Before You Drive to Christina Melton Crain Unit: A Pre-visit Checklist and Explanation of Visitation Limits
A little prep before you leave can save you a wasted trip to Christina Melton Crain Unit. Use this checklist to confirm the basics, bring the right ID, leave prohibited items behind, and plan around the one-visit-per-weekend limit.
Before you hit the road, confirm two things: your loved one is currently assigned to Christina Melton Crain Unit, and they have active visitation privileges. These are the gatekeepers. Without both, a visit won't happen - no matter how perfectly you follow every other rule.
Note: Visitation information is updated daily (and multiple times on visitation days), but you should still call the unit for final confirmation before you travel.
Bring a valid photo ID for every adult visitor. TDCJ publishes a list of acceptable photo identifications, so if you’re not sure whether yours will be accepted, check that list before you leave home.
Being on the Visitors List and having current visitation privileges is what makes you an "approved visitor" in practice. Not sure if you're approved - or it's been a while since your last visit? Confirm the inmate's assignment and visitation privileges, then call the unit to verify before you make the drive.
Prohibited Items
- ✓ Don’t bring paper cash.
- ✓ If you bring money at all, limit it to coins totaling no more than $35.
- ✓ Leave your cell phone behind - no cell phones are permitted inside the secure perimeter during visits.
Note: Leave prohibited items at home or secured in your vehicle - visitors and vehicles can be searched by unit staff, and prohibited property can end a visit before it starts.
At Crain Unit, each inmate gets one visit per weekend. If multiple people want to visit, coordinate ahead of time with other approved visitors (and with the inmate, when possible). Otherwise, someone may show up only to learn the weekend visit has already been used.
Final Practical Checklist
- ✓ Confirm the inmate is assigned to Christina Melton Crain Unit and currently has visitation privileges.
- ✓ Call the unit for final confirmation before you travel.
- ✓ Bring a valid photo ID (make sure it matches what TDCJ accepts).
- ✓ Bring no paper cash - coins only, up to $35 total.
- ✓ Leave your cell phone behind - no phones inside the secure perimeter.
- ✓ Plan around the limit of one visit per weekend per inmate; coordinate with other visitors so nobody makes the trip for nothing.
- ✓ Expect that visitors and vehicles may be searched by unit staff.
Note: Visits can be canceled, and an eligible inmate can’t receive visitors if visitation has been canceled - call for confirmation on the day you plan to go.
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