Sending Mail and Photos to Oswego County Jail

The Address, and the Format the Scanner Needs

The county prints the format as a worked example rather than a rule, which makes it easy to copy:

Oswego County Jail, NY
John Smith, #11111
PO BOX 807
Syracuse, NY 13201

So the first line is the complete facility name and the state, the second is your person’s full name and inmate ID number, then the box and the city.

The first line matters more than it looks. That box in Syracuse serves several New York jails, so the facility name is what routes your letter to the right one. The county asks for it in full with no abbreviations, which rules out writing OCJ or Oswego Co. Jail.

What Happens After You Post It

The county’s notice puts it plainly: your personal mail is going digital.

Letters, pictures and drawings are scanned and delivered as colour images to your person through the Facility Messages app on their tablet, under the free profile. They read what you wrote on a screen.

That has two practical consequences worth knowing before you write.

They will not be handed the paper. If you were planning to send a child’s drawing for them to keep, what arrives is an image of it.

Presentation still matters. A scan reproduces what is legible. Dark ink on plain paper survives the process better than pencil, glitter or anything layered.

Five Things the County Asks You to Include

Its notice lists these, and a missing one is the usual reason mail goes astray:

• The complete facility name, with no abbreviations, and the state
• The inmate’s full name and inmate ID number
• The sender’s full name and physical address
• Only personal mail, meaning letters, pictures and drawings
• Everything else follows the facility’s own guidelines instead

What Must Never Go to the Syracuse Box

This is the single most expensive mistake available here.

Cheques and money orders do not go to PO Box 807. Neither does attorney-client privileged mail. The county says those follow the facility’s own guidelines and must not be sent to the new address.

Think about what that box actually is. It is a scanning operation. A money order posted into it is not going to be credited to a commissary account, and a letter from a lawyer is not supposed to be opened and imaged by a contractor at all. Both belong with the jail, on 315-349-3300.

When Mail Goes Missing

The county gives a route for this, which is more than most counties manage. Problems with mail delivery go to ViaPath Mail Scan support, at [email protected].

That is a vendor address rather than a county one, so it is the right place for a letter that was posted correctly and never appeared. Questions about whether something was allowed in are still for the jail.

Books Have to Come From a Shop

Publications are covered by the county’s allowable items list, and the rules are specific.

Soft cover only, and the county adds a detail you will not see elsewhere: no threading or stitching. It cites the state regulation, 9 NYCRR Part 7026, for that. Everything has to be new and sent direct from a distribution company, so a paperback you have finished with does not qualify.

Clothing, and the Colours That Are Allowed

Bras can be sent in, with conditions: no underwire, no padding and no fasteners, sports style only, and in white or grey only.

Anything not on the allowable items list has to be bought through commissary instead. The exception is food and hygiene items, which cannot be sent in at all.

Religious Items, and the One Inch Rule

The county allows prayer beads, soft cover religious literature, close fitting religious headwear, and a necklace, medallion or cross no more than one inch in length, width or circumference.

The conditions are tight. Nothing may exceed 50 dollars in value. Chain gauge is 3mm or less. Medals have to be mailed rather than handed over the counter. The item has to match the religion your person stated when they were admitted. And all medallions must be worn under clothing and not visible.

The Other Way to Send a Letter

The county also links a service called LiamSafe, at oswego.liamsafe.com, described as a way to send letters and photos.

Pigeonly also prints and posts letters and photos to the Syracuse box in the format the scanner expects, with the facility name and ID number already on them.