Visitor and Prisoner Views on Visitation Policies and Practice in an Urban Jail System

• In Event: Policy Panel: Perspectives on Jail and Prison Visitation

Abstract

In 2014, the Philadelphia Prison System (PPS), which includes five jails, began considering implementation of an extensive video visitation system with the expectation of significantly reducing the number of visits to its facilities. A citizen task force concerned about children’s visits at the jails consulted with the PPS commissioner to advise about adding video visits, but also encouraged consideration of other changes that could improve parent-child contact in the jails. With the cooperation of the PPS, researchers undertook a survey of 555 visitors and 365 prisoners to solicit their views about current visitation practice and policy, with a particular focus on their assessment of existing visiting conditions for children and proposed changes that could affect such visits. This paper presents the survey results, including information on the current frequency of child visits, impediments to visitation and views about current visiting policies and proposed changes. Differences between male and female facilities will also be discussed. The findings have important implications for jail policies and the ways in which child-parent contact can be facilitated.

Authors

• Jane A. Siegel, Rutgers University, Camden

• Laura Napolitano, Rutgers University, Camden

• Brianna Chrzanowski, Rutgers University, Camden