In other western Massachusetts counties, visiting policies at local jails have only two options — contact and non-contact visits.
In light of the Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson’s decision to do away with in-person visits at his facilities, sheriffs in Berkshire, Franklin and Hampden counties said they will join Hampshire County in continuing to allow in-person visits.
Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan won’t consider videoconferencing visits.
“I had never heard of doing visits that way. I didn’t know that was an option,” Donelan said. “We are not dealing with ax murderers here. We are dealing with a lot of people who have mental health and substance abuse issues. Our ultimate goal is to get them treatment and unite them with support in the community. Visitations add to that and go in that direction.”
Donelan’s minimum security facility allows for contact visits, but the county’s medium security facility, which houses mostly people who have been convicted of crimes and have yet to earn the relative freedom of a minimum security unit, was not designed for such an option. Instead, visits at the medium security facility don’t allow contact, with inmates and visitors talking through a glass barrier.
“The old building doesn’t have the physical structure for us to divide them, and secondly, it’s an incentive for the positive behavior that lands you in minimum security,” Donelan said. “As much as we want to connect people with jobs and counseling, we want to connect them to their families and other people supporting them when they are being released.”
Donelan said jail officials are considering trying to expand visitation privileges for some inmates, especially those in the comprehensive treatment unit which helps inmates with substance abuse issues. He said that could be an incentive for men engaged in their treatment.
In Berkshire County, contact visits are still an option for inmates unless there is a specific security reason for non-contact visits, according to Dan Sheridan, the assistant superintendent.
Sheridan said that in the past six months, the jail has been looking into video conferencing when family members can’t get to the jail for visits. He also said the jail is considering videoconferencing for use in the courts so inmates would not need to be transported for quick pretrial hearings or motion sessions that don’t require their presence.
In Hampden County, Sheriff Nicholas Cocchi oversees both a men’s facility and a women’s facility. The women’s facility allows contact visits, while the men’s does not and visitors meet across a glass barrier.
“I believe the contact for our women offenders is very important for re-entry and family reunification,” Cocchi said.
Using an oft-used phrase, Cocchi said that when a man goes to jail, the man goes to jail but when a woman goes to jail, it’s the entire family. The men’s facility in Ludlow once had contact visits but the policy changed more than 15 years ago after a woman used an infant’s diaper to smuggle drugs into the men’s facility, Cocchi said.
“The changing of contact to not contact was done for one main reason, to uphold the integrity and the safety of the institution,” Cocchi said.
As for videoconferencing visits, Cocchi said it could cut staffing costs.
“But as of right now, I see a value in having your family see you face to face,” he said. “I think it is a great behavior tool. If you get an opportunity to see your family twice a week, you will behave so you don’t lose that privilege.”
Cocchi said he wasn’t opposed to looking at the idea down the road but didn’t see a reason to change the policy, adding that inmates have been very respectful of the visiting process. In fact, changing the policy could lead to institutional unrest as inmates may see it as losing what they consider a “sacred opportunity.”
“I hope that people who read what Bristol County is doing don’t put all of us county sheriffs into the same pocket. They should understand that each facility is unique and each sheriff has autonomy,” Cocchi said. “I hope that Hampden County has a track record of proving we have a good handle on best correctional practices and how to have a safe and humane facility conducive to positive change in our offender’s behavior.”
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.