Sending Photos to SCI Benner Township: The 25-Photo Limit and What Happens to Originals
Sending photos to someone at SCI Benner Township comes down to two rules: there's a limit per mailing, and your originals won't come back. Here's what you need to know to choose what to send.
For SCI Benner Township, photos sent in general correspondence are limited to 25 photos per mailing. If you have more than that, you’ll need to split them across separate mailings or use another allowed option (like a photo book sent as a publication).
Photos go to Pennsylvania DOC's mail vendor, Smart Communications - not directly to the prison. Address your envelope to: Smart Communications/PA DOC Inmate Name/Inmate Number State Correctional Institution PO Box 33028 St. Petersburg, FL 33733. Include the incarcerated person's full name and inmate number, and put your complete return address (first and last name) on the outside of the envelope.
Here's how the process works: Smart Communications opens your mail and scans the photos into an electronic file. That file gets sent to SCI Benner Township, where the mailroom prints it and delivers the printed copy to the inmate. Your loved one receives a printout of the scanned images - not the original photos you mailed.
Important: Original photos scanned by Smart Communications will be securely destroyed after 45 days, and photos can’t be returned to the sender.
- Mail your photos in general correspondence - they go to Smart Communications for processing.
- Smart Communications scans the photos - your mail is opened and scanned into an electronic document.
- The facility mailroom prints and delivers - SCI Benner Township prints the scanned document and delivers it to the inmate.
- Originals are kept temporarily, then destroyed - after 45 days, original photos will be securely destroyed (and they can’t be returned).
Content Restrictions Tips
- ✓ No obscenity
- ✓ No explicit sexual material
- ✓ No nudity
Tip: Since original photos are destroyed after 45 days and can’t be returned, send copies - don’t mail anything you can’t afford to lose.
Keep your mailing in the "general correspondence" lane by following the format rules: print everything on 8 ½ by 11 paper, and don't bind it or make it open like a book. If you're printing photos at home, stick to standard letter-size paper. Avoid anything that looks like a bound photo product.
Publications and photo books don't go to Smart Communications. Send them to the DOC Security Processing Center (SPC) instead: Inmate Name, Inmate Number, 268 Bricker Road, Bellefonte, PA 16823-1667.
- ✓ Must have a soft cover
- ✓ Must be limited to 25 pages (excluding the cover)
- ✓ Must not exceed 8x11 inches
- ✓ Must originate from a third-party vendor and comply with DOC content criteria
Use the SPC route when you're sending more than just loose photos - especially if you want to share more than 25 images at once or you're sending a photo book. Treat photo books as publications: mail them to the SPC address (not Smart Communications) and make sure they meet the DOC's photo-book requirements.
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