Bedford Hills SHU Visits: How Visiting Works for People in Special Housing
If your loved one is in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) at Bedford Hills, visiting works differently than general population. Here’s how often you can visit, what the hours look like, and how to plan so you don’t get turned away at the door.
At Bedford Hills, people in SHU custody are allowed one non-legal visit within a seven-day period. That “one visit” limit is the big difference families run into - if you’ve already had a non-legal visit during the week, you’ll need to wait until the next visitation week to visit again.
SHU visits take place during the standard visiting window of 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, but the latest arrival time is earlier for SHU: 2:45 PM. If you show up after that cutoff, you can lose the visit even if you’re only a few minutes late.
Bedford Hills counts the visitation week from Sunday through Saturday. That matters for SHU because the “one visit within a seven-day period” resets with that weekly cycle - so a visit late in the week can affect whether you’re allowed another visit the following weekend.
General visiting runs on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, with a 3:00 PM arrival deadline. The hours look similar on paper, but SHU visitors face a tighter cutoff.
Quick difference: SHU visits run 8:30 AM–3:30 PM, but the latest arrival is 2:45 PM. General visits use the same 8:30 AM–3:30 PM window with a 3:00 PM latest arrival.
For weekend visiting, Bedford Hills divides visits into alphabetical segments based on the incarcerated person’s last name. Even if your loved one is in SHU and you’re focused on the SHU limits, it still helps to know the facility uses last-name groupings for weekends so you can line up your plans with the correct segment.
Prepare
- ✓ A current (not expired) driver’s license with photo
- ✓ A current (not expired) DMV non-driver photo ID
- ✓ A current (not expired) government-issued photo ID
- ✓ An Armed Services ID with photo
- ✓ An employment ID with a photo
- ✓ For minors: a birth certificate or baptismal certificate
- Confirm you’re eligible to visit this week - SHU allows one non-legal visit within a seven-day period, so make sure a visit hasn’t already been used for the current week.
- Check whether your loved one is in reception status - If they’ve been in the facility less than 30 days, visits may be limited to their approved weekend visit day only.
- Plan your arrival around the SHU cutoff - SHU visiting runs 8:30 AM–3:30 PM, but you must arrive by 2:45 PM.
- Build in extra time at the front end - Aim to be there well before the cutoff so normal check-in delays don’t cost you the visit.
Tip: Because SHU visits are limited to one non-legal visit per seven-day period and the latest arrival time is 2:45 PM, treat this like an “arrive early” visit - give yourself a buffer so you don’t lose your one shot for the week.
SHU visiting at Bedford Hills is described as a non-legal visit, and it’s capped at one visit within a seven-day period. If you’re trying to see someone more often, that limit is usually the reason you’re being told you can’t schedule or complete another visit that week.
Both general visits and SHU visits use the 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM visiting window, but the arrival deadlines are different. For SHU, the latest arrival time is 2:45 PM; for general visiting, it’s 3:00 PM. If you’re used to general population timing, adjust your plan so you’re through the door earlier when you’re coming for an SHU visit.
Reception status (under 30 days): If your loved one has been at Bedford Hills less than thirty (30) days, visits may be limited to their approved weekend visit day only.
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