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Patrick Administration to
Expand C.O.R.I. (Criminal Checks)
to Thousands, Despite
Pro-Reform Stance
All Friends & Family of MA
Prisoners Will Be Investigated as Condition of Visitation
There’s More:
The Department of Correction is moving to
institute changes to its Visitor Procedures that will affect friends and
family in a most negative manner. The policies will affect all of our loved
ones and the health of our communities. They must be immediately stopped.
Sign the petition, send it to everyone and anyone you know. Please attend
the hearing so we can let them know friends and families keep prisoners
connected to the community. We deserve to be treated with dignity and
respect. ACT NOW. Time is short and much is at stake.
On the left sidebar of this page you will find:
1. PDFs of the proposed policies (and
the current CMR for comparison)
2.
Sample letters to Governor Patrick
3. A link to the online petition at
http://www.PetitionOnLine.com/visitdoc/petition.html
The hearing will take place Thursday,
February 4, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. at the McCormack Building, One Ashburton
Place, Ashburton Cafe Function Room, Plaza Level, Boston, MA.
Below is a little background and excerpts of
several drastic restrictions the Commonwealth intends to implement.
Please contact us
here for more information. Your suggestions are
desired AND welcome.
The changes the DOC implements are almost
always for the worse. Prisoners and their loved ones have no organized
support system, so the Commonwealth is free to enact whatever measures it
deems beneficial to expanding its control. The changes to the CMR regs add
four pages of restrictions under the guise of "...governing visitation at
correctional institutions, which reflect the importance of maintaining
contact with family and the community, as well as the need for security and
order in administering a visitation program."
In direct contradiction to its assertion of
promoting family connections, the DOC will require that all visitors submit
to a criminal record investigation (CORI), a Victim Notice Certification
using the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) as a condition of
provisional approval for visitation. The proposals restrict total visitors
to a prisoner to 10; appear to limit visiting days and hours; physical
touching, to limit visitors to one prisoner in the entire system (unless one
proves immediate family status); institute pat-searches of a nursing mom
and her baby after breast-feeding; detain visitors having "contraband of a
criminal nature"..."until the police arrive and formally arrest the
visitor"; a visitor who is denied or asked to leave shall be told the reason
for such action, except when it is deemed that to specify the reason might
jeopardize security interests or the safety of any person."
A new section 483.10 has been added to the
proposed regulations: 483.10.1 (b) by statute (MGL c 127 section 37) the
superintendent may refuse admission to a person who has permission to visit
if, in the superintendent's opinion, such an admission would be injurious to
the best interests of the institution.
(c) Generally no one may visit an inmate temporarily confined in an outside
hospital other than the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Correctional Unit). Inmates
who are medically determined to be in critical condition or in imminent
danger of death may be allowed to have visits if the superintendent of the
parent institution has provided prior written authorization.
(d) Except for the officials listed in... persons wishing to visit a
correctional institution to provide services to inmates or to examine or
report on inmates or conditions must obtain prior permission to visit.
Unless a Department regulation establishes a particular procedure for
obtaining permission, such visitors shall apply to the superintendent.
(e)
(f) Upon commitment to a Department
institution, inmates shall be allowed to have two (20 visitors and a
reasonable amount of children pending the approval process. Inmates shall
however, submit an Inmate Visitor Listing within thirty (30) days of
admission to the Department. However, visitors who are added to subsequent
Inmate Visitor Lists shall not be allowed to visit until approved.
(g) The two (2) visitors allowed to visit
pending the approval process shall become inactive after forty (40) business
days if not properly approved through the application process.
(2)
Up to ten (10) Blank copies of The Visitation
Application (available at
http://www.mass.gov/doc/policy
and at each inmate library attached as Attachment 1 to the 103 CMR 483.00
Visiting Procedures regulation) and a copy of the Inmate Visitor Listing
shall be provided at inmate orientation upon request....Prospective visitors
shall complete and return the forms with a copy of a current photo
identification to the institution's director of security. Where required per
103 CMR 483.13 (2) (b) or 103 CMR 483.13(9) the visitor shall also include
medical evidence. Applications shall be approved or denied within a
reasonable amount of time.
(3) Prior to submitting the application to
the director of security for final approval/disapproval, institution staff
shall complete criminal history background and Victim Notification
Certification (VNC) checks of the potential visitor using the criminal
justice information system (CJIS). The Superintendent may direct staff to
complete subsequent checks.
(4) after consulting with any necessary
staff, the director of security shall make the final decision. …
(5) If the application is approved or
denied, the visitor name and status shall be entered on the Inmate Visitor
Listing which shall be maintained at a central location as determined by
the superintendent. This location shall be accessible to staff processing
visits.
(6) …
(7) …
(8) Reasons for denial may include but
not limited to: (a) The person poses a direct threat to the safety
security and/or orderly operation of the institution; (b)...(j)”
The changes you see above are just a few of
the onerous restrictions the Commonwealth plans to institute. As we wrote,
you can read scanned copies of the entire proposed and current regulations
on the homepage. The DOC routinely treats visitors with contempt. The
proposed changes would formalize this practice. More important, the
revisions further expand DOC control into our communities. Much needs to be
done! The DOC’s actions must be opposed and countered. It is not enough to
ask our officials and elected representatives to stop harming us. We must
demand real change.
Several suggested actions are contained on
this
www.massdecarcerate.org
homepage, including an on-line petition, sample letters and more. Email us
here if you’d like more information or have other ideas for action. TIME IS
SHORT. Please stand up and speak out. THANK YOU. |
TM
Last Updated on
Wednesday January 20, 2010.