NYC DOC – Rikers Island – West Facility (WF)

NYC DOC – Rikers Island – West Facility (WF) basic information to help guide you through what you can do for your inmate while they are incarcerated. The facility's direct contact number: 718-546-4120

This facility is for adult inmates.

The WF opened in the fall of 1991 and was constructed of ‘Sprungs’ – rigid aluminium framed structures covered by a heavy-duty plastic fabric. The facility includes single-cell units, in which 140 specially air-controlled housing units are reserved for male and female inmates with contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, some of which make up the Department's Communicable Disease Unit (CDU). Other cells house detainees separate and apart from the CDU. The West Facility is operationally off-line and in reserve status at present.

The Rikers Island complex, which consists of ten jails, holds local offenders who are awaiting trial and cannot afford, obtain, or were not given bail from a judge; those serving sentences of one year or less; and those temporarily placed there pending transfer to another facility. Rikers Island is therefore not a prison, which typically holds offenders serving longer-term sentences. It is home to ten of theNew York City Department of Corrections' fifteen facilities and can accommodate up to 15,000 prisoners.

Inmate Calls – As of May 2, 2019, all inmate calls are free. Inmates are now entitled to 21 minutes of free phone privileges every three hours. Individual calls can last up to 15 minutes each, and even dangerous prisoners locked up in solitary confinement get a single, daily call of up to 15 minutes.

Inmate Handbook – This handbook has information about many of the programs and services available to you, including educational services, family events, the grievance process, law libraries, medical and mental health services, reentry services, and religious services. You can learn more about all of the programs and services available to you in the programs office. To go to the programs office, ask your housing area officer for an interview slip, fill out the slip, and return it to the officer. Additionally, the handbook provides answers to frequently asked questions, including how family and friends can deposit money into your account, how often you can use the phone, what property you may have, how many visits you may have, what to do if you have a disability, how to access services, and how to address various concerns.
Inmate Rulebook – The inmate rulebook contains the rules that you must follow and describes the process if you violate these rules. The rules fall into several general categories:

• Do not start fires
• Do not attempt to escape
• Do not fight or assault anyone
• Do not possess contraband, including weapons, drugs, tobacco, electronics, and other non-permissible items,
• Do not lead or participate in riots, demonstrations, barricades, or hostage situations
• Do not gamble
• Do not bribe or extort anyone
• Do not tamper with security devices
• Do not tamper with documents
• Do not damage city property
• Do not disrupt programs or otherwise conduct yourself in a disorderly manner
• Provide identification when asked
• Do not give false statements

Follow all instructions from staff If you violate any of these rules, you will be served with a notice of infraction and will receive a due process hearing. At the hearing, you may present a defense before an adjudication captain. The adjudication captain will find you guilty or not and, if you are found guilty, will determine what the sanction will be. Sanctions include surcharges, reprimands, and sentenced to punitive segregation time.

visitation Info

NYC DOC – Rikers Island – West Detention Center (WF) – Visitation

Visit an Inmate – Facility Locations

• Visitors will be subject to passive canine searches when arriving to the Rikers Island Visit Control Building or the Borough facilities, or any other facility including the Hospital Prison Wards.
• All visitors 16 years of age and older must present valid current identification that contains a photograph and signature. Acceptable forms of identification for all visitors are listed below.
• Children under the age of 16 who are accompanied by an adult over 18 are not required to present any identification at all.
• A 16-year-old or 17-year old with valid identification may accompany a child under the age of 16 if he or she is the parent of that child and the inmate being visited is also the parent of the same child. In this case, the 16- or 17-year-old must produce a birth certificate for the child under the age of 16.

Acceptable Forms of Identification
From any state or territory in the U.S.:
•    Current driver’s license
•    A valid Employment ID card with photo AND most recent employment paycheck/stub
•    DMV Non-driver license identification card
Other Acceptable Forms of Identification

• Resident alien or a permanent resident card issued by the U.S. Department of Justice
• Passport (from any country)
• NYS benefits identification card (Medicaid/food stamp photo ID)
• U.S. Armed Services identification
• Consulate-issued or diplomatic identification
• IDNYC card

If you have any questions while at a facility, please ask a Correction Officer or Supervisor
Visit Schedule – Last year, nearly 100,000 New Yorkers were remanded to the New York City Department of Correction and on an average day, about 13,500 people are detained in our facilities. Most of them stay here on Rikers Island, where we also host as many as 1,500 visitors daily. We recognize how important it is for inmates and their families and friends to maintain contact with one another. We want your visits to be as pleasant as possible, so we are working to speed up the visit process, strengthen security, improve the Central Control Visit Building and provide information to help you plan your visits.
Our mission at every location is to ensure the humane care, custody and control of everyone who is in a New York City jail and to support them in their preparation for release. We offer a variety of programs and services in each of our facilities and partner with other city agencies and non-governmental organizations to sustain their successful transition back into our community.
We are committed to the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers and urge you to encourage those who you visit to take advantage of these opportunities. Enjoy your visit!
New York City Department of Correction
Visit Schedule – Registration and Visit Hours

• There are no visits on Mondays and Tuesdays
• Wednesday and Thursday

Registration hours for all facilities on Rikers Island as well as for the Brooklyn Detention Complex in downtown Brooklyn, the Manhattan Detention Complex in downtown Manhattan and the Vernon C. Bain Center in the Bronx on Wednesdays and Thursdays are from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Visits are permitted from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., but visitors must register by 8:00 p.m.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Registration hours for the above facilities on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Visits will begin no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m., but visitors must register by 2:00 p.m.  (Please note: the start of visiting hours can be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.)
Number of Visits and Visitors – Inmates are permitted to visit with up to three (3) visitors at the same time, with the maximum number to be determined by conditions set forth in each facility, availability of space and volume of visitors/inmates.  Detainees may receive visits three (3) times per week.  Sentenced inmates may receive visits two (2) times per week.  All inmates are limited to one (1) visit session per visit day, regardless of the number of visitors in that session.
Visitors' Dress Code
To provide for the safety and security of Department staff, inmates and visitors and to maintain a family-friendly environment, visitors must wear appropriate clothing to visit inmates. Overly suggestive clothing and clothing in which contraband and non-permissible items can be hidden are not permitted. When meeting with an inmate, visitors may only wear a single layer of clothing (except those visitors required to wear a cover-up garment) and NO ACCESSORIES.
Visitors WILL NOT be permitted onto the visit floor of jail if they are wearing any of the following:

• Clothing with holes or rips that are located more than three inches above the knee
• Hooded garments
• Hats and head coverings (excluding religious head coverings)
• Clothing identifying a specific gang by name or logo
• Clothing that makes explicit reference to obscene language, drugs, sex or violence
• Swimming attire
• See-through garments 
• Uniforms 
• Jewelry (excluding a wedding ring and one religious medal no more than two inches in diameter hung on chain of one quarter-inch or less in diameter and no longer than 24 inches
• Tops, including dresses, which expose the chest, stomach or back 
• Shorts, skirts or dresses the hem of which is more than three inches above the knee 
• Spandex leggings unless covered by tops, shorts, skirts or dresses the hem of which is no more than three inches above the knee 
• Outer garments including coats, shawls, ponchos, jackets, vests, gloves, or over-boots or overshoes (outer boots or shoes that slip over other shoes) 
• Visitors must wear undergarments.

Visitors whose attire violates the dress code will be permitted a contact visit if they agree to wear a cover-up garment provided by the Department. Visitors who refuse to wear a cover-up garment provided by the Department will be denied a visit.