A guard tower and razor wire at a prison in Texas. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice will no longer allow books with hard covers in an effort to prevent drugs from getting into their facilities, they announced Friday.
Texas prison book ban
Starting on April 1, the TDCJ will no longer allow hardback or used books to be sent to inmates. All books must now be softback and in new condition.
They said in their Friday release that they've seen a recent increase in contraband smuggled into prisons by use of books. In most cases, they said, drugs are hidden inside hard covers and bindings or soaked into the pages.
They hope to reduce drug overdoses and overdose deaths by limiting the types of books that can be sent to inmates.
What they're saying:
"Across the nation, corrections agencies are fighting to stop contraband from entering facilities and prevent drug-related incidents, overdoses and homicides. TDCJ is no different," TDCJ Executive Director Bobby Lumpkin said. "These changes are vital to keeping our staff and the inmate population safe."
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"As a life-long reader, and, yes, a life-long reader of not just screens but actual books, including hardback textbooks, novels, and non-fiction, it truly pains me to think that we are being forced as a Board to put any restrictions on the ability of members of our populations in TDCJ to any type of reading material," Texas Board of Criminal Justice Chairman Eric J.R. Nichols said. "But what pains me even more, and what frankly keeps me up more at night than anything else with the agency that we oversee as a Board, is the fact that there are illegal and dangerous drugs that are being introduced into our TDCJ facilities and that are causing overdoses and, yes, overdose deaths in our facilities."
"We are exploring every avenue to reduce, and ultimately, halt illegal narcotics from entering our facilities," Chief Programs Officer Jason Clark said. "These changes are designed to protect the health and safety of our population and staff, and create an environment where individuals have a real opportunity to focus on treatment, personal growth, and successful re-entry."
How to send books to inmates
What you can do:
Windham School District is now partnering with TDCJ to manage book donations, they included in their Friday announcement. On April 1, donated books should be sent to the Windham School District, which oversees all libraries across the agency and has a process in place to accept and distribute donations.
For more information about this process, visit the Windham website. Books that are donated by a volunteer organization to a specific individual can still be mailed to the unit, but must be softback and in new condition.
What's next:
Looking forward, the agency is developing an online portal for senders to register and provide basic information about the book or magazine they are sending. Similar to the current visitation system, this portal will allow staff to verify senders, prepare for the incoming publications and streamline processing.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.