Document Type

Article

Abstract

Jail inmates face substantial emotional, economic, legal, and other challenges when they are incarcerated. The extent to which they are able to maintain contacts with individuals on the outside can substantially determine how well they cope with these concerns, and visitation is the primary way that such links may be maintained. To date, no systematic assessment of jail visitation policies has been conducted. The current study examined the availability of visitation policy information and the content of policies for national samples of large and small jails. The results suggest that large jails provide more opportunities for visitation and that they provide more information than small jails. Overall, there exists an opportunity for jails to substantially increase the availability of crucial visitation information. Policy implications are discussed.

Rights

Sitren, Alicia H., Smith, Hayden P., Applegate, Brandon K., Gould, Laurie A. 2009. "Jail Visitation: An Assessment of Organizational Policy and Information Availability." in the Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice [Online Journal], Vol. 5(3). Available at http://utsa.edu/swjcj/.

© 2009 Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice.

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