Before Your First Visit to Jess Dunn: Photo ID, Prohibited Items (Including Phones), and Security Searches
Your first visit goes smoother when you plan ahead: bring the right ID, leave prohibited items behind (especially phones), and know what to expect at security.
If you're 18 or older, you'll need photo ID to visit. Staff accept a state driver's license, state ID, federal ID, military ID, or school ID - they'll check for your photograph before letting you in.
Reminder: No acceptable photo ID means no visit.
Don't bring a cell phone or any device that can send or receive electronic communications into a secure area unless you have explicit authority. Under Oklahoma law, knowingly carrying one into a secure jail or prison area is a felony. The penalties are serious: up to two years in prison, a fine up to $2,500, or both. This isn't a situation where they'll just ask you to leave it in your car.
Tip: Leave your phone locked in your vehicle - or better yet, at home. Carrying it into a secure area without authority is a felony.
Expect to be searched when you arrive. At minimum, everyone gets a pat search at the perimeter.
Your belongings and vehicle can be searched too. Bags, purses, boxes - anything you carry in is fair game. Same goes for your car and everything inside it once you enter the grounds. Refuse a search, and you can be denied entry. It may also lead to other consequences.
- ✓ Expect a pat search when you enter the facility perimeter
- ✓ Assume any bag, purse, or box you bring can be searched
- ✓ Be ready for your vehicle and its contents to be searched when entering the grounds
- ✓ Don’t refuse a search - refusal can mean you’re denied entry and may lead to other action
Sometimes staff can go beyond the basic pat search. If there's reasonable suspicion you're trying to bring in contraband, the warden or facility head (or their designee) can order a more thorough search. A strip search requires probable cause - meaning staff must have specific reason to believe you're carrying contraband.
When a strip search is ordered, safeguards apply. Two trained staff members of the same gender as the visitor conduct the search.
Know the standard: More thorough searches require reasonable suspicion. Strip searches require probable cause and are conducted by two trained, same-gender staff members.
Show up without photo ID (and you're 18 or older), and you'll be turned away. Photo identification is required. You can also be denied entry if you refuse to let staff search your bags, vehicle, or other items - and refusal may lead to further action.
Best way to avoid problems: Bring acceptable photo ID and cooperate with the required searches.
Checklist Prep
- ✓ Bring an acceptable photo ID if you’re 18 or older (driver’s license, state/federal/military, or school ID)
- ✓ Do not bring a phone or any electronic device capable of sending/receiving electronic communications into a secure area without authority
- ✓ Expect, at minimum, a pat search when entering the facility perimeter
- ✓ Keep what you carry (and what’s in your vehicle) to a minimum - bags, purses, boxes, vehicles, and their contents are subject to search
Serious warning: Bringing a phone or any communication-capable device into a secure area without authority is a felony - punishable by up to two years in prison, a fine up to $2,500, or both.
Find an Inmate at Jess Dunn Correctional Center
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
