BOISE, Idaho — Following the escape of an Idaho Department of Correction inmate Skylar Meade Wednesday morning at Saint Alphonsus hospital in Boise, police reported that a gunman, Nicholas Umphenour, had approached correctional officers outside the hospital who were guarding Meade and opened fire on them.
Meade and Umphenour then escaped in a gray Honda Civic (ID license plate# 2T DF43U).
KTVB received several questions from our viewers about what police called a "coordinated" plan to break Meade out of custody, including many asking what kind of communication inmates at IDOC facilities are allowed to have with people outside prison.
For inmates within Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) facilities, contacting the outside world is done through many means, including mail, phone calls, texts, and email, but it comes with limitations and regulations.
Mail guidelines:
All mail must have the inmates committed name (no nicknames), IDOC number, institution and housing assignment, the IDOC website stated. It will then be processed, only if it follows protocols, and then delivered within 24 hours, Monday through Friday, excluding federal and state holidays. More details can be found at this link.
Books, magazines, and newspapers guidelines:
Books must follow certain parameters size wise, and must be soft cover. They also must be purchased through approved publishers. Books, magazines, and newspapers must come with a receipt of purchase, and come from those approved publishers. A list of those publishers can be found here.
Electronic devices:
There are many regulations that go into place for electronic devices. Such devices are referred to as resident call management system (RCMS) and electronic communications system (ECS).
IDOC requires that RCMS and ECS have monitoring and recording capabilities, due to safety, security and investigatory purposes, said a document from IDOC.
Inmates and members of the public must know that telephone calls are recorded and may be monitored, again, for safety, security, and investigatory purposes.
There's a handful of rules that inmates must follow, keeping in mind the phone calls are monitored:
- Only place a telephone call to the number dialed
- Must not forward calls to another phone number
- Must not place three-way calls
- Must not use another resident's PIN to place a call
There is one exception for when phone calls are not recorded, and that is when attorneys call with their State Bar registered phone number, according to an IDOC document.
The document also elaborates further on what prohibited content is not allowed on ECS. ECS are subject to the same rules as mailed communication. Some of the rules are simple, such as no contraband or illegal things, but some other rules are not as intuitive.
Among the rules is a line stating that sending or receiving coded messages is prohibited, as well as sending or receiving information that encourages violence. Role-playing games and related materials is also prohibited, and so is nudity or pornographic material.
IDOC censors and discards electronic content that doesn't meet standards, according to the document. They look for keywords and phrases, looking for attachments too. Content is then automatically flagged and held for IDOC staff review.
For a full list of rules and regulations that are done by IDOC for inmate communications, visit their site at IDOC.Idaho.gov.
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