What You Can't Bring to Piedmont Correctional: A Visitor's Checklist
Want to get through the door at Piedmont Correctional without delays? Two things matter most: leave your phone behind, and be ready for screening if you're 16 or older.
Cell phones are contraband at Piedmont Correctional - full stop. Even tucked away in a pocket or purse "just in case," a phone can end your visit before it begins. Leave it at home or locked in your car. Don't risk getting turned away at the entrance.
Quick takeaway: If you bring contraband - like a cell phone - you can be denied entry. Save yourself the trip back to the car and leave devices behind before you get to the gate.
Everyone 16 and older gets a pat/frisk search before entering. The rules are specific: male officers only search male visitors, while female officers can search visitors of either gender. One thing that might ease first-time nerves - you won't be asked to put your hands against a wall or partition during the search.
Visitors 16 and older also go through an electronic screening. It's part of the standard entrance process, designed to keep contraband out. Refuse the search, and you won't get in.
Heads up: Refusing the pat/frisk search or the electronic-device search will result in denied entrance.
Practical Tips
- ✓ Leave your cell phone at home or secured in your vehicle before you arrive (phones are contraband inside the facility).
- ✓ Do a quick “electronics check” before you step out of the car - if you’re 16 or older, you should expect electronic-device screening at entry.
- ✓ Empty your pockets before you walk up to check-in so you don’t accidentally bring a prohibited phone inside.
- ✓ Don’t carry a phone “just for the walk in” - leave it put away from the start.
Keep what you carry to a minimum. Bring what you need for check-in, and avoid extra personal items that can slow down screening or create problems at the door. When you’re not sure whether something is allowed, the safest move is to leave it behind.
Bring contraband like a cell phone, or refuse the pat/frisk or electronic screening (if you're 16 or older), and you'll be denied entry. That means no visit that day - even if you drove hours to get there.
- Step away and secure the issue - If the problem is a prohibited phone or other personal item, put it away where it won’t come back to the entrance with you.
- Ask what your options are - Check with staff about whether you can try again the same day after securing the item.
- Call ahead before you return - If you’re denied entry, contact the facility for guidance and to confirm what you need to do to reschedule.
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