In-person visitation to resume at prisons
In-person visitation of Michigan prisoners will resume later this month after a more than year-long ban on them due to restrictions under COVID-19.
The Michigan Department of Corrections announced Friday the meetings will be allowed beginning March 26 after they were halted March 13, 2020. The state prison system includes Macomb Correctional Facility if Lenox Township.
“We recognize how important in-person visitation is to our prison population,” MDOC Director Heidi Washington said in a news release. “Connections with family and the community lead to greater offender success. With the continuation of vaccines and cases within the MDOC on a steady decline the department is prepared to provide in-person visits without jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of our inmates and staff.”
MDOC officials say they have taken safety precautions for the visitors and inmates, including various protocols for the visitor and inmate and placement of a divider between visitors and inmate during the visit, which is limited to two hours. Physical contact between inmate and visitor will be prohibited for the time-being.
Since the ban on personal visits, the MDOC has provided several free calls and JPay messages per week to inmate, and last year began implementing video visitation for prisoners. Video visitation will continue despite a return to in-person visitation.
Visitors are required to schedule their visit 48 to 72 hours in advance of the scheduled visit. Information about how to schedule visits will be available soon on the MDOC website www.michigan.gov/corrections.