Philadelphia Department of Prisons announces Phased Resumption of In-person Visits

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP) announced that in-person visits for fully vaccinated inmates at its facilities will resume—starting Monday, November 15, 2021—for the first time since the pandemic began. The visits will require forty-eight (48) hours notices’ to facilitate. Accordingly, the visitation scheduling platform will open virtually beginning on Friday, November 12, 2021, to allow visitors to schedule on the inmate’s scheduled visiting day.
The PDP will continue its mitigation strategy to stop the spread of COVID-19 within its facilities by approving one adult and one child (aged 11 to 17) per visit to ensure social distancing. Children aged 10 and under will be revisited as the implementation of vaccination is rolled out.
Visitors will be required to arrive at the facility no more than 10 minutes before their previously-scheduled time to begin the visitation process. Visitors will be required to agree to a temperature screening. If the temperature is above 100.4 degrees, visitors will be informed they will not be permitted and will need to reschedule. All visitors are required to wear a mask during the entire visit.
“The Department of Prisons has been relentless in its strategy to lessen the spread of COVID-19 inside its facilities in order to keep inmates and PDP staff safe,” said Prison Commissioner Blanche Carney. “That mitigation resulted in the suspension of visits to keep the inmate population safe, but we quickly launched a virtual platform so that inmates could maintain connections with family and friends during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are pleased to announce the return of in person visits, as we understand the significant and positive impact it will have on the inmate population.”
In order to visit inmates, guests must register online in advance at visitpdp.org/app. Walk-ins will not be permitted. Visits will be limited to one hour per week and will be rotated to ensure equitable visitation for vaccinated inmates and to ensure no particular inmate is scheduled for all available visitation slots.
This information will be shared with the incarcerated population via PDP’s closed-circuit TV system and on the tablets in advance of Monday, November 15, 2021.
The PDP will continue to offer free phone calls and virtual visits via tablets to all inmates regardless of vaccination status.