Good Morning:
The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry - Office
of Publication Review is responding to your appeal of the exclusion of
Under Lock & Key, Issue 78, Summer 2022. The issue was withheld at the
complex level pursuant to Department Order 914. You may review this DO
online at www.corrections.az.gov.
DO 914 deems certain publication content contrary to ADCRR’s legitimate
penological interest to “assist with the rehabilitation and treatment
objectives, reduce sexual harassment and prevent a hostile work environment
for inmates, staff and volunteers…..” see DO 914.07 1.1. Such content is
Unauthorized Content as defined in the DO. The publication at issue here
contains Unauthorized Content pursuant to the provision set forth above and
the issue was withheld and contrabanded by the complex.
The complex is the first level of publication review. You and inmate
recipients were subsequently notified of the opportunity to appeal.
The Office of Publication Review reviewed this publication on appeal and
upheld the complex exclusion under the following DO 914 subsections
7.2.3 Depictions or descriptions that incite, aid, or abet riots, work
stoppages, means of resistance, or any other behaviors that may be
detrimental to the safe, secure and orderly operation of the institution.
7.2.8 Content that is oriented toward and/or promotes racism and/or
religious oppression and the superiority of one race/religion/political
group over another, and/or the degradation of one race/religion/political
group by another.
7.2.20 Any publication or part of a publication that, although not
specifically set forth herein, may otherwise be detrimental to the safe,
secure, and orderly operation of the institution.
The pages identified containing such content are throughout, including, but
not limited to, pages 1, 2, 4, 9, 16.
Pursuant to DO 914 § 6.13 “….The Office of Publication Review may cease
removing or redacting unauthorized content when the practice places an
unreasonable burden on resources due to the volume of incoming mail,
publications, the required redaction or removal of unauthorized content and
the dissemination thereof in redacted form.”
All publications, including those that are part of a title or series, are
reviewed on an individual basis, and rejection of one or several issues
does not warrant rejection of subsequent issues unless those issues contain
Unauthorized Content as defined in DO 914 (see DO 914 § 6.10).
Accordingly, any future issues of Under Lock & Key that are addressed to an
ADCRR inmate will be reviewed on an individual basis to ensure content
meets the standard and guidelines set forth in DO 914. In the event of any
future first level exclusions, inmate subscribers or MIM may appeal, and
provided appeals are timely, OPR will conduct a second review and determine
whether reasonable redactions may be accommodated (DO 914 § 6.13). This
deliberative process is critical to facilitate ADCRR’s legitimate
penological interests in maintaining safe, secure, and orderly operation of
its prisons.