mail processing center. And don't send money orders to Sampson County Detention Center directly - they're no longer accepted.
Heads up: Mailing a money order - whether to the processing center or the jail - is a waste of time and money. Sampson County Detention Center no longer accepts them.
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