What Happens on Visitation Day at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility: From Parking to Check-In
Visitation day goes smoother when you know what's coming. Here's the full rundown for Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF)—from what to leave in your car to check-in and security screening.
Before you make the drive, confirm you're actually approved to visit. MDOC visitation forms aren't available online, and MDOC won't email or mail them to you. You'll need to mail your completed paperwork as the application package instructs, then wait for approval before traveling. Plan your ID situation now - not in the parking lot. Every visitor 18 and older must bring valid photo identification: a driver's license, state ID, or passport. Show up without it, and you'll be turned away at check-in.
- ✓ Wallet
- ✓ Cell phone
- ✓ Purse
- ✓ Any other prohibited items or personal possessions (leave them locked in your vehicle)
On visitation day, you'll park at CMCF and walk to the visitation processing area. Leave personal possessions and prohibited items locked in your vehicle - don't carry them up to the visiting center.
Check-in is where first-time visitors tend to get slowed down. You'll present your photo ID and sign the visitor log. Staff will verify your identity using acceptable photo ID - for adults, that's a valid driver's license, state ID, passport, or similar. Before entering the visitation center, you'll get a stamp on the top of your right hand. Don't wash it off until you've finished your visit and left the facility grounds - it's part of the entry process.
Note: MDOC visitation forms are not available online, and MDOC does not email or mail them. Mail the completed forms as directed and wait for approval before you travel.
After check-in comes security screening. All visitors must submit to a search - either a frisk search, an electronic scanner, or both - before entering visitation.
Once inside, keep physical contact within the rules. Appropriate affection is limited to a brief kiss and embrace at the beginning and end of the visit, holding hands, and sitting or walking with arms around shoulders or waist. Hands can rest on non-sexual areas. Cross the line into sexual or inappropriate contact, and your visit can be terminated immediately. When in doubt, keep it simple: quick greeting, calm visit, quick goodbye.
Reasons for Denial or Termination
- ✓ You appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or you have alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, or drug paraphernalia on prison grounds
- ✓ You refuse to submit to a search
- ✓ You refuse or fail to produce sufficient identification, or you falsify identifying information
- ✓ You violate visitation rules
- ✓ You don’t prevent children from acting in a disturbing or disruptive manner
- ✓ You display excessive physical contact with the incarcerated person
- ✓ You’re improperly dressed
- ✓ You possess money or any negotiable instruments while on prison grounds
- ✓ You possess a knife, firearm, explosives, or explosive material while on prison grounds
If any of those issues come up, your visit can be denied or ended on the spot. The superintendent (or designee) can also suspend visiting privileges, which affects future trips. Take the rules seriously - even if you've visited other facilities before.
Group size matters at CMCF. No more than five people total - including babies and children - may visit an offender at one time. The Youthful Offender Unit has a tighter limit: a maximum of four individuals per visitation period. If your loved one is housed there, plan your group accordingly so nobody gets left outside at the last minute.
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