General procedures
- When you arrive at the institution, you must show a photo ID and sign a visitors’ log. Your name will be checked against the inmate’s visiting list.
- Staff will show you guidelines for visiting the institution. You will have to sign a statement that you do not have anything in your possession that is a threat to the security of the institution.
- Staff can search you or your property.
- Staff will be in the visiting room at all times to supervise each visit. The visiting room may be monitored using security cameras or other devices.
Special note: the Visiting Regulations indicate: “The Warden may monitor a restroom within the visiting area when there is reasonable suspicion that a visitor or an inmate is engaged, or attempting or about to engage, in criminal or other prohibited behavior.”
- Staff will not allow you to visit unless you cooperate with all requirements.
Visiting room dress code
Wear clothing that is appropriate for a large gathering of men, women, and young children. Wearing inappropriate clothing (such as provocative or revealing clothes) may result in your being denied visitation.
For example, you will not be admitted if you wear:
- revealing shorts
- sundresses
- halter tops
- bathing suits
- see-through garments of any type
- crop tops
- low-cut blouses or dresses
- leotards
- spandex
- miniskirts
- backless tops
- hats or caps
- sleeveless garments
- skirts two inches or more above the knee
- dresses or skirts with a high-cut split in the back, front, or side
- any clothing that looks like inmate clothing (such as khaki or green military-type clothing)
Visiting room behavior
Because many people are usually visiting, it is important visits are quiet, orderly, and dignified. The visiting room officer can require you to leave if either you or the inmate is not acting appropriately. In most cases, handshakes, hugs, and kisses (in good taste) are allowed at the beginning and end of a visit. Staff may limit contact for security reasons (to prevent people from trying to introduce contraband) and to keep the visiting area orderly.
Contraband is anything that is not allowed in the prison, such as drugs, weapons, unauthorized medicines, or unauthorized money. Attempting to bring contraband, including cellular phones, into a prison is a serious crime. If convicted, you can be imprisoned for as many as 20 years.
Items allowed in the visiting room
You can take the following items into the visiting room:
- identification (picture ID required)
- money
- baby care items (pacifier, diapers, diaper wipes, see-through baby bottle with contents, and blanket), if indicated
- medication, such as asthma sprayers or nitroglycerin tablets (medications will be kept by the visiting room officer during the visit)
For other items, check before you visit, because this can differ between prisons. Items not allowed in the prison must be left outside the visiting room (and are not the prison’s responsibility).
The visiting room officer will not accept articles or gifts of any kind unless they have been approved in advance. Therefore, if you want to leave something for an inmate (such as a package), you will have to call the prison in advance to receive prior approval. Money cannot be left with staff for deposit in the inmate’s account.
The officer watches to make sure nothing is passed between an inmate and a visitor. If the officer thinks that any item constitutes contraband, he/she may examine it.