Do Prisons Use Criminal Background Checks on Visitors?

If you hope to visit a loved one in jail but have a criminal history, you might wonder whether your conviction records will affect your visiting privileges.

The answer depends on the jail or prison. For example, higher-security facilities typically have stricter visitation policies than county jails. The requirements also differ between federal, state, and local prisons. In most cases, correctional facilities will perform at least a basic due diligence check before they allow an outsider to visit an inmate.

What Do Background Checks for Visiting an Inmate Entail?

Criminal background checks for visitors at jails or prisons usually look for two things: outstanding warrants and existing criminal history. Checking warrants is a way for law enforcement agencies to prevent persons of interest from visiting and consulting with accomplices or acquaintances on the inside. Prison staff will arrest any visitor whose background check shows an outstanding warrant.

Things aren’t as straightforward with criminal background checks. Not all past convictions will lead a prison or jail to bar visitors from seeing an inmate. Misdemeanor convictions or older offenses won’t receive as much weight as felony convictions or recent crimes.

Why Do Prisons Run Background Checks on Visitors?

US prisons do background checks on visitors as a precautionary measure to protect public safety. They may lower the threat of danger and injury to staff and other visitors in the building. It also helps the correctional facility maintain control over the premises consistently. Visitor background screening ensures that prisons can provide a detailed record of third-party property access to the Department of Corrections should they request it.

Where Do Prisons Get the Data for Visitor Background Checks?

While jails and prisons typically conduct a criminal background check, those checks are not always far-reaching. Since most prisons are publicly owned and funded by taxpayer dollars, they do not have the budget to run in-depth background checks for every visitation request. These entities often have access to state criminal repositories or the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), but access will vary between facilities.

Can a Felon Visit Someone in Prison?

Particularly in federal prisons, administrators will often deny convicted felons from visiting other convicted felons. However, there may be exceptions to this rule when visiting family members. Can parents who are felons to visit their children inmates? Depending on the facility and the severity of the visitor’s felony history. Usually, felons can visit inmates if they have no recent convictions. Prisons will also generally bar your visitation if you are on probation or parole.

Do You Need a Background Check to Visit Someone Who is Awaiting Trial?

Someone who has been convicted of a crime but has not had their trial yet is allowed to have visitors. However, there may be some conditions. Depending on the crime, some jails may not allow people with a connection to the case (except for lawyers) to visit an inmate without supervision. You may be subject to background screening before your first visit to ensure your presence does not threaten the success of the upcoming legal proceedings.

Other Reasons Jails Deny Visitations

Criminal history is not the only reason a prison may opt not to approve a visitor. Before the visitation process, most correctional facilities will require you to complete a visiting application. Some of the questions on this application will pertain to your criminal history, including questions about felony convictions or past incarceration. Others will collect general information about you, including your name, address, and relationship to the inmate.

Failure to provide accurate information on this application may cause the facility to deny your visitation request. Jails also usually deny visits from individuals who previously worked in the Department of Corrections.

Run a Quick Background Check on Yourself Before Visiting an Inmate

To prevent any problems at the jail, you may want to run a criminal background check on yourself beforehand. Doing this gives you a sense of what the prison staff might see on your record check and whether it could prevent you from visiting your friend or family member. With backgroundchecks.com, you can run your name through a comprehensive national criminal database of over 650 million criminal records in minutes.