What You Can't Bring Into Lebanon CI (and the Legal Consequences of Bringing Contraband)
Visiting someone at Lebanon Correctional Institution means going through screening on the way in. Show up with the wrong items—even something
When you arrive at Lebanon CI to visit, plan on being searched as part of entry. Visitors are also screened through metal detectors, and everyday items like hairpins, underwire bras, certain boots/shoes, clothing with multiple zippers, and excessive jewelry can set them off and slow down your check-in. The reason the process is strict is simple: the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) treats contraband - especially drugs, alcohol, and weapons - as a zero-tolerance issue.
Reminder: You should expect search and screening at the door. If you bring prohibited items, you may be delayed or turned away before your visit even starts.
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- ✓ Cell phones
- ✓ Smart watches
- ✓ Pagers
- ✓ Other electronic communication devices (including two-way radios)
- ✓ Cash
Two categories that cause problems fast are electronics and cash. ODRC rules explicitly bar electronic devices in visiting areas (including smart watches, cell phones, and pagers), and Ohio law also lists cash and cellular phones among items that may not be knowingly conveyed - or even attempted to be conveyed - onto detention facility grounds. If you’re not sure what counts, treat anything that communicates (or looks like it might) as a “leave it in the car” item, and don’t bring cash onto the grounds.
Leave your purse, handbag, backpack, and any similar bag behind. These items aren’t permitted during visits, so the safest plan is to store them in your vehicle before you head to the entrance.
ODRC’s stance on contraband is strict: it has a zero-tolerance policy for conveying drugs, alcohol, and weapons into its correctional institutions. On top of being a visitation-rule issue, bringing - or trying to bring - certain items onto the grounds can be treated as a criminal matter under Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 2921.36. That law covers knowingly conveying or attempting to convey items like deadly weapons or dangerous ordnance, drugs of abuse, intoxicating liquor, cash, and cellular phones (and other electronic communication devices) onto detention facility grounds.
Legal warning: Trying to bring drugs, alcohol, weapons, cash, or a cell phone onto the grounds may be treated as a violation of ORC 2921.36 and can lead to prosecution.
Because everyone is subject to search, prohibited items are often found during routine screening. If that happens, you can expect your entry to be delayed or denied. Even if you didn’t mean any harm, showing up with banned property can derail the visit and create bigger problems than you came for.
If something is found: You may be denied entry and removed from the grounds, and suspected contraband can be handled as a criminal matter under ORC 2921.36.
If you’re trying to help your loved one with money or approved reading materials, don’t bring it to the visit expecting to hand it over. Visitors are not permitted to deliver packages, correspondence, money, or printed materials directly to incarcerated persons - those items have to go through the mail process under policy.
- Send items through the mail process - Packages, correspondence, and printed materials must be processed through the mail policy, not handed over during a visit.
- Use the approved deposit method for funds - Only approved visitors may deposit funds to an incarcerated person’s account, and it must be done using the approved ODRC process.
- Confirm you’re approved before you try to pay - If you aren’t on the approved visitor list, you shouldn’t assume you can make a deposit.
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