What You Absolutely Cannot Bring to a Visit at Sabine Parish Detention (and What Happens If You Try)
Visiting someone at Sabine Parish Detention goes smoother when you show up with as little as possible. Here's the definitive list of what cannot go into the visiting area, what the search process looks like, and how staff handle it if you arrive with something you shouldn't have.
Certain items are flat-out banned from the visiting area at Sabine Parish Detention. The biggest problem categories: drugs (including marijuana), alcohol, tobacco products, and anything that records or communicates (cell phones, pagers, cameras, and other electronic devices). Bring any of these past the entry point and you'll be stopped.
- ✓ Controlled substances
- ✓ Alcoholic beverages
- ✓ Marijuana
- ✓ Tobacco and tobacco-related items
- ✓ Cameras and any video or audio recording equipment
- ✓ Electronic devices, including cell phones, pagers, and similar items
Expect a security screening when you arrive. All visitors, including minors, can be searched. That means your person, your belongings, and your car. If you bring extra items, assume staff may look through them.
- ✓ Metal detector screening
- ✓ Ion scanning equipment
- ✓ K-9 searches
- ✓ Refusing a search can result in your visit being denied or ended
Don't refuse the search. If you decline, your visit can be denied or ended on the spot. Searches can include your vehicle and property, not just what's on your person.
Dress standards are enforced, and the wrong outfit can get your visit denied. The facility wants a family-friendly environment and clothing that doesn't create security issues (like outfits resembling staff uniforms). If you're unsure about something, change before you go. Don't lose your visit over a shirt.
- ✓ Clothing that resembles a correctional officer uniform (for example camouflage or blue BDUs)
- ✓ Sheer or transparent clothing
- ✓ Swimsuits
There's a narrow exception for medication. Only prescribed medication that is life-saving or life-sustaining is allowed (think nitroglycerine pills, inhalers, or oxygen). Bring just what you need for the visit, not your full supply.
- Tell the visiting desk staff you have the medication - If you have a life-saving or life-sustaining prescription with you, you must advise staff at the visiting desk that you are in possession of it.
Show up with something banned (phone, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, controlled substances, recording equipment) and you'll be told it can't go into the visiting area. Since staff can search you, your belongings, and your car on arrival, bringing prohibited items also raises the chance your visit gets delayed, denied, or ended. Refusing the search makes this even more likely.
- ✓ Leave prohibited items and extra personal property in your locked vehicle before you go to the entrance
- ✓ Do a quick check before you step out of your car (pockets, jacket, purse, diaper bag) so nothing banned comes up during screening
- ✓ Remember that your vehicle and property can be searched at arrival, so “I left it in the car” may still matter if it’s not secured and put away
Best move if you're unsure: Go back to your car and lock the item away (or leave it at home entirely) before checking in. A few extra minutes beats a denied visit.
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