Before Your First Visit to Saguaro Correctional Center: What to Bring and What to Leave Behind
Your first visit goes much smoother when you show up with the right paperwork and leave the wrong items at home. Use this guide to avoid getting turned away or stuck at check-in.
Before you plan a trip, make sure you're actually cleared to visit. Every potential visitor must complete a background check and submit a visiting application before getting approved. Here's a timing issue that catches a lot of first-time visitors off guard: if your loved one is new to the prison system, you'll need to wait until they've been classified before submitting your application. Visitors aren't allowed during the reception and diagnostic process - trying to visit during that window usually means a wasted drive.
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- ✓ Bring an approved photo ID.
- ✓ Leave paper cash behind - no paper money is allowed in visiting rooms.
- ✓ If you plan to use the vending machines, bring coins in a clear plastic bag.
- ✓ You can also use a debit or credit card for vending purchases (when applicable).
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- ✓ Pictures of any kind (including photos stored on keychain-sized electronic picture viewers)
- ✓ Oils of any kind, including religious oils
- ✓ Can openers
- ✓ Sunglasses
- ✓ Documents of any kind
- ✓ Outside food of any kind - including gum and candy (only exceptions are those listed in the Visiting Rules)
Note: “No oils” includes religious oils. If you bring them into the visiting area, you can be denied entry.
Don't take chances with anything that could be considered contraband. Under Idaho Code 18-2510, knowingly bringing or possessing contraband in a correctional facility is a crime. Contraband includes tobacco, cell phones or other telecommunication equipment, controlled or illegal substances, firearms or other dangerous weapons, ammunition or explosives, and escape tools or devices. Penalties can reach 5 years imprisonment and/or a $10,000 fine.
- Check where the resident is housed - use the resident/client search tool so you’re looking at the right schedule.
- Confirm the visiting schedule before you go - visiting hours can change due to weather or emergency situations, so contact facility visiting staff to verify the date, time, and housing location.
- If you can’t confirm it, don’t drive yet - get verification first to avoid arriving on a day visits aren’t running.
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- ✓ Complete the required background check and submit your visiting application (and wait to apply if the resident is still in reception/diagnostic and hasn’t been classified yet).
- ✓ Bring an approved photo ID.
- ✓ Bring vending money the right way: coins in a clear plastic bag, or a debit/credit card if applicable.
- ✓ Do not bring paper money into the visiting room.
- ✓ Leave prohibited items at home: pictures, oils (including religious oils), can openers, sunglasses, and documents of any kind.
- ✓ Don’t bring outside food - including gum and candy (unless it’s specifically listed as an exception in the Visiting Rules).
- ✓ Confirm the resident’s housing location and the visiting schedule before you leave by contacting facility visiting staff or using the resident/client search tool, since schedules can change due to weather or emergencies.
Reminder: Bringing contraband into the facility can be charged as a crime under Idaho Code 18-2510, with penalties up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine up to $10,000.
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