The Sheriff’s Office began the non-contact only visitation on Saturday, August 3, 1996. Non-contact visitation at the downtown Main Jail began in April of 1996. Before the visitation policy change, inmates received contact visits in an open room setting. Now, visits are given through visitation booths, separated by glass with a round metal screen or telephone handset which allows conversation and the ability to see each other, but not allowing contact. The reasons for the change in policy were to provide a safer and more secure environment for the visitors and inmates alike, to enhance safety for detention personnel and to curtail the introduction of contraband in the jail facilities.

In the Future:

Plans are currently underway to implement a video visitation set up. This high-tech system of communication will still allow the visitor and the inmate to see each other and to communicate, while increasing the safety of the visitors and the security of the facility by alleviating the concerns of bringing visitors onto the compound. The visitors and inmates will visit via video monitors and communications systems in two different locations: the visitors outside of the facility in the visitor's building and the inmates inside the secured buildings.

We are anxiously awaiting the implementation of this new system and are welcoming the opportunity to enter this new trend which has become the standard at many other correctional facilities throughout the country.