Talking about how many times you can visit a prisoner in a month, it will depend on the correctional facilities. That’s because the visit rules will vary from prison to prison and also depend on whether a prisoner is being held on remand and has been convicted.
In this post, we’ll take an example of the visit rules set by Queensland Corrective Service. If your loved one is accidentally incarcerated in one of Queensland correctional facilities and you want to visit him/her, you should know the visit rules first. Okay, let’s dive into our post to find out the information about it!
How Many Visits Can a Prisoner Have a Month in Queensland Correctional Facility?
Generally, convicted prisoners are commonly allowed 3-4 visits per month, but it can increase since the prisoner progresses through the system. While remanded prisoners are allowed a minimum of 90 minutes visiting per week up to a maximum of seven visits per week.
Queensland Corrective Services set the visit rules where a prisoner will have up to 1 hour of visiting time each week, outside of visiting lawyers. We can conclude that you can visit a prisoner house in Queensland correctional facilities for 4 visits per month, on average 1 hour per visit.
It would be better for you to always check with the prison on the amount of visits a prisoner is allowed. Of course, it can be performed by making a phone call to the prison directly. Generally, most prisoners do not allow more than 3 visitors per prisoner at a time.
After you know how many times you can visit a prisoner, you can then book a visit. You definitely can book a visit after you are approved. Certainly, you should book all personal visits in advance during nominated booking times.
When visiting a prisoner, you may need to provide the following data to register for a visit:
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- Your full name
- Your date of birth
- The date of your security check
- Your criminal history file number (if necessary)
- The prisoner(s) you’re visiting
What Should You Do When Entering Prison for a Visit in Queensland Correctional Facilities?
It is known that each prison will have a visitor fact sheet telling you when to arrive for your visit. If you’re late for a visit, you will not be allowed to enter. So, make sure to always check visiting times, since they may have changed since your last visit.
When arriving at prison, you should go to reception in the visiting area to confirm your booking. If you do not have the right identification or if the prison office believes you’re under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you may not be allowed to enter the prison.
You may be required to store any personal items in storage lockers or other proper storage facilities. These storages provided at high security centers will allow the storage of your personal items which are not permitted to be brought into a secure facility.
In many prisons, you may need to go through security screening with electronic drug detection devices or be checked by drug detection dogs. You may not be allowed to enter the prison or be limited to a non-contact visit, if you ignore having a scan or search, or return a positive result to drugs.
What Should and Shouldn’t You Do During Visiting a Prisoner in Queensland?
All correctional facilities in Queensland are tobacco and smoke free. Of course, no smoking is allowed anywhere on the grounds of a corrective services facility including car parks and walkaways.
You’re not allowed to bring cigarettes and other smoking-related products into a correctional facility such as matches, lighters, cigarettes, papers and filters. If you do not follow the rule, you may be required to leave the prison and will be suspended or refused visit access approval.
Furthermore, you may be prevented or may be cancelled from making future visits. Make sure to keep an eye on your children at all times and ensure that they do not interfere with or disturb other visitors or prisoners during the visit.
If you don’t follow the prison rule, you may not be allowed to remove anything from a prison or interview or photograph a prisoner or part of a prison facility.
For more information, it’s a criminal offense to take particular items into a prison. If an officer suspects that you bring any of the prohibited items, you may be detained and searched. Of course, it can be a frisk or full body search and the officers may also search your car. You will be charged if a banned item is found.
What Can and Can’t You Wear for Prison Visit in Queensland Correctional Facility?
In Queensland Corrective Service facilities, there are very strict rules about what you can and can’t wear when visiting a prisoner. You may need to wear proper shoes or sandals and also clean clothes in good condition.
You cannot wear the following apparels:
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- Any clothing that shows racist or derogatory slogans, clothing with gang insignias or motorcycle gang colours
- See through garments, including garments displaying underwear
- Clothes which are excessively stained, torn, ripped, dirty, or frayed
- Steel capped boots
- High heels no higher than 5cm
- Any jewellery other than engagement and wedding rings
- Swimsuits
- Hair scrunchies or clips
- Internet enabled watches such as smartwatches
In Queensland Correctional Facilities, you can really wear your engagement or wedding ring. However, you should remove all other jewellery before you enter the prison.
What Can You Give During Prison Visit?
Keep in mind, you cannot give the prisoner money, personal items or documentation during your prison visit. Instead, you can bring items like singlets, socks, clothes and underclothes.
Of course, those items should be approved beforehand and granted to the Visits Processing Officers to be passed onto the prisoner. To be accepted, you may need to complete a hand-in form for the items.
You will be allowed to mail cards, photographs and letters to the prisoners. It’s important to note, your mail will be opened, searched and censored. However, there are rules that do not permit certain items to be included in mail.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
