Webster County Law Enforcement Center is limiting public access to the building to residents and the Sheriff's department. | Webster County Dispatch / Facebook
Webster County Law Enforcement Center is limiting public access to the building to residents and the Sheriff's department. | Webster County Dispatch / Facebook
The Webster County Sheriff's Office issued new rules regarding COVID-19, which will impact jail visitation at the Webster County Law Enforcement Center.
Visitation has been temporarily suspended at the jail to help keep inmates and staff from exposure to the coronavirus.
Right now, visitors use video calling to see inmates in-person, but Sheriff Jim Stubbs recently told The Messenger that this isn't an option for inmates to speak with friends or family outside of the jail yet.
“The lobby isn’t big, and if you get too many people, it goes against every (health precaution) we’ve been told,” he said. “We’ll try to work out ways to keep people as happy and content as we can.”
New rules from the Iowa Department of Corrections put a stop to all visitations at prisons throughout the state. Attorneys will still be allowed to visit their clients and emergency visitations will be considered, but not guaranteed.
“The whole situation is fluid, so we’ll have to see what guidelines come out from the state next,” Stubbs said. “We’ll keep everybody as safe as we can, including our jail inmates and staff.”
If COVID-19 were to get inside the jail, it wouldn't be good, he said. Inmates and staff are in close quarters and it could easily spread throughout the jail. Stubbs said the best decision is to deny as many entries for infection.
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