We have been asked questions about rumors about video visiting being implemented in the Utah State Prison system.
According to Rollin Cook, Director of the Utah Department of Corrections, and the one who will have the final say on this, as long as he has anything to do with this, the established methods of visiting (contact, barrier) within Draper and Gunnison will remain, and video visiting will only be instituted to ENHANCE the potential for inmates to have visits when their loved ones are far away, or if their levels don’t allow for contact or in person visits.
- Right now there are NO plans to install video visiting in the Oquirrhs at Draper, contrary to rumors that have been spreading.
- As far as the addition of West One at Gunnison, there are NO plans to have video visiting as an only method of visiting there.
- He also said that in a new prison he would not support visiting that was limited to video only, and there would be contact visiting.
I hope this alleviates fears that we will have our contact visits taken away.