St. Paul, MN: The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) is implementing a new mail management system to eliminate dangerous contraband from entering the state’s prisons through the mail.

Minnesota, as with prison systems around the nation, has faced an increase in paper coated with illicit synthetic substances entering prisons through the mail system, posing a risk to the lives and safety of those who encounter these harmful materials.

Starting November 1, the Minnesota DOC’s partnership with TextBehind will begin, providing services that include a mail scanning and delivery system to completely prevent contraband from entering prisons through the mail. The contract with TextBehind will create a safer environment for those who live and work in DOC facilities.

“Keeping dangerous substances out of our facilities is essential for ensuring the safety of both staff and those in our care,” said DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell. “This new partnership with TextBehind will allow us to address the serious risk posed by drug-laced mail, while also enhancing the speed and reliability of communication between incarcerated people and their loved ones.”

TextBehind has experience working with state correctional systems and jails across the United States.

“TextBehind will prevent hard contraband such as drugs and weapons from entering Minnesota DOC facilities via non-privileged and privileged (legal) mail,” said Zia Rana, CEO of TextBehind. “Staff and inmates will be safer, and we anticipate a significant cost savings for the Minnesota DOC due to a reduction in mail room personnel hours or redeployment of labor.”

TextBehind’s process prevents contraband from entering prisons via postal mail because the original mail never reaches the facilities. Instead, friends and family of incarcerated people send their correspondence to a Maryland-based facility which then copies the mail and ships the copies (in color when appropriate) to each DOC facility. The company also provides a free app for mobile phones making it even easier for regular correspondence to occur between incarcerated people and their loved ones.

“This initiative goes beyond safety; it represents our commitment to modernizing corrections for the benefit of staff, incarcerated people, and their families,” Schnell added. “By partnering with TextBehind, we are improving safety in our facilities while introducing technology that will make it easier for families to stay connected with their loved ones in a secure and accessible way.”

Prisons across the U.S. are being inundated with powerful, potentially lethal drugs such as Fentanyl through the mail. “Correctional officers, prison administration staff and incarcerated loved ones are in serious danger of being sickened or even killed by drug-laced mail,” said Rana. “Narcotics and other prohibited substances are flooding into our prisons. TextBehind totally eliminates the risk of exposure,” Rana concluded.

Facilities that have partnered with TextBehind have experienced a virtual elimination of mail-related grievances from incarcerated people, have advanced their investigative capabilities and have benefited from improved mail delivery and distribution efficiency.

Learn more about TextBehind, including the free mobile app, by visiting the following website: www.textbehind.com.