Cuyahoga County has done an about-face and is now considering bringing back in-person visits for friends and family at the county jail.
Last week, Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel told Signal Cleveland he had no plans to resume such visits – which has been the only option since early 2020. The sheriff said family members told his staff they preferred video visitation.
Pretel, who oversees the jail, also said the county was “still evaluating” visitation options for the new jail campus it plans to build in Garfield Heights.
The sheriff’s comments last week came in response to a report that called on the county to reinstate in-person visits for friends and family.
The report, released by the Wren Collective, said that the county’s shift to video-only visits strips people accused – but not convicted – of criminal charges of the opportunity to talk openly with family members about their criminal cases, including witnesses, evidence and potential plea deals. That’s because county prosecutors have access to listen to jail calls and watch videos recorded by a county contractor.
Attorneys still have the ability to visit clients in the jail.
On Thursday, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne issued a statement saying his administration would work with the sheriff’s department to “discuss the restoration of in-person visitation as an option.”
A county spokesperson said no timeline has been set.
“We take feedback from our community very seriously,” the statement to Signal Cleveland said, referencing the Wren Collective report. “And are committed to evaluating our policies to ensure that our practices meet the needs of the community while maintaining safety for our employees and those in our custody.” The change in the county’s stance was first reported by Cleveland.com.
The statement also said that the county’s new jail facility, which is estimated to cost at least $750 million is being “designed to incorporate in-person visitation as an option.”
“We are encouraged to hear Cuyahoga County is taking this issue seriously and revisiting its ban on in-person visitation,” said Nikki Baszynski, who authored the report. “We hope the county changes its policy soon.”
The county has a multimillion-dollar contract with Securus Technologies to provide video visits, phone calls and electronic messages and to scan mail. Remote video visits cost about $4 for a 25-minute session. For free, people can schedule a visit using a video kiosk in the downtown Justice Center. People have completed more than 141,000 video visits since 2020, according to the county.
The Wren Collective report also urged the county to terminate the unregulated access county prosecutors have to recorded jail communications, including video visits and jail calls.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Lexi Bauer dismissed the report as “written by a former public defender” and said that it is “well-established that jail calls are public record.”
“Ironically, the Public Defender’s Office has the same access to these jail calls,” Bauer said in an email last week, noting that wasn’t mentioned in the report.
Following the release of the report, Cuyahoga County Public Defender Cullen Sweeney said his office’s access to the communications was cut off by the county sheriff’s office and he was told public defenders would need to subpoena the information. Sweeney said he didn’t anticipate challenging the move.
Signal Cleveland’s Stephanie Casanova contributed to this story.
