What happens if you violate visiting rules at Crowley: possible suspensions and permanent bans

Staff can terminate your visit immediately if they see a rule violation - and the consequences often extend beyond that single missed visit. Depending on what happened, the facility may review the incident and impose a temporary suspension. Major violations can result in a permanent ban. This article covers common examples that end visits, published suspension lengths (they conflict, so verify), how to check your status, and practical steps to protect your visiting privileges.

Examples Terminate Visit

• ✓ Trying to exchange with or give an incarcerated person any item that didn’t come from the available vending machines during the visit
• ✓ Conspiring or attempting to smuggle contraband into or out of the facility (including attempts that don’t happen directly in the visiting area)
• ✓ Any behavior that appears intended to aid an incarcerated person’s escape or attempted escape (a serious example that can also lead to permanent suspension)

Bringing kids? You're responsible for supervising and controlling them the entire visit. If a minor becomes disruptive and doesn't settle down after verbal instruction from you, the visit ends. One more thing: physical discipline is not allowed anywhere on correctional facility property. Plan ahead so a stressful moment doesn't cost you the visit.

After a terminated visit, Crowley - like other Colorado Department of Corrections facilities - can review the violation and decide whether to suspend your privileges. The problem: CDOC's published materials include conflicting versions of suspension timelines for "first" and "second" violations. Treat the timelines below as ranges you may encounter, not guarantees of what will happen in your case. Confirm current practice with the facility before making plans.

1. First violation: 30-day suspension - One published version states that, after review by the administrative head, a first visitor suspension can be 30 days.
2. Second violation: 90-day suspension - In that same version, a second suspension may be 90 days after review.
3. Third violation: one-year suspension - That version also lists a third-step suspension of one year.

1. First violation: 90-day suspension - An alternate passage states a first visitor suspension may be 90 days after review by the administrative head.
2. Second violation: one-year suspension - That same alternate passage lists a second suspension of one year (and does not describe a third step).

Permanent Suspension

• ✓ Activity that appears intended to aid an incarcerated person’s escape or attempted escape
• ✓ Any attempt to exchange with or give an incarcerated person any item other than what’s acquired through the available vending machines during the visit
• ✓ Conspiring or attempting to smuggle contraband into or out of the facility (including situations not directly tied to the visiting area)

Think you might be suspended? Or did your last visit end abruptly, leaving you unsure what comes next? Contact Crowley Correctional Facility directly and ask whether your visiting privileges are active. Keep it simple: Are you currently suspended? How long does it last? What do you need to do before visiting again? Until you get that confirmation, assume you could be turned away at the door.

Use Crowley's official contact channels - the phone number or email listed on CDOC's facility information and visiting resources. For future reference, the mailing address is: Crowley Correctional Facility, 6564 State Highway 96, Olney Springs, CO 81062.

Practical Tips

• ✓ Supervise children closely and step in early; if a minor stays disruptive after verbal instruction, the visit can be terminated
• ✓ Don’t use physical discipline on correctional facility property - if you need to reset, end the visit and handle it off-site
• ✓ Don’t hand over “small” items (paper, cash, keys, notes, food, etc.); only items acquired through the available vending machines are allowed to be given during the visit
• ✓ If anyone asks you to bring something in or take something out, say no - conspiring or attempting to smuggle contraband can lead to permanent loss of visiting privileges
• ✓ Avoid any behavior that could be interpreted as helping with an escape attempt; even conduct that “looks like” aiding escape is treated as a major violation