22 AAC 05.130 - Visitation of prisoners

(a) Prisoner visitation must be conducted consistent with security requirements and availability of space in each facility. Absent exigent circumstances, the frequency and amount of visitation must be provided for prisoners as follows:

(1) in facilities housing 100 or more prisoners, at least 30 hours per week must be made available for visitation;

(2) in facilities housing more than 50 but less than 100 prisoners, at least 25 hours per week must be made available for visitation;

(3) in facilities housing less than 50 prisoners at least 24 hours per week must be made available for visitation;

(4) visitation must be made available on at least three week days and one weekend day; a facility must make reasonable efforts to schedule visitation to accommodate day and night work shifts of potential visitors;

(5) visits must be made available for at least one hour in duration except under exceptional circumstances; if exceptional circumstances necessitate visits of less than one hour in duration, a facility must make reasonable efforts to provide for more than one visitation per day for such a prisoner.

(b) Facility staff members shall establish the identification of visitors and may conduct a frisk search and a search of the belongings of each visitor for weapons and other contraband. In order to have contact visitation with a prisoner, a visitor may be required to submit to a strip search, if reasonable grounds exist to believe that the visitor is in possession of contraband. A frisk or strip search must be performed by a staff member of the same sex as the visitor being searched. A visitor to a facility may not possess or use a camera, tape recorder, or other sound or visual recorder without the prior approval of the superintendent.

(c) A visitor denied visitation under (d) of this section must be informed of the reasons for the denial.

(d) A visitor may be excluded for any of the following reasons:

(1) security requirements;

(2) space availability;

(3) disruptive conduct;

(4) being under the influence of alcohol or drugs;

(5) health problems;

(6) refusal to submit to a search authorized under (b) of this section;

(7) being under the age of 18, unless the visitor is a family member of the prisoner escorted by an adult family member or is a nonfamily member escorted by a parent or guardian; the visitor has attained majority by virtue of marriage to the prisoner in accordance with AS 25.20.020; or the visitor is an emancipated minor in accordance with AS 09.55.590;

(8) previous violation of visiting rules;

(9) unapproved visit by a person under the supervision of the department;

(10) misrepresentation of identity or purpose of visit;

(11) clothing worn by the visitor is in violation of visitor dress code established by the commissioner; or

(12) the visitor was released from a correctional facility within the preceding 60 days, unless approval is granted by the superintendent; this paragraph does not apply to a prisoner's family members.

(e) A visitor and a prisoner may not exchange any object, except with the approval of the superintendent.

(f) A visitor is responsible for keeping his or her children under control.

(g) Except as limited by the remanding authority in the case of a contract prisoner, contact visits may be allowed with authorized visitors after a prisoner has been incarcerated for 30 days or upon completion of prisoner orientation, whichever occurs first. Prisoners in punitive segregation or who are identified by the superintendent as an escape, smuggling, or security risk are not eligible for contact visitation.

(h) Hospitalized prisoners may be allowed to receive visitors with the authorization of the superintendent and medical authorities.

(i) A limited number of relatives or friends may visit a prisoner at any time of day or night within the 24 hours after initial admission to a facility on new criminal charges, subject to 22 AAC 05.015.

Notes

22 AAC 05.130

Eff. 9/10/77, Register 63; am 1/9/87, Register 101

Authority:AS 12.25.150

AS 33.30.011

AS 33.30.021

AS 44.28.030