What Gets Removed from Mail at Ventura County Jail (and How to Send Mail That Survives Screening)

Detention Services security personnel screen all incoming non-confidential mail at Ventura County Jail before it's delivered. That screening is why some items get pulled from envelopes and why certain packages get sent back, even when you meant well. Plan for it, and your letters are much more likely to arrive on time with nothing missing.

Items Removed

• ✓ Industrial staples (if removing an industrial staple would damage the article, the item will be returned)
• ✓ Standard staples (unless they are used to bind publications)
• ✓ Paper clips
• ✓ Metal clamps
• ✓ Clasps
• ✓ Wire
• ✓ Currency
• ✓ Drugs

Publications have their own common failure points. Books, newspapers, and magazines that aren't shipped directly from the publisher can be returned to you. The same goes for mail with an incorrect address or a missing booking number. If you want reading material to arrive reliably, ship publisher-direct and double-check that the addressing is complete.

Ventura County Jail doesn't treat money in the mail like a typical letter. The only checks accepted through the mail are government checks from local, state, or federal entities, and they must arrive in the issuing agency's official envelope.

The rule is strict because checks are easy to tamper with, and screeners flag money-related items quickly. If you're trying to get a government-issued check to someone inside, don't re-mail it in a personal envelope. Let the issuing agency's process handle delivery so the check stays in its official envelope all the way to the jail.

Packaging Tips

• ✓ Do not use paper clips, metal clamps, clasps, wire, or any extra metal fasteners
• ✓ Skip staples on letters and loose pages so your mail doesn’t arrive with pieces removed
• ✓ If something is already stapled, understand staples can be removed during screening (with limited exceptions)

• ✓ Have books, newspapers, and magazines sent directly from the publisher
• ✓ Make sure the address is correct and includes the inmate’s booking number, missing details can trigger a return to sender

• ✓ Do not mail currency
• ✓ Only send government checks from local, state, or federal entities
• ✓ Make sure the check arrives in the issuing agency’s official envelope (do not repackage it)

When your envelope makes it to screening but includes prohibited items, staff pull those items out and deliver the rest. That's why a letter may arrive without the clip or staple you used to hold it together. The simplest approach: assume any extra fastener or prohibited enclosure will be removed during processing.

1. Read the return information carefully. Returns commonly happen when mail is addressed incorrectly, missing the booking number, or when publications are not sent directly from the publisher.
2. Fix the issue and resend. If it was a publication problem, reorder it so it ships from the publisher, then confirm the addressing and booking number.
3. Remove prohibited enclosures next time. Before re-mailing anything, strip out staples, clips, clamps, wire, currency, and anything else that would be pulled during screening.
4. Use the jail’s mail inquiry or appeal process for unresolved problems. If you believe something was rejected in error, follow Ventura County Jail’s process for questions about returned or withheld mail.