Rikers Island - West Facility Remote Inmate Video Visits

Search for an Inmate or Active Arrest Warrant in New York County

Visitation at the Rikers Island - West Facility - In Person and Televisits

In-Person Visits and Televisiting at the Rikers Island - West Facility

Instructions for televisiting can be found on this page:  TELEVISITING PAGE

  • Televisiting will take place from 8:00am to 1:30pm on Friday.
  • Refer to the Visit Schedule in order to determine your time slot.

Scheduling a Televisit:

  • If you would like to schedule a televisit, you must fill out the Online Televisit Web Form.
    ONLINE TELEVISIT WEB FORM 

     
  • In order to make sure equal access is afforded to everyone, you are only able to fill out a request form for the upcoming week. Requests for dates beyond the following week will not be fulfilled.
  • IMPORTANT: A visit is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation email at the email address you provided on the televisit request webform. The confirmation email will provide you with the date and time for your visit as well as an access link.
    If you do not receive a confirmation email within 24 hours of the last requested visit date this means that none of the dates and/or times you requested were available. 
    In that case, you must resubmit another web form with different dates and times.
  • Online Televisit Web Forms will not be processed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and no confirmation emails will be sent out on those days.
  • In-Person and Televisiting VISITATION HOURS - ALL  FACILITIES - Rikers Island

  • Wednesday and Thursday:  In-Person Visits: 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 

  • If you do not arrive during visitation hours your walk-in visit may not be honored if you arrive after 4pm.

  • Saturday and Sunday:  In-Person Visits: 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

  • If you do not arrive during visitation hours your walk-in visit may not be honored if you arrive after 10am.

  • Friday:    Televisits: 8:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

    Visitors who want an In-Person Visit MUST arrive at Rikers Island Central Visits during the registration hours. If the visitor arrives late to register will NOT get a visit.

    Registration Hours:
    Wednesday and Thursday: 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
    Saturday and Sunday: 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM

All Televisits must be scheduled in advance. Click here to schedule a Televisit.

  • Read this carefully! Instructions on how to prepare for a Televisit.

  • NOTE: the start of visiting hours can be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.

  • Facility lockdowns may affect regularly scheduled visit hours.

  • There are no visits on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Rikers Island - West Facility

Address:
16-06 Hazen Street
East Elmhurst, NY 11370

Phone:

718-546-4120

Frequently Asked Questions about Remote Video Visits

What is a video visit, and how do they work?

Who are the companies that facilitate video visits?


What is a video visit, and how do they work?

Video visitation, also known as remote visitation, is quickly becoming the preferred method for visiting an inmate in jail or prison for the following reasons:

•    It requires little to no staff, versus the staff required to move inmates to and from the visit and watch over the visit. It saves the Rikers Island - West Facility money.
•    It removes any opportunity for contraband (drugs) to enter the facility.
•    It can become a profit center for the facility, given that the revenue generated by visits is shared with the jail.
•    While inmates prefer to see family and friends in person, video visitation allows them to visit with them more often, and on a whim.
•    Video visitation gives the inmates and their visitors the feeling of more privacy.

Video visitation from the perspective of the visitor allows them to visit from their home, their car, at work, and even allows them to take their device to a family or religious gathering. It allows them to give their inmate the feeling of belonging and not being forgotten.

Video visitation can take place on a computer, a tablet or a phone. 

Video visitation saves time. Instead of spending hours driving to the jail, checking in, filling out paperwork, potentially being searched, waiting, and then having a 15–30-minute visit, if it isn’t cancelled at the last minute, the visit can be done from anywhere during a short break in the visitor’s day.

If the visitor does not have access to a phone or computer, they can make an appointment ahead of time and use terminals in the lobby of the jail.

You must also be on the inmate's approved list, even for a video visit.


Who are the companies that facilitate video visits?

There are several different companies that contract with all the jails and prisons that allow video visitation:

These are the companies in alphabetical order:

CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Correct Solutions Group
Correct Pay
Ctel
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Canteen
Inmate Sales
iwebvisits
JailATM
Jpay
NCIC
Prodigy Sales
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Tiger Services
Visitel
In addition, some jails use Microsoft Meeting and Zoom.

Search for an Inmate or Active Arrest Warrant in New York County