Beginning Monday, inmates in Santa Barbara County Jail will no longer be able to receive letters from their families and friends.
A recent administrative decision will limit written correspondence to inmates to postcards. This would follow a handful of jurisdictions around the country which have implemented similar policies, beginning in Maricopa County, Ariz., under controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The decision, said to improve security and cut costs, comes with grave concerns about the effects it will have on inmate recidivism, and the rights of the jailed and their families.
