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| Visiting Hours at S.C. Prisons to be Cut |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/06/2003 |
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A plan to reduce visiting hours at the state's prisons will tear families apart and make inmates more likely commit crimes when they are released, friends and family of prisoners say. But officials said even though the new plan has reduced the total number of visiting hours, it gives relatives and others more opportunities to meet with inmates on the weekends and will save money by freeing up security staff for other duties. 'We're still allowing the family contact, which we hope is meaningful,' said Robert E. Ward, director of operations for the Corrections Department. 'But I mean given the budget times we've got, and the situation that we're in, this is just one of the steps that we're having to take.' Advocates want the department to keep its existing policy, which lets most visitors see inmates on Friday for six hours and then on either Saturday or Sunday for eight or nine hours. The new visiting hours, set to take affect Aug. 13, will allow inmate visits for up to three hours on Friday, four hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday. Although there's a decrease in the total number of hours, families can now visit for three days instead of two, said Gov. Mark Sanford's spokesman Will Folks. 'It's about freeing up critical manpower resources and redirecting those resources toward Corrections' core mission - keeping South Carolina residents safe,' Folks said. University of South Carolina criminology professor William Pelfrey said visitation keeps prisoners less dangerous and allows them to focus on life issues, rather than fighting with each other. 'So the prisoner can put their energy into thinking about their family, thinking about their kids as opposed to thinking about plotting against each other,' Pelfrey said. But 'when visitation rights are curbed, facilities run the risk of increased violence.' Inmates have a 15-person visitor list and the number of visits allowed varies for each inmate, depending on behavior and other issues, Ward said. |
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