The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) is launching a pioneering measure designed to mitigate the introduction of contraband into its prisons through the mail, using TextBehind. The technology requires senders of mail to prisoners to register and verify their identity, intending to put a lid on substances such as drugs, sneakily dispatched often through ostensibly benign correspondence.
Onboarding all 26 state prison facilities, TextBehind targets a crucial vulnerability—mail—identified as one of the most common conduits for contraband. "There are primarily three ways to get contraband into a prison: unscrupulous guards, visitation and then mail," Chris Reilly, a media relations manager with TextBehind, stated, as per CBS News Detroit.
The new program capitalizes on a digital framework wherein correspondents must acquire a QR code that affirms their identity through the code upon mailing. This move aims to simplify and speed up the verification process, a necessary step given that previous methods dealt with calls and physical checks to ensure authenticity. Unverified mail will be returned to the sender once the system hits its stride—full implementation has yet to secure a definitive timeline as per MDOC statements.
Officials are confident about the positive impact of the tech. "We’re already seeing the benefits of a service like this for our personnel, and it’s also going to be beneficial to the population receiving this mail," Riehle remarked in a conversation reported by Bridge Michigan. She notes that the advantages will extend to prisoners pursuing legal appeals by allowing swifter access to critical documents. Moreover, Zia Rana, the CEO of TextBehind Inc., highlighted the company's commitment to rejecting all lawyer mail without a valid QR code, ensuring that only genuine senders can forward mail.
The verification of documents is said to be within 24 hours, providing a checkpoint of sorts. Edward Freeman, a Corrections Department project manager, emphasized that the TextBehind system is about "authenticating the sender and streamlining the process, as well as enhancing the safety of our staff as they handle the mail before it gets to the perimeter." The goal is to curtail the smuggling of narcotics like fentanyl and synthetic marijuana, which can be absorbed into paper and circulated among inmates, as per a report by Bridge Michigan.
