The Cook County Sheriff’s Office has limited incarcerated people’s access to physical books and letters in the name of preventing overdoses from drugs transported into the jail on paper. Digital tablets have been offered as an alternative to accessing physical books, mail, and in some cases, in-person visits with loved ones. We care deeply about the health and safety of incarcerated people, but firmly believe that can be achieved without limiting access to physical books, mail, and in-person visits. 

Tablets May Eventually Replace Physical Mail, Books, Classes, and Programming.

Although often initially introduced as being in addition to physical mail, books, classes, and programming, digital tablets often replace these things over time. Jails, prisons, and detention centers attempt to cut operating costs by making tablets the only way for incarcerated people to access these resources and support. 

Tablets typically have a limited number of books available, limiting what incarcerated people can read, and virtual meetings and visits limit human contact, which is essential to the health and well-being of incarcerated people. 

Access to Tablets is Limited.

In Cook County Jail, incarcerated people can only use tablets in the community day room. For people in segregation or high-security divisions, this can mean only being able to access books or mail for short periods of each day.  

People incarcerated in jails and prisons often struggle to connect to the internet because of issues with building infrastructure and policies restricting their use of the internet. These conditions sometimes make tablets unusable even in community day rooms. 

Tablets Increase the Jail’s Ability to Surveil Incarcerated People. 

Digital communications are inherently insecure. Requiring incarcerated people to communicate through tablets alone opens them up to undue surveillance and infringes on any privacy they may desire while communicating with attorneys or loved ones. 

Companies like Smart Communications save emails sent on tablets for at least seven years after they are sent. This gives law enforcement an extended opportunity to surveil people incarcerated and their loved ones. 

Tablets Increase the Monetary Burden Placed on Incarcerated People and their Loved Ones. 

Being incarcerated is expensive. Incarcerated people’s families make significant sacrifices to ensure their loved ones have access to essential resources while locked up. Many of the services on tablets come at an additional cost to incarcerated people and their loved ones.

Many states are beginning to offer incarcerated people “free” tablets. Tablet users are then charged above market rate for phone calls, video chats, and media. In West Virginia, people are charged three cents per minute by GTL to read books on tablets.

Tablets Are Not Always an Accessible Alternative to Paper for All Incarcerated People.

For some people, screens and online access to documents or books may pose difficulties due to health issues (dry eye, computer vision syndrome, blue light sensitivity) or a lack of familiarity with using certain technology. This may be especially prevalent for people who are older or have spent years incarcerated during recent technological advancements. For many people, physical paper and books remain the most accessible format for them to use. 

Tablets Take Away Agency From Incarcerated People.

When a person is jailed, they lose access to most of the personal property in their possession. Collecting books, letters, magazines, and the like, are not merely a form of entertainment, but also an outlet to regain a sense of autonomy in a highly restricted environment. Some level of self determination is essential for the thriving of the human spirit, and infringing on this limited outlet threatens great harm to the mental health of incarcerated people.

CONTACT THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE AND DEMAND THEY ALLOW INCARCERATED PEOPLE ACCESS TO BOOKS AND PAPER!

Use the sample script and call or email the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at 773-674-1945/CCSO@ccsheriff.org to stand in solidarity with incarcerated community members. 

Sample Script 

“Hello, my name is ___, and I live in ____. I’m calling to demand that Sheriff Tom Dart reverse the decision to limit people in jail to three books. Books and other paper materials are essential, not only for incarcerated individuals to be fully engaged in their legal defense but also to improve their quality of life. Access to tablets should be offered in addition to physical books and mail, not used to replace them.”