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Commission approves Ulster County Jail plan to scan inmate mail, restricts scanning of privileged correspondence
Summary
The Commission of Correction approved a variance allowing Ulster County Jail to scan non‑privileged inmate correspondence to tablets but added a condition: privileged (legal and general privileged) mail cannot be scanned until the facility demonstrates the process protects confidentiality.
The Commission of Correction on May 7 approved a variance allowing Ulster County Jail to scan incoming inmate correspondence and transmit color scans directly to assigned tablets while retaining originals in the inmate's personal property. "Presenting before you is a request for variance regarding correspondence from Ulster County Jail," the supervisor of the downstate unit told commissioners during the supplemental meeting.
Agency staff said the jail's current tablet vendor, Smart Communications, offers a scanning program called Veil Guard that transmits scans directly from a portable scanner to an individual inmate's secured tablet account and does not store scans on an external server. Staff argued the change could help control the introduction of contraband via correspondence and that the scans would be faithful color reproductions while originals remain in personal property. Legal staff recommended approving regular (non‑privileged) scanning "with the original 20 conditions and then an added condition" that the facility "shall ensure that they do not scan incoming general legal privilege correspondence until they can demonstrate to the commission that such privilege correspondence can be scanned without such scanned information being saved or accessed by any person or company other than the intended incarcerated individual."
Commissioners pressed staff on how the process would protect attorney‑client confidentiality. One commissioner asked, "Who's seeing the mail that's being scanned? Like, how is the legal mail scanned in any way without somebody seeing it?" Staff responded that legal mail must be opened in the incarcerated person's presence, resealed in an envelope in front of the person, and then placed in the person's property so staff do not leave with an open privileged document. Following discussion, a motion to approve the variance for non‑privileged scanning, with the added condition prohibiting scanning of privileged correspondence until the facility demonstrates secure handling, was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.
