Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 2, 1994 TAG: 9404020114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium
The ban went into effect Friday for anyone under 12, including children of inmates.
Elizabeth McManus, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office, said the jail's population was 492 on Thursday. The facility was designed to hold 197 inmates.
Jail visitors are confined to one room. Four telephones link inmates and visitors. The overcrowding makes visits with small children noisy, McManus said.
"We've had numerous complaints for years about people coming in and bringing a large number of children who make noise," she said. "People are complaining about not getting quality visits."
But she acknowledged that an incident last month in which a youngster stuck a metal key in an uncovered electrical outlet influenced Waters' decision. The incident knocked out power to portions of the jail.
Dorita Epps, whose 18-year-old son is in the jail, said the new policy is unfair. "Most of the inmates are young, and their children are under 12 years of age," she said. "This policy not only hurts the inmates but will hurt their children."
Epps said Waters should have had the electrical outlet covered and should not penalize inmates and their families for his mistake.
Epps said when she complained, Waters told her the jail "basically is my house, and visitors will abide by my rules."
McManus said the visitation policy would have changed even without the outlet incident. "But that could have been very bad," she said. "That child could have been injured."
Electrical outlets in the visiting room are now covered, she said.
by CNB