Stark and Carroll county sheriffs are addressing coronavirus issues by ceasing visitation at the jail and other services, such as carry-conceal permit issuance.
It won’t be business-as-usual for family, friends and even the attorneys of prisoners at the Stark and Carroll county jails — and anyone seeking a carry-conceal permit.
Carroll County Sheriff Dale Williams announced via his department’s Facebook page Thursday all inmate visitation has been canceled “until further notice.” On Friday, carry-conceal and fingerprinting services were also stopped.
Stark County Sheriff George Maier also announced changes in the way such public services will be done for now.
“We are working closely with local and statewide health officials to ensure the well being of Stark County residents and visitors,” Maier said in a news release. “Under requirements per the Ohio Revised Code, I have a duty to preserve public peace and will work diligently to do just that.”
Maier announced his office is “limiting the number of non-incarcerated people permitted on the premises effective immediately until further notice.”
“While we have taken this and other precautions, we recognize that we have a 24/7 public service agency to include maintaining a 526-bed jail. Our efforts are directed to the health, safety, and welfare of the public, our staff, and inmates,” the release shows.
Maj. C.J. Stantz said Friday morning 480 prisoners were housed inside the Stark County Jail. The number is fluid, changing as prisoners go to court and some are released on bond and as others are newly incarcerated.
Friends and family of inmates are no longer permitted to come to the jail for a visit, which usually takes place via video at the jail. (There typically are no in-person contact visits with locked-up loved ones anyway.)
But families and friends also have been able to visit inmates from the comfort of their own homes via a computer and/or cellphone since 2017.
Video visitation has enabled families and friends to schedule a video visit and pre-pay a fee of 50 cents per minute up to a half hour.
Attorneys also routinely meet with prisoners, typically on one side of the glass in visitation booths at the jail. Sheriff’s deputies are “still in talks” with the courts about temporarily stopping any face-to-face meetings, Stantz said Friday morning.
Like in Carroll County, Stark County residents seeking carry-conceal permits are going to have to wait.
“We are suspending issuing those right now,” Stantz said, adding that deputies do not want anyone coming into the office to contract or spread illness.
“The health and safety and welfare of our public is our main concern and we don’t want to put anybody in jeopardy by bringing them out to our facility unnecessarily,” Stantz said.
Every deputy and employee has been issued masks to use “if they come into contact with someone who is suspected of having the virus or is a known carrier,” he said.
“We appreciate the public’s help and helping us to keep our community safe. It’s a community effort to help stop of the spread of coronavirus.”
