What Criminal History Means for Visiting Privileges at High Security Center (RIDOC)

RIDOC treats visits - whether in person or video - as a privilege, not a right. The administration can approve, deny, suspend, or revoke visiting privileges at any time. A visitor's criminal history is one of the main reasons they might do so.

To visit regularly, your name must be on the inmate's visitors' list. Getting added requires passing both BCI and NCIC background checks. If you don't clear both, you won't be allowed to visit - unless the Assistant Director of Institutions and Operations (ADIO) or a designee approves an exception.

There's also a limit on list size. Sentenced inmates can have nine names on their visitors' list - these people can visit and deposit money into the inmate's ACI account. Two additional names can be added for deposits only; those two aren't allowed to visit.

Pending charges affect both approval and visit frequency. RIDOC limits visitors with pending charges to one visit per month. If you're immediate family with a pending criminal charge, you'll need approval from the ADIO or designee before any visit.

A felony record is one of the biggest hurdles to visiting approval at the High Security Center. Immediate family with a felony? You'll need ADIO or designee approval. Not immediate family but have a felony record? Same requirement applies.

• ✓ If you have a felony conviction and visits are granted, RIDOC limits visits to once per month until you show three consecutive years of law-abiding behavior.
• ✓ You can meet the three-year requirement if your most recent felony conviction is more than three years old (when you were not incarcerated for that conviction).
• ✓ You can also meet it if you were released from incarceration (at RIDOC or another jurisdiction) at least three years ago.

If you're not immediate family, even a misdemeanor can trigger extra requirements. RIDOC says non-immediate family visitors who have pled nolo contendere to, or been convicted of, a misdemeanor need ADIO or designee approval to visit.

Probation status matters too. Immediate family members currently on probation - whether for a misdemeanor or felony - can only visit with ADIO or designee approval.

A denial doesn't always mean "never." RIDOC's rules allow exceptions in several criminal-history situations, though most require ADIO/designee approval. This includes cases where you didn't clear BCI/NCIC checks, have a felony record (immediate or non-immediate family), or are immediate family with pending charges.

1. Ask the inmate to request the right approval - If you have a felony record or you’re immediate family with a pending charge, the visit can only be granted with ADIO/designee approval.
2. Confirm you’re eligible to be on the visitors’ list - Regular visits require you to be listed and to pass both BCI and NCIC background checks unless an ADIO/designee exception is granted.
3. Plan around frequency limits if you’re approved - If you have pending charges, visits are limited to once per month; if you have a felony conviction and visits are granted, expect the once-per-month limit until the three-year law-abiding period is satisfied.