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| New prison policy raises visitor concern |
| By The Courier-Tribune |
| Published: 04/05/2004 |
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Visitors to inmates in North Carolina prisons, including those in the Randolph unit and the Southern Correctional Institute in Montgomery, will have to follow new rules and procedures beginning June 1. Not everyone is happy about the proposed changes. Inmate advocates have scheduled a protest in Raleigh on Monday, April 5. Melisia Varner, a paralegal and civil rights advocate, disagrees with the policy changes, saying they are a violation of visitors' rights. Along with others, she's preparing to ask the courts for an injunction. Rebecca Walker at the N.C. Department of Correction (DOC) in Raleigh said the confusion among families is coming from misunderstandings about the new requirements. Walker said a memo is being written to answer the most frequently asked questions. The major changes, she said, are that an application with picture identification must be on file for every visitor age 16 and over, a birth certificate must be included with applications for children under age 16, and people with a prior criminal record may not be allowed to visit. The difference is that now, no written application is required, but visitors have been asked for the same information. The birth certificate is required to verify the age of the minor and to verify that the legal guardian has given permission for the child to visit an inmate. It is rare, but has happened, that a child brought to visit was a victim of the crime, Walker said. The decision to allow visits by people with prior criminal records will be at the discretion of the superintendent of each facility. Walker said the records will be so varied, an individual decision will be necessary on each potential visitor with a criminal record. Protesters have charged this requirement is a civil rights violation, but Walker points out that criminal records are public information. Walker said other visitation rules and polices will have minor changes to standardize the policies at all facilities. For example, a dress code, which is now written by individual facilities, has been standardized to be in effect at all facilities. All the information is put into the inmate's file and is strictly confidential, Walker said. No one except officials at that specific prison will be allowed access to the visitor applications. |
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