What You Can't Bring Inside: Prohibited Items at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility
Show up with the wrong items and you could be turned away. Worse, some items can lead to criminal charges. Here's what Southern Ohio Correctional Facility and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) consider prohibited.
Electronic devices aren't allowed in the visiting area. This includes items people often forget they're wearing: cell phones, smart watches, pagers. Personal bags are also prohibited, so leave your purse, handbag, or backpack behind. The rule of thumb? If it communicates or carries your essentials, it stays outside.
Quick warning: Do not bring a cell phone, smart watch, or pager into the visiting area.
ODRC has a zero-tolerance policy on contraband. Bringing drugs, alcohol, weapons, or cash onto prison grounds is prohibited and can be prosecuted under Ohio Revised Code section 2921.36. This isn't just a visitation rule you might bend. It's a criminal statute. Check your pockets and belongings carefully before you go in.
Legal risk: Prohibited contraband can be prosecuted under Ohio law (ORC 2921.36).
Before entering, you'll sign a Visitor Declaration of Understanding. This form confirms you won't bring weapons, ammunition, drugs, alcohol, cash, or electronic communications devices (cell phones, two-way radios, smart watches) into the prison. Think of it as your final checklist. If anything on that list is in your pocket or bag, stop and remove it before proceeding.
Declaration reminder: When you sign the Declaration of Understanding, you are formally agreeing not to bring the listed prohibited items into the prison.
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