The Minnesota Department of Corrections (MN DOC) suspended all family visitation on March 13, 2020 in response to COVID-19 infection rates within the prison system (Rodgers, 2020). MN DOC resumed a revised visitation schedule with modified restrictions depending on the case load in the individual jails on October 27, 2020 (MN DOC Visting, 2020).
In person visiting is allowed at facilities with fewer than two active cases of COVID within a 14 day period (MN DOC Visting, 2020; Prison Pro, 2020). The count includes inmates and staff. If there are two or more active cases then the facility will suspend visitation. In addition to regular requirements for visitation, the MN DOC has added the following requirements:
- Scheduling of visits at least 24 hours prior to the visit (normal requirement). Visitors must be on the pre-approved list, which is a standard requirement.
- Visits are limited to one hour, with no extended visits available.
- All visitors except those under the age of 2 must wear a mask and all are required to submit to temperature checks and other screening for COVID.
- Physical contact is not permitted and all visitors must maintain social distance of six feet.
- MN DOC has minimized the activities for children in the visiting room to reduce the amount of cleaning and risk of transmission of COVID
- Video conferencing is available for facilities that suspend visitation when there are two or more inmates and/or employees with active COVID-19.
Minnesota initiated several programs to allow for early release of inmates to reduce prison populations. As of late August, most of these programs had been discontinued, which included:
- C19SR = COVID-19 Sanction Reduction Program
- C19WRP = COVID-19 Work Release Program
- C19CMRP = COVID-19 Conditional Medical Release Program
County Jails
The following counties were selected based on population and/or position in the state.
Hennepin County, which includes the City of Minneapolis, is located in the central eastern portion of the state. The Twin City of St. Paul is located in adjacent Ramsey County but is not included in this discussion. Hennepin County Jail visitation has been suspended since March 15, 2020 (Do, 2020).
St. Louis County in the northeast corner of the state has suspended all social visitation at their jail and closed all government buildings to the public (SLCSO, 2020). The main jail is located in the City of Duluth.
Polk County, which share a border with Grand Rapids, Michigan. The jail services three counties and is referred to as the Tri-County Community Corrections, including Polk, Norman, and Red Lake Counties (TCCC, 2020). The jail has returned to limited access as of June 1, 2020 included limited on-site visitation on June 17, 2020.
Freeborn County, which includes Albert Lea and the crossroads of Interstate 35 and 90. All visitation is conducted via video, however, onsite video conferencing is free while online video conferencing requires fees (FCSO, 2020).
Policies | ||||||
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Type of Facility | Family Visitation | Attorney Visitation | Commissary/Money for Expenses | Other Programs | ||
General Information | Hours and Parking for Visitation | Inmate Property Release | ||||
State-Run Correction Facility |
|
| No specific information given | No specific information given |
|
|
Hennepin County |
|
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| Police and attorneys can visit inmates and the jail 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. |
|
|
St. Louis County |
|
| Inmate personal property can be picked up between 8:30am and 3:30pm Monday through Friday by appointment. | No specific information provided. |
| |
Polk County (Tri-County Community Corrections) |
|
|
|
|
| Inmates can have up to three changes of clothing stored for work release. |
Freeborn County |
|
| No specific information provided. | No specific information provided. |
|
Infection Rates and Death Rates
The general trend in Minnesota is increasing with a current positivity rate of 7% (mn.gov, 2020). However, this trend appears to be accelerating. County-specific information regarding trends is not provided on the State dashboard.
Minnesota Department of Corrections (MN DOC) provides statistics for testing and inmate status by facility (MN DOC Dashboard, 2020). As of October 29, 2020, all inmates had been tested at least once. There were 2 deaths reported. Of the inmates tested since the start of the pandemic, 3% have tested positive with 40% of those infected listed as unrecovered. Five (5) of the 11 facilities have at least one positive case of COVID as of October 29, 2020. One of the methods employed to reduce rates is to release as many inmates as possible from the prisons, with a significant release between October 2019 and May 2020. This was part of a broader jail reform strategy (Rodgers, 2020).
MN DOC provides employee statistics by facility and work post. Of the confirmed and presumed positive, 49% have returned to work as of October 29, 2020. Two of the employees remain hospitalized.
County Jails
Hennepin County, which includes the City of Minneapolis, serves 22% of the state’s population and as such has the largest potential for inmates (HCSO, 2020). They aggressively test the jail population if there are suspected contact with COVID positive inmates or if exposed prior to being jailed. They have an aggressive jail diversion program with the support of the police, courts, County Attorney, and attorneys to reduce the jail population by approximately 45% from pre-pandemic levels to reduce the spread within the jail (HCSO, 2020).
St. Louis County, in a move similar to Hennepin County, has aggressively worked to release inmates from their jails to reduce jail populations due to COVID-19 pandemic (CBS3Duluth.com, 2020).
Polk County is moving towards reopening with limited visitation in the jails.
Freeborn County is moving towards reopening with limited visitation in the jails while encouraging video visitation.
Type of Facility | Infection | Death | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | Positivity Rate | Number | Death Rate of Positive Cases | ||
State Jails | Inmate | 1,378 | 3% | 2 | <0.1% |
Employee | Not provided | undetermined | Not provided | undetermined | |
Hennepin County | Inmate | 1651 | 8.6%2 | 0 | Not provided |
Employee | >1 | undetermined | Not provided | undetermined | |
St. Louis County | Inmate | Not provided | undetermined | Not provided | undetermined |
Employee | Not provided | undetermined | Not provided | undetermined | |
Polk County | Inmate | Not provided | undetermined | Not provided | undetermined |
Employee | Not provided | undetermined | Not provided | undetermined | |
Freeborn County | Inmate | Not provided | undetermined | Not provided | undetermined |
Employee | Not provided | undetermined | Not provided | undetermined |
References
- CBS3Duluth.com. (2020, April 2). St. Louis County Jail releases low-level inmates to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Retrieved November 2, 2020 from NewsBreak: https://www.newsbreak.com/minnesota/duluth/news/1539366218117/st-louis-county-jail-releases-low-level-inmates-to-prevent-the-spread-of-covid-19
- Do, H. (2020, March 15). Hennepin County Jail cancels social visitation due to COVID-19 outbreak. Retrieved November 2, 2020 from ABC 5 Eyewitness News, KSTP.com: Inmate
- FCSO. (2020). Freeborn County, Minnesota. Retrieved November 2, 2020 from COVID-19 Detainee Vistation: http://www.co.freeborn.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/5055/COVID-19-Detainee-Visitation
- HCSO. (2020, October 30). COVID-19 in Jail News. Retrieved November 2, 2020 from Hennepin County Sheriff Office COVID-19: https://www.hennepinsheriff.org/jail-warrants/jail-information/COVID-19#:~:text=Detainees%20are%20issued%20masks%20to,employee%20screening%20process%20in%20place.
- MN DOC Dashboard. (2020, October 29). DOC COVID-19 Dashboard. Retrieved November 1, 2020 from Minnesota Department of Corrections: https://mn.gov/doc/about/covid-19-updates/
- MN DOC Visting. (2020, October 27). Visiting. Retrieved November 1, 2020 from Minnesota Department of Corrections: https://mn.gov/doc/family-visitor/visiting-information/
- mn.gov. (2020, November 1). COVID-19 Dashboard Minnesota. Retrieved November 2, 2020 from Minnesota.gov: https://mn.gov/covid19/data/covid-dashboard/index.jsp
- Prison Pro. (2020). Vistin an inmate in Minnesota. Retrieved November 1, 2020 from Prison Pro: https://www.prisonpro.com/content/visiting-inmate-minnesota
- Rodgers, B. (2020, March 12). Department of Corrections: Prison visits suspended in Minnesota. Retrieved November 1, 2020 from ABC Eyewiness News 5: https://kstp.com/news/department-of-corrections-prison-visits-suspended-in-minnesota-coronavirus-covid19/5672371/
- SLCSO. (2020). Sheriff Office. Retrieved November 2, 2020 from St Louis County Minnesota: https://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/departments-a-z/sheriff
- TCCC. (2020, June 29). General Information. Retrieved November 2, 2020 from Tri-County Community Corrections: https://www.communitycorrections-tccc.org/