Missouri Prison Visiting Policy

Prison Visitation in Missouri
In 2010 in the United States 7.1 million prisoners were under Correctional supervision by year end. In 2011, Missouri housed 33,833 inmates within its 21 adult correctional institutions. These prisoners leave behind loved ones that have an interest in staying in contact with these prisoners. Inmates are encouraged to maintain and strengthen relationships with family members and friends. From a rehabilitation standpoint, it is to the prison’s advantage to encourage visitation. However, lawful incarceration brings about the necessary withdrawal or limitation of many privileges and rights, including visitation and these limits are justified by underlying goals of the penal system. Prisons must implement heavy visitation regulations for the safety of the visitors and staff. In addition, prisons must operate in a safe manner to keep out contraband for the safety of all prisoners.
Family and friends may find it difficult to navigate the system or may be intimidated by the heavy rules and regulations. This Missouri Department of Corrections, or MODOC, has made information available for potential visitors so they are prepared and will feel more at ease when visiting the facility. Informed visitors will help make visitation at the facility operate more smoothly.
Initial Entry and Visitation
Male offenders that are initially incarcerated in Missouri enter a Reception and Diagnostics facility directly from the local jail that housed the offender at sentencing. In Missouri there are three Reception and Diagnostics centers located in Central Missouri in Fulton, Western Missouri in St. Joseph and in Eastern Missouri in Bonne Terre. All incoming female offenders are assigned to the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia. All death row offenders are transferred directly to Potosi Correctional Center. During this initial period, offenders correspond by mail with family and friends. They may not receive food, clothing, cash, stamps, or other items through the mail. Offenders may communicate by telephone once they are assigned to a housing unit. Although, this may be difficult for both offenders and family members, prison officials use these regulations as a precaution until they are able to better assess the inmate. Visitation is very limited in this early stage. Each facility differs on their policy. You may contact the facility or visit here for more information. It is recommended that you do not visit until you have received verification that visitation for your loved one is approved.
Family Orientation Meetings
The Missouri Department of Corrections offers a program directed toward family and friends of first time incarcerated offenders at each of the diagnostic centers. To be eligible to participate you must be approved by the facility through a quick screening process and must be an immediate family member or significant other to participate (no children are allowed).
These meetings are held monthly and last an hour. They provide information about visiting, mail, money transfers, offender classification and general information regarding incarceration. The advantage of attending such a meeting is that you are allowed a brief, non-contact visit with the offender. The Department has an interest in educating family and friends as it makes visitations go more smoothly when they know what to expect.
Family members and friends have very limited visitation during the offender’s time stay in the Reception and Diagnostic Center. Approved, non-contact visitation must be approved by the facility.
Prisoners’ Liberty Interest in Visitation
The Missouri Department of Corrections limits visitation to Friday through Sunday. For a list of all of the facility visiting hours please visit here. Visitation is not a guarantee. Prison officials will always maintain the right to cancel, delay, shorten or suspend visits due to unforeseen security problems. In addition, visiting procedures may be temporarily modified or suspended in the circumstances that present a danger or emergent situation.
The Eighth Circuit has held that prisoners have a liberty interest in weekend visitation. Extensive or permanent restrictions on visitation require limitation on discretion and due process. The Supreme Court in Kentucky Dept. of Corrections v. Thompson, held that in order to determine whether a state law creates a liberty interest may arise from state laws the regulation must 1) place “substantive limitations on the exercise of official discretion” and 2) contain explicitly mandatory language or specific directives to the decision maker that if the regulations’ substantive predicates are present, a particular outcome must follow.
One of the goals the correctional institution used as justification of this exclusion was deterrence. Confining a prisoner includes isolating him from the rest of society which most would deem an undesirable consequence to incarceration and therefore a deterrent effect. In addition, confinement provides an opportunity for the offender to rehabilitate, protecting society.
The prison administration may go through proper due process procedures to eliminate weekend visitation. Those state regulations must place substantive limitations on the exercise of official discretion and contain explicitly mandatory language or specific directives to the decision maker that if the regulations’ substantive predicates are present. Meaning, officials must have some limit to their discretion in limiting visitation. An example of this would be some extreme emergency situation or some safety or security threat to the institution.
In Patchette, the Eighth Circuit found that prison officials did not exercise proper discretion in limiting visitation due to prison overcrowding as it did not fairly qualify as an extreme emergency under the prison rules. Prison visitation is considered mandatory in the manner it is written in policy. This creates a liberty interest in visitation at the regularly scheduled times. Prisoners must be afforded due process to change the visitation.
Individual prisoners may also lose their visitation privileges for certain periods of time due to disciplinary infractions. The Supreme Court has held that withdrawing visitation privileges is a proper and necessary management technique to promote compliance with prison rules and to control inmate behavior. Often it is a great deterrence to substance abuse as policies restricting inmate’s visitation for two years for two positive tests for substance abuse was proper.
Who May Visit
Prisoners are not completely secluded from society, inmates are permitted to receive limited visits from members of their families, clergy, their attorneys and friends of prior acquaintance. Missouri prisoners may have a maximum of twenty visitors on their visiting list and may make changes twice a year. To be included on the list, the offender must mail to the potential visitor an application to be placed on the visitation list. Once it is completed, the prison administration will conduct a background check. The selection of who may visit is left to the Director’s professional judgment and may weigh the prisoner’s rehabilitation needs and honor other legitimate objectives of the corrections system. The prisoner will then be able to contact those approved to visit and let them know they are on the list. You may not be on more than one prisoner’s visitation list unless it is verified you are an immediate family member of more than one prisoner.
Prison regulations on approved visitors have been weighed by the courts. The standard of review is whether the restrictions are made under a reasonable time, place and manner and are necessary to further significant governmental interests. Considerations will be made as to the pattern of the normal activity to which is being limited and the nature of the institution. For example, a unique activity in a higher security institution will have lower scrutiny by the court and more deference will be given to the prison administrators. However, the restriction must operate in a neutral fashion.
Prison administrators may limit children allowed to visit. In addition, they may require that the child be accompanied by a family member or legal guardian. The Supreme Court has found this is a reasonable policy to ensure that those adults are charged with acting in the child’s best interest by bringing them to the facility.
In Kentucky Dept. of Corrections v. Thompson, the court considered the creation of a non-exhaustive list of prison visitors who “may be excluded” including those who “would constitute a clear and probable danger to the institution’s security or interfere with its orderly operation.”
Who may be Excluded
Among the limitations on rights prisoner’s face includes limiting who may visit a prisoner. This could affect the First Amendment rights of both the prisoner and the private citizen being denied visitation. Prison administrations have the right to make exclusions on who can visit, but their decisions are regulated by the courts. There must be a legitimate policy or goal of the correctional system present in order to create a restriction and the prisoner must be afforded due process.
Visiting privileges may be revoked for even those that are family and friends of visitors. Most prisons have policies allowing termination of visiting privileges for those visitors who violate visitation rules, are disruptive, or appear to be under the influence of alcohol or a narcotic. Visitors may appeal restrictions or suspensions of visiting privileges by contacting the Central Office.
Missouri prisons do have policies in place regarding children visiting prisons. The Supreme Court has approved policies limiting the children allowed to visit. Most facilities are limited to immediate family members and may not include nieces or nephews. Administrators may also exclude children as to whom parental rights were terminated. This is because from a prison administrator’s standpoint, children can be exposed to sexual or other misconduct and safety concerns. In addition, such limitations lessen the amount of visitors, allowing for better supervision by the guards and fewer distractions.
Former inmates may also be restricted from visitation at Missouri prison facilities. The Supreme Court has held there is a self-evident connection to the State’s interest in maintaining prison security and preventing future crimes. The prison officials will take into account their current criminal history, release status, approval from their probation and parole officer if applicable and other relevant information.
The Supreme Court reviewed a California decision to exclude media representatives, barring them from interviewing specific prisoners in Pell v. Procunier. Prison officials argued that allowing media to interview certain inmates gave them a certain amount of notoriety which resulted in violent conflicts. The court found that so long as reasonable and effective means of communication remain open and no discrimination in terms of content is involved, the prison officials will have such latitude to place restrictions. In addition, the court found the media is not entitled to special access not available to the general public. In this case, the media and press were allowed to tour the prison and conduct interviews at random and even sit in on special programs in relation to the story the reporter was working on. The court found this was sufficient under the liberty interest and the restrictions were upheld.
Searches of Visitors
Generally, visitors are not searched for contact visitation. All persons must pass through a metal detector. In addition, the staff may ask you to submit to an Itemizer or Ion Scan, where a towelette is wiped over skin or clothing to trace narcotics or explosives. Bringing in any type of contraband is illegal and punishable by law. While on prison grounds, you, your packages, your children and your vehicle are subject to be searched.
On more rare occasions, prison administrators may require that a visitor be strip searched in order to visit. Those visitors that are flagged for strip searches often involve suspicion of bringing in contraband including illegal drugs. If a visitor is identified as a risk, they are often given the option to forego the visit or consent to the search. In some cases, they may just be limited to a non-contact visit. Strip searches on visitors must be conducted by a correctional officer pursuant to standard institutional procedures. Prison policy will often restrict the time constraints in which the search will proceed, the items searched, and the reasons for the search. A strip search designation may result from an anonymous tip from an inmate or a source outside of the institution indicating the visitor may smuggle in contraband during a visit. Once prison administrators receive such a tip, they will attempt to corroborate the information by review of the inmate’s file, monitor the inmate’s correspondence with the individual or run a community background check on the visiting individual. Once the designation for a search is made on an individual, it will remain based on the information received and must be reviewed every 90 days. In addition, a strip search order may result from observed behaviors during the visit and an officer has justified suspicions of contraband being passed. These types of searches fall under the Fourth AmendmentFourth Amendment - to be free from unreasonable searches. The Court will balance the invasion of privacy against the potential security dangers. The Eight Circuit in Hunter v. Auger balanced the invasion of the strip search against the serious security danger and well-documented threat that visitors smuggle in contraband. The Court found that officers must have a reasonable suspicion that the visitor is attempting to smuggle in contraband in order to conduct a search of the visitor. Prison officials must point to specific objective facts and rational inferences drawn from those facts in light of their experience as correctional officers.
Visiting Rules and Conduct
It is important that you review the specific visiting rules for the facility you are visiting. The number of visitors and length of visit will vary by each facility. Missouri requires that each visitor bring valid picture identification card. Children will need to show school identification if over the age of 13. All visitors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult unless they are married to the offender. Although the rules may vary slightly, most Missouri prisons have strict dress codes for those visiting prisons. Consider whether your outfit is appropriate based on the rules set forth. Keep in mind that clothing cannot be revealing or tight. Inappropriate clothing may forfeit your visit or you may be required to wear institutional clothing. In addition, you will be limited as to what you can bring into the visiting area. Lockers are typically provided for you to leave unauthorized articles in during your visit. During contact visits, you will likely be allowed to bring in coin change for vending machines to share with the inmate and certain items for caring for small children. Special medical equipment will be allowed as necessary but will require approval by staff. Gum, wallets, purses, and other items may not be brought into the visiting room. Nothing should be concealed and trying to do so may forfeit your visit. The courts will give the prison administration deference in setting these rules so long as they are non-discriminatory and promote safety. It is important to remember that contraband may include alcohol, drugs, anything that can be used as weapon or an article not permitted. Bringing in contraband is punishable under and punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Types of Visits
Visits are often in two forms, contact and no-contact. A contact visit allows the visitation to take place in an open visitation room. Often the offender and visitor are allowed to sit at a table, play games, and share in a snack. Physical contact is often limited to hand holding and guards are present to ensure the rules are followed by both the prisoner and the visitor. Sexual offenders will have greater restrictions on contact visitation, especially with children.
No-contact visits are often held with the offender behind glass or a screen and communication is through a telephone, slots, or a speaker. The type of visitation a prisoner is afforded is at the discretion of the administration. Typically, a visit will not be restricted to no-contact unless the prisoner is a danger or has a disciplinary history. The Supreme Court has held that inmates have no constitutional right to contact visitation. Therefore, any restrictions to contact visitation are not punitive, but reasonably related to the legitimate governmental objective of preventing unauthorized contraband in the prisons.
Visitors are the largest source of introducing contraband drugs into a prison. The Eight Circuit has followed the philosophy that a prisoner found to be using illegal drugs in prison are more likely to persuade their visitors to bring it to them. Prison regulations have been upheld that provide for no-contact visitation where it is beneficial for the inmate, visitor and the institution and order or security of the institution may be threatened. This can include a 90 day no-contact visitation policy where a prisoner has tested positive for drug use.
It is important to note that prison policy is that an inmate be strip searched both before and after a contact visit to check for contraband. While it is certainly an unpleasant experience, the Supreme Court has consistently held that safety concerns and penological goals outweigh the lower expectation prisoners have in body searches.

Mail Restrictions
Inmates are not restricted generally in who they may write to. All mail is subject to be searched. Prison administrations are authorized to censor mail coming in and leaving prison facilities. The prisoners have an interest in uncensored correspondence as it is plain liberty interest. The administration may censor, but that any decision to censor or withhold delivery of a letter must be accompanied by minimal procedural safeguards.

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