Visitation for inmates at the Baxter County Detention Center will resume Monday following pandemic guidelines and practices. Visitation was suspended March 13 as a precautionary health measure due to the coronavirus.
With the pandemic, the inmate census has dropped significantly. The online jail log indicated 77 inmates at mid-afternoon Thursday. At previous times, the census has been almost double recent numbers, leading to the jail expansion approved by taxpayers in 2018.
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery told the quorum court Tuesday night the census is at a level not seen in over 10 years.
In an interview with KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot news in late March, Montgomery said the reduced census is the result of several reasons.
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Montgomery said the reduced jail census can be attributed to other factors.
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With visitation at the detention center resuming, in addition to all previous rules and regulations, a number of new temporary provisions will be in place to meet pandemic distancing requirements.
1. Only one visitor at a time per inmate will be allowed.
2. No more than two inmates at a time, with their respective visitor, will be allowed together in the visitation rooms in order that recommended distancing can be maintained.
3. No person under 18 years of age will be permitted to visit at this time.
4. Visitors will be required to wear protective masks.
5. In order to accommodate all visitors, visitation will commence at 9 a.m. on the normally designated visiting days, which will be two hours earlier than usual, and will cease at 6 p.m.
6. A limited number of chairs will be placed in the inside lobby or waiting area in order to maintain recommended distancing between people. When these chairs are occupied, other persons waiting to visit will be required to wait outside the building or in their vehicles.
7. Visitors are to come inside the detention center lobby to register with jail staff and be placed on the waiting list in the order they have registered. Jail staff will take the temperature of persons registering. Any person with a fever or feeling ill will not be allowed to visit. Additional screening questions may also be asked of potential visitors. Those waiting to visit will be notified by jail staff when it is their turn to visit.
Montgomery says he and his staff will look at reinstating church and rehabilitative services in the near future.
Montgomery says these temporary measures may be modified or adjusted without prior notice if circumstances warrant it. They will be rescinded when it is deemed appropriate.
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