Lancaster County Jail

Lancaster, VA, is the home of the Lancaster County Sheriff, who has several responsibilities within their job description. They are not only responsible for maintaining the safety of the community outside of the jail, but also to care for the safety and security of any offenders who are arrested within the county and housed at the Lancaster County Jail. As the local holding facility it is where offenders are taken directly after their arrest to be booked and where they will remain until they make bail, they are finished their trial and are set to be released, or they have finished serving their full sentence. To accomplish all of the needed tasks, the office has several divisions including the administration, communications, investigations, patrol, court security, and corrections. The corrections department oversees the entire jail, including meal services, access to medical care, supervising programs and recreational activities, and more. With between 75-90 meals being made in the kitchen, each meal is planned more than two weeks in advance so that all supplies can be ordered and to ensure a balanced diet. To ensure that all standards are met the kitchen is licensed as a restaurant and follows all local health department regulations. A nurse is employed part time to schedule appointment, complete routine screenings, and update prescriptions and provide medications. When determining the housing assignment of offenders after their arrest there are several factors that are considered. The severity of the current charges, any past charges and time served, behaviour during past incarceration, and more are all considered before assigning a bed to any new arrest. Those who are qualified and able can work within or even outside of the jail to assist in laundry services, janitorial tasks, lawn care, meal services and preparations, and other tasks that are suitable. Completing these tasks both give each day a purpose and fill the hours of the day during incarceration but can also help to develop new skills that can be used to find reliable employment outside of the facility. Inmates are able to access phones after their day starts and when they are not working or attending other programs, and visits are permitted to those who are on the approved visitor list on weekends. Both Saturday and Sunday will allow visits from 9am until 3pm, and these must be booked in advance by calling the facility during the week to ensure that the inmate will be expecting and prepared for the visit.