OR DOC – Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP)

OR DOC – Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP) basic information to help guide you through what you can do for your inmate while they are incarcerated. The facility's direct contact number: 503-378-2453

This facility is for adult inmates.

The inmates housed at Oregon State Penitentiary located at 2605 State St in Salem, OR are placed according to their custody level (determined by a number of factors including the past criminal history and the length of their sentence). There are ample educational and vocational training programs for all inmates, especially ones that show a willingness to learn new things that will prepare them for a better life when they are released. The mission is to promote and prepare the offender to leave in better shape than when they arrived, giving them the best chance to never come back and thus lower the state's recidivism rate.

The OSP is Oregon’s only maximum-security facility and is home to death row. OSP is a maximum-security prison surrounded by a 25-foot-high wall with 10 towers and can house 2,194 adult male inmates. Inmates are housed in units that address their personal and security needs, including housing specifically for inmates who are preparing to be released and offenders who have special needs. Inmates here may participate in the Oregon Corrections Enterprise Industries and provides work opportunities for inmates in a laundry operation, a metal shop, a furniture factory and a customer service call center. Inmates are also encouraged to participate in educational courses that include English as a second language, adult basic education and the ability for inmates to obtain a GED.

Notable inmates include Christian Longo on death row for killing his wife and three young children. While on the lam after the murder, Longo fled to Mexico and used the name of Michael Finkel (portrayed by Jonah Hill), the former New York Times reporter who later chronicled their experiences in his memoir True Story, later adapted into a 2015 film portrayed by James Franco. Although capital punishment is still legal in Oregon, there has been a moratorium on executions since 2011.

visitation Info

OR DOC – Oregon State Penitentiary – Visitation

Visiting Information

Every day including holidays:

• 7:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
• 12:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Visiting with inmates in special housing (Disciplinary Segregation Unit, Infirmary, Mental Health Infirmary, Behavioral Health Unit, Intermediate Care Housing and Death Row) has additional restrictions and requires prior scheduling.

For visits with special housing unit inmates, please call 503-378-2597. Professional visits must be scheduled in advance by contacting the Superintendent's Office at (503) 378-2445.

Identification (ID)

• For visitors ages 15 and up a driver’s license, passport, state ID card, military ID card, school ID card or other official government ID card
• Appropriate clothing 
  • DO NOT WEAR BLUE DENIM OR BLUE CLOTHING OF ANY KIND. This is for security purposes since inmates themselves wear blue and blue denim clothing.
  • Dress conservatively. Dresses, skirts, jumpers, culottes, and shorts are permitted if they are worn at knee level or lower when standing. Footwear and undergarments MUST BE WORN.
  • Inappropriate clothing includes suggestive, revealing, low-cut or skimpy clothing. Hats, wrap-around skirts, halter tops, sheer or see-through clothing are not allowed. Other types of provocative clothing; camoflage of any kind; and clothing, hairstyles, insignias or other paraphernalia associated with security threat groups or that are inflammatory in nature are also not allowed. 
  • TIP: Leave an extra set of clothes in your car if you are not sure that your clothing meets the requirements.
• Quarters
  • You may need to store items in a visiting locker, which requires a quarter to work.
  • You may also wish to bring quarters for use at the vending machine in the visiting room (no more than $15 in quarters is allowed).
• Metal Detector Medical Exception Form 
  • If you have a medical condition that makes it unsafe for you to walk through a metal detector, talk to your doctor about documentation and have them complete the Metal Detector Medical Exception Form linked above.

What to Leave at Home or in a Facility Locker

• Non-emergency medications, prescribed or non-prescribed, are not allowed in the visiting room. 
• Smoking of any kind is not allowed within a correctional institution or on State of Oregon property, so please leave any tobacco products, vapes, etc. behind. 
• Cash or other negotiable instruments other than $15 in quarters. You cannot bring checkbooks, credit and/or debit cards into the visiting area. 
• Cell phones, pagers, or other electronic devices are also not allowed in the visiting area.
• Weapons of any kind should not be brought into a facility.
• Metal buttons, body piercings, jewelry, underwire bras, and some shoes may activate the metal detector. Avoid wearing metal as much as possible or be prepared to remove certain items in order to pass through the metal detector successfully. Remember that undergarments MUST BE WORN at all times.
• Outer garments such as raincoats, ski jackets, and other garments that are lined are not allowed inside the visiting room.
• Hats of any kind are not allowed to be worn inside the facility.