Dear Fellow Advocate,
UV4SOR members are initiating a Call to Action to address the issue of email communications routinely being denied by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to our loved ones based solely on their charges.
Electronic messaging has become a standard form of communication within most American homes and businesses, and it can now be used to help our incarcerated loved ones stay connected to their families. The Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System (TRULINCS) application enables electronic messages to be exchanged between incarcerated persons and the general public in a secure manner. Maintaining family and community ties will improve the likelihood of a successful reentry upon release. According to the BOP, their TRULINCS messaging system supports the BOP mission of maintaining and strengthening community ties during incarceration to reduce recidivism and make good neighbors.
More regular contact with one’s community is essential to this goal. As the BOP states, “Studies have shown that when inmates maintain relationships with friends and families, it greatly reduces the risk they will recidivate.”
Yet, many BOP institutions still make it a policy to issue a blanket denial of access to email within TRULINCS without any rationale other than the category of offense. This is in violation of the BOP’s own policy, which asserts in their Program Statement that, “inmates must not be excluded from program participation based on general categorizations of previous conduct.”
Sending a message through TRULINCS is far less expensive than the cost of mailing a letter. The cost of messaging is .05/minute, whereas the cost of a single stamp is $0.73. The exclusion of certain offenses from participation is not based upon any empirical data or facts. It is conviction-shaming and discriminatory.
Keep in mind that if you are unsure where to start or what to do on your advocacy journey, sending a letter is an easy way to get started! Please help by taking this simple action to tell our lawmakers to make the BOP accountable and to stand up for our LO and all of those who are incarcerated, regardless of their charges.
Thank you for participating in this important letter campaign and raising your voices to be heard!
Sincerely,
Kathy De Vries
UV4SOR Communication Team
INSTRUCTIONS:
~ Download and edit the attached scripted letter HERE. Or you can copy and paste it directly from this email (below). Personalize and change it to reflect your contact information.
~ Please mail the letter to as many people on the contact list as possible. Just change the recipient name/address and the greeting line.
~ If you send just one letter, please send it to the top name (BOP Director Collette Peters).
~ To send the letter to any of the BOP directors, you may also send it via email to: info@bop.gov with the contact’s name/TRULINCS in the subject line. Copy and paste your personalized letter into the body of the email.
You may access the editable and printable letter HERE and a copy of the contact list HERE.
Names/Addresses of Recipients for TRULINCS Letter:
– Colette S. Peters, Director FBOP
Central Office HQ
320 First Street, NW
Washington, DC 20534
– William W. Lothrop, Deputy Director FBOP
Central Office HQ
320 First Street, NW
Washington, DC 20534
– Kathleen Toomey, Associate Deputy Director FBOP
Central Office HQ
320 First Street, NW
Washington, DC 20534
– Louis Milusnic, Assistant Director FBOP Program Review Division
Central Office HQ
320 First Street, NW
Washington, DC 20534
– James C. Wills, Assistant Director FBOP Office of General Counsel
Central Office HQ
320 First Street, NW
Washington, DC 20534
– Senator Dick Durbin
Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Office
Washington, DC 20510
– Congressman Jim Jordan
Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
2056 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
– Attorney General Merrick Garland
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20530-0001
YOUR NAME
YOUR STREET ADDRESS
YOUR CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE
EXAMPLE LETTER
DATE
Colette S. Peters, Director FBOP
Central Office HQ
320 First Street, NW
Washington, DC 20534
Dear Director Peters,
I am an impacted family member of an adult currently in federal custody for a conviction of a sexual nature. I am writing on behalf of my loved one and the tens of thousands of impacted family members who are inequitably excluded from using the TRULINCS messaging system. We urge the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide equal access to all adults in federal custody to TRULINCS, regardless of their crime of conviction.
TRULINCS, the BOP’s own secure messaging system, allows adults in custody to communicate with their loved ones, benefitting both the individual and their families, as well as allowing timelier and less costly access to their legal counsel, friends, and prospective employers. Importantly, according to the BOP, the TRULINCS messaging system supports the BOP mission of maintaining and strengthening community ties during incarceration to reduce recidivism. As the BOP states, “Studies have shown that when inmates maintain relationships with friends and families, it greatly reduces the risk they will recidivate.”
TRULINCS is not email. It does NOT allow access to the internet. In fact, it is INTRANET, meaning it is a local restricted communication network. This closed BOP system is tightly monitored and all adults in custody already have access to the TRULINCS system to communicate with staff. According to the BOP Policy on Correspondence (https://www.bop.gov/inmates/communications.jsp) as well as Program Statement P5265.13, there is no access to the internet. The BOP Program Statement (P5265.13) states the “objectives of the TRULINCS program are: to provide inmates with an alternative means of written communication with the public; to provide the Bureau with a more efficient, cost-effective, and secure method of managing and monitoring inmate communication services; and to reduce the opportunities for illegal drugs or contraband to be introduced into Bureau facilities through inmate mail.”
Given that this is a closed, secure system, there is no justification to deny anyone access to TRULINCS because of the nature of their conviction. There are many BOP institutions that still make it a policy to issue a blanket denial of access without any rationale other than the category of crime. This is in violation of the BOP’s own policy, which asserts in the Program Statement that, “inmates must not be excluded from program participation based on general categorizations of previous conduct.” I urge you to grant all incarcerated persons, regardless of their conviction, equal access to TRULINCS to aid their family relationships and successful reintegration.
Thank you for your attention to this crucial matter affecting over 12% of incarcerated individuals and their families. I welcome further conversation and can be reached at YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.
Respectfully,
YOUR NAME
