MISSOURI – The Missouri Department of Corrections will soon change how inmates across 21 state prisons receive personal mail.
Starting July 1, anyone who wants to send personal mail to an inmate in a Missouri state prison will need to mail it to an address in Tampa, Florida. According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, the mail will head to a digital mail center where documents can be digitally scanned and made available to an inmate through a media player.
The Missouri News Tribune reports that the change comes as the department of corrections deals with a staffing shortage. Department officials hope the change will help reduce some responsibilities of certain workers, like sorting mail and searching for contraband.
Those who intend to send personal mail will need to include the following information on an envelope to properly send it:
Offender Name and DOC ID#
C/O Digital Mail Center-Missouri DOC
PO Box 25678
Tampa, FL 33622-5678
An announcement Tuesday from the department of corrections notes that any personal mail sent directly to a Missouri correctional facility address after July 1 will be returned to the sender. Personal mail received between June 15, 2022, and July 1, 2022, will be forwarded to the digital mail center for scanning.
Some mail can still be sent directly to Missouri correctional facilities, including legal documents, mail from other agencies, certified mail, publications, and visitation applications. For more information on the upcoming change, click here.