I would like any information on visitation to Bullock Crrectional Facility in Union Springs, AL. I will be a first time visitor and I am very nervous and confused about what to expect. I will get to see my husband, John, for the first time in 4 weeks...I hope! I would appreciate any info. given, PLEASE HELP. Pat

get there early! did he send you the rules you have to abide by?

Hi Pat,

Since you had some prison/state-specific visitation questions for Bullock, I have moved your post to the Alabama forum so your post will have the opportunity to get more specific responses and the best answers to your questions... AND the information will be here to help others in the future, too. :)

There's also a good thread with lots of info about visitation procedures in the Alabama forum... we have found that most of the rules and regulations seem to be the same or similar at most/all Alabama facilities, so that should help some... the thread is located here:

http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7056

Also, it just so happens my guy spent a few years at Bullock and he should be calling in the next few days, so I will be sure to ask him if he can recall any big differences in the visitation procedures at Bullock as opposed to the ones I've been posting about Limestone in that thread, and if there's anything else he can think of that you should know... will let you know here what he says!!

Hope the info here in the forum helps and happy visiting! :)

Lys

Just wanted to welcome you to PTO. My husband's been at 3 different facilities in Alabama - this time around. The rules have been relatively the same:

no white
wear underwear
etc., etc., etc.

When you get there, talk to the other visitors - they can fill you in on everything. That's what I did and it also helped to ease my nerves.

Good luck and hope you have a great visit.

Thank you for the replies on my call to HELP! Just drove in from Pennsylvania and have to run to make visitation today. Catch youn's up later tonight. Again THANKS!!!
PAT

Pat, Brian said visitation at Bullock is pretty much the same as everywhere else so most of the info in that thread link above about visitation in Alabama should get you thru or at least give you a good heads up about what to expect.

He said the only real big difference between there and Limestone is that at Bullock (at least when he was there) the visiting is done in the gymnasium, there's no outdoor area, and so everyone sits on bleachers and he said it can get kinda loud in there. He also said the vending machines are in another room that the inmates aren't allowed into, so you have to separate in order to get drinks or snacks, but it's not that big a deal.

I'll PM you with this info too... good luck, have fun and happy visiting, and be sure to come back and tell us all about it when you've gone (you can be our new expert on visitation at Bullock!)... :)

Lys

Thanks for the info Lys! Tell Brian thanks too! :D

LOL... you're welcome! Always happy to help and he is too! I had this big list of stuff sitting by the phone to ask him about when he called this week, so when he called and after I'd gone thru the list and gotten his responses, he got real quiet for a second and then said, "You really didn't want to know all this stuff, did you?" and I said, "YES! YES! And PTO does too!" :D

Thanks again for the info. on Bullock CF. Visitation was great. Especially since he had no idea I was coming to visit. They told him he had to wait 7 days at least. But, on the 3rd day, at the urging of my Godson, I phoned the facility to see when I could visit him for the first time. OH BOY!!!! The next morning at 8:00 am until 1:00 pm. He was totally surprised that he said he fell over trying to get his pants on; As I was supposed to have left for Pennsylvania the night before. It was pretty much exactly like Brian described, except for a few rules that had been changed as we were standing at the gates. No problem, I can adjust since I didn't know what was going on anyhow. Hope I'm doing this right. First time I've ever really messed with the internet.
Pat

Oh good! Glad you had such a great visit! Sorry I didn't get all this to you before you went. Yeah, it's a little daunting at first when you don't know & aren't sure... but you turn into a pro at it real quick! :)

Glad you went, and hope you will have many more happy visits to come! :)

There are a couple of things that have changed at visitation: 1. No more carrying loose change in a baggie. You must bring your quarters in bank rolls or you may have dollar bills. The machine will take ones, fives, and tens. But, no more than $30.00 can be taken in. 2. Inmates are no longer able to carry any items back with them. 3. They take only 5 people through the gates at a time, including children.

They will make you walk back to your car over and over if you have anything but your ID and money with you. I found this out on my first visit 2 weeks ago. Also, last weekend on Sunday, they made all traffic entering the grounds pull around to be checked out by the dogs before they could enter the parking lot. Now, this was my 2nd trip to Bullock CF and I don't know why they were doing this. Other visitors in line say somebody messed up and tried to bring something in that they shouldn't have. One woman says she's been coming there for 6 years and has never been through that before. The reason for letting you know this is just so you're prepared to wait a little longer than usual.

I'll be off to see my husband bright and early this Saturday. YIPPIEEE!!

Thanks for the info Pat and I'm glad you've got another visit on Saturday! :)

Yup, they made those same changes about the money and the carry-backs at Limestone, guess it was statewide after all.

Pat, RE the weekend with the dogs checking - they just do that occasionally, you never know when they will. I've been to Limestone six times since February and they've never had the dogs out, but weekend before last when my guy's parents went to see them they did. Probably you won't see that again for a long time but always be prepared that it could be that way any day.

They had them out in Loxley last Sunday - it's the second time since my husband's been there and I've missed them both times. Not that I'd care - as long as they don't bite or drool! :)

About the changes at visitation...while waiting in line, another visitor asked a CO that had come out about them and he said it was something that some new guy they have in charge now has decided to implement. He also said that there would probably be more changes soon, but didn't elaborate on them.
About the dogs...I didn't really mind it except for the fact that they only had ONE out and it seemed like it was taking forever to get through. I guess that's because I was so ancious to see my husband. I'm learning real fast though that they'll test your patience. It's worth the wait and aggrivation though FOR SURE!!

PAT