Before Your Visit: What You Can and Cannot Bring to Southeast Correctional Center
A smooth visit starts with what you bring—and what you leave behind. Use this checklist to plan ahead, breeze through screening, and avoid anything that could cost you visiting privileges or worse.
Quick Checklist
- ✓ A valid photo ID if you’re an adult (for example, a current driver’s license or Department of Revenue ID card)
- ✓ As little as possible - small lockers are available at most Missouri DOC institutions for items like a purse, wallet, or keys
- ✓ A plan for your car: don’t leave any person or pet in the vehicle on institutional grounds
Timing matters. You can arrive in the parking lot no earlier than 30 minutes before visiting starts, and entry is first-come, first-served. Show up within that window - it keeps you from waiting around while still giving you time to check in.
Keep it simple: carry only what you need for check-in and leave everything else behind. Small lockers are available at most Missouri DOC institutions for items like your purse, wallet, or keys. But fewer belongings means faster entry.
Note: Skip underwire bras or undergarments with metal - they'll likely set off the metal detector. Headwear isn't allowed unless it's for verified religious purposes, and even then it can be searched.
Missouri DOC takes contraband seriously, and "contraband" doesn't just mean illegal drugs. Tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis are all prohibited on prison grounds - even though they're legal elsewhere. Under Missouri statute 217.360, bringing drugs, alcoholic beverages, firearms, or other prohibited articles into a correctional facility is a criminal offense. It can be charged as a felony with up to 15 years in prison.
- ✓ Illegal narcotics (drugs)
- ✓ Tobacco products
- ✓ Alcohol
- ✓ Cannabis (even if it may be legal outside the facility)
Note: When you enter prison grounds, you, your packages, your children, and your vehicle are all subject to search. Metal detectors are used at every facility. Staff may also use an itemizer wipe - you'll wipe your shirt front, pockets, and palms - to check for traces of narcotics or explosives.
Screening is part of the deal. You, your packages, your children, and your vehicle can all be searched. If you break visiting rules or refuse a search, the facility can impose sanctions. You'll receive written notice explaining the infraction and the consequences.
Criminal charges are also possible. Missouri DOC prohibits illegal narcotics plus tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis - and violators get referred for prosecution. Under Missouri statute 217.360, bringing drugs, alcoholic beverages, firearms, or other prohibited items into a correctional facility is a felony punishable by up to 15 years.
Got placed on visiting restrictions? You can appeal in writing. Send your appeal to: Missouri Department of Corrections, 2729 Plaza Drive, PO Box 236, Jefferson City, MO 65109.
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