Ventura County jail inmates won't be getting any letters from home

The new jail policy announced this week mandates the cards be no larger than 6 inches wide and 11 inches long and can't contain paint, crayon, glitter, labels, stickers, lipstick, perfume, obscenities or nudity.

Inmates also won't see postcards that depict weapons, have gang references and contain references that may incite racism or violence.

The exception: Inmates still will be able to send and receive letters from their lawyers.

The jail system houses about 1,500 inmates. The new policy is designed to increase security by reducing the thousands of letters that the jail must screen each month, according to a Sheriff's Department statement.

"Contraband has been sent into our facilities in envelopes, under stamps, between multiple pages of letters and in other innovative ways," the statement said. "Inmates are increasingly sophisticated and send coded information about gang intelligence, prison politics and criminal activity within innocent-looking letters."