Rules and Policies

Accounts

Any money an inmate has on their person upon admission, any money mailed to them or any money received from visitors will be placed on their inmate account. A receipt will be issued to them for all transactions. Any money an inmate has on their person upon admission will be deposited. A receipt will be issued to them for all transactions. The prison will not accept personal checks and cash sent through the mail.

Cash may be deposited into kiosks located at each visiting area during normal visiting hours or online through current commissary or tablet vendors. The transfer of money between inmate accounts is prohibited.

Please remember: If the inmate owes fines, costs or restitution, a percentage of any money deposited may go toward paying his or her debt.

Mail

An inmate is permitted to correspond with the public, his/her attorney and public officials.

Legal Mail

Please note the following options for legal mail correspondence:

• Attorneys, legal representatives, and court officials are authorized to send legal correspondence through email or standard mail.
• Standard legal mail may be sent to 3400 Concord Road York, PA 17402. Legal and Special Correspondence Mail Limits:
  • Incoming legal or special correspondence shall be limited to 75 pages or less
  • Incoming legal or special correspondence over 75 pages shall be returned to sender with notice why the mail was returned. The inmate shall also be notified.　
  • If legal or special correspondence is more than 75 pages, then the sender must obtain an appropriate court order for it to be received by the prison and processed for the inmate
• Legal email service is free of charge to both the attorney and the recipient.
• Please send all legal emails to the York County Prison Legal Mail account.
• Legal emails are protected, confidential, and will not be retained on our servers.
• York County Prison (YCP) Mailroom clerks will open the emails and print in the presence of the inmate. Each inmate will sign for and be given a copy of a receipt indicating the sender and documents received. These receipts will be retained, and original emails will be deleted from the server.
• In order to utilize this free email service, attorneys or legal representatives must be verified in advance and added to our email list. Please email a copy of Bar card or G-28, photo ID, and email address to the Prison Records.
• Once verified, York County Prison Records Department will send a confirmation email that you have been successfully added to the group.

Non-Legal/Non-Privileged Mail

Please note the following options available for non-privileged (non-legal) mail/communication with a loved one in the facility:

GTL Tablets - Text messaging now available. Visit Getting Out to create an account and place funds on an inmate account.

TextBehind - Standard mail will no longer be mailed to the York Prison's physical address. TextBehind provides a mobile application as well as a website where you can electronically send messages that will be printed and delivered to the prison. The inmate will receive a copy of the mail and the original will be destroyed. Do not send any checks, money orders, or cash, as they will not be accepted. Visit Text Behind to explore other electronic options available. The mailing address for standard mail is as follows:

Inmate and ID number
York County Prison
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Books/Magazines/Publications

Please note the following option for books/magazines/publications:

Inmates/detainees may once again receive books and magazines via mail. Incoming periodicals and publications must adhere to the following criteria:

• All incoming books and magazines must be new and accompanied by a packing slip indicating such.
• All books must be paid in advance.
• Mail containing more than 5 publications (i.e. books, mazagines or a combination therof) will be denied. Inmates are allowed to only have 5 publications in their possession at any given time.
• Mail containing books and/or magazines larger than 11 inches by 13 inches and/or weighing more than 4 pounds will be denied.
• Mail containing books or magazines that do not pass the metal detector will be denied.
• Books or publications with material that are deemed security risks will be denied.
• Journals with blank pages will be denied.
• Any publication that is considered a catalog (with the majority of pages with price lists) will be denied.
• Any publication that contains sexually explicit or obscene material will be denied.

All books and magazines must be ordered through Books-A-Million (BAM) and mailed to:

York County Prison
3400 Concord Road
York, PA 17402

Further Information

Please note the following changes to policy:

• Money orders and personal checks will no longer be accepted in the Prison Business Office.
• Paperwork such as birth certificates and checks that need to be signed by inmates will not be taken into the secure facility under normal circumstances. A sally port clearance must be obtained 48 hours in advance and will only be granted under special circumstances such as time-sensitive insurance or payroll checks. Personal checks or money orders are not considered a special circumstance. Please email the Intelligence Office for approval. You must provide your name, address, date of birth, and state the reason for the request. You will recieve a confirmation or denial by email.
• All donated religious books need to be pre-approved by Chaplain Darin Schoch. Please call 717-840-7581 for pre-approval and to schedule a drop-off time.

Telephone System

A telephone is located in each housing unit for inmates' use. All calls are subject to monitoring, recording, and divulging information. Phone calls are a privilege and can be taken away by a Supervisor. All calls made by the inmates are collect calls. There is an automatic 20 minute time limit on all calls. Inmates are permitted a reasonable amount of outgoing phone calls per day, as long as use of the telephone is not being abused or dominated by any person or group.

An account might have to be created or set up to accept collect calls from Global Tel*Link.

Contact the Global Tel*Link:

Department 1722
Denver, CO 80291-1722

Hours of Operation:

Monday through Friday
7 am to 11 pm, Eastern Standard Time

Saturday and Sunday
9 am to 8 pm, Eastern Standard Time

Phone:

• Billing and Inquiry Customer Service Department: 877-650-4249
• Advance Pay Service Department: 866-230-7761
• Automated Advance Pay Service: 800-483-8314
• To block unwanted calls from the York County Prison: 877-650-4249

Property

All personal items and clothing must be purchased through the inmate commissary.

No property may be brought to the facility unless medically necessary or for court appearances.

Court Clothes are accepted Monday through Friday from 8 am to 3 pm.

Court Clothes consist of: 

• 1 suit jacket or dress
• 2 dress shirts
• 1 pair of dress pants
• 1 pair of dress socks
• 1 pair of dress shoes (no sneakers or boots)
• 1 tie
• 1 belt

These clothing items can be changed out every other day. These clothes will be searched and placed in the appropriate property room for court clothes; they must be picked up within 10 days after the court appearance or they will be discarded. The prison will not be responsible for court clothing not picked up.

When individuals are released from the prison, any valuable property (i.e. jewelry, driver's license/ID, birth certificate, social security card, cell phones, etc.) left behind must be picked up within 6 months.

Any remaining personal property (clothing items, shoes, etc.) must be picked up within 10 days after their release. This 10-day policy also applies to any person who was removed from minimum-security/work release.

The prison is not responsible for abandoned property; failure to have property picked up will result in disposal.

See more information about personal property

Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Information

York County Prison has a zero-tolerance standard for incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault. All allegations of sexual harassment and assault will be investigated thoroughly in order to provide prompt medical and administrative intervention to those involved. While incarcerated in York County Prison, you have the right to be safe and free from sexual abuse and assault. Anyone can prompt a PREA investigation on behalf of an incarcerated inmate or detainee by calling the facility at (717) 840-7580  OR  the Department of Corrections third party line at 1 (844) 429-5412.