Ketchikan Correctional Center

Ketchikan Correctional Center is located in Ketchikan, Alaska - a community of approximately 9,000 people - and serves southern Southeast Alaska from Craig and Klawock on Prince of Wales Island to Hyder on the mainland and Petersburg and Wrangell south to Dixon Entrance. 

It is a 52-bed prison institution with a jail component and functions primarily as a pre-trial facility.

The Education Department is comprised of a classroom/library, computer lab with six IBM-compatible computers, a small conference room for tutoring, testing, and small group studies, and an office for the Coordinator with storage for educational materials. They also have a multi-service room used for large programs such as movie nights and holiday activities.

KCC provides a number of activities and program for educational, recreational and religious purposes. Educational programs are designed to provide easy diagnosis and assessment, and the organized classes are usually of short duration. Open-entry, open-exit, and independent study courses are also available. All classes are designed to provide opportunities for mental stimulation and social interaction.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

• Secure Visitation – This is also referred to as “regular visitation.” Most visits are of this type. You will have your visit in a visiting booth separated from the person you are visiting by a glass partition.
  
  • Morning – 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM, Monday through Sunday
  • Evening – 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, Monday through Sunday
• Contact Visitation – Inmates that are eligible may apply and, if approved, scheduled for a non-secure visit where the visitor and the inmate are only separated by a table. These visits are also subject to interruption, due to the multiple use of the room designated for this purpose.
  • Morning – 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM, Monday thru Friday Only
  • Evening – 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, Monday through Saturday Only

Specific rules regarding visitation at Ketchikan Correctional Center are as follows:

• All visitors are subject to a search by metal detector and/or pat search;
• All visitors must show proof of identification with an acceptable photo ID card;
• All family members under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian;
• All visitors under the age of 18 and not a family member may request a special visit through the Superintendent and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian;
• Persons on supervised probation, parole or other form of community supervision must obtain the permission of both the Superintendent and the supervising officer prior to visiting;
• Visitors who are not family members and who have been released from an institution within the preceding 60 days are not allowed visitation without prior approval of the Superintendent;
• Visitors and prisoners may not exchange any object except with the approval of the Superintendent or designee;
• Visitors are responsible for keeping their children under control at all times – unruly, uncontrolled, and disruptive children will be cause for termination of the visit; and,
• Only those persons who are actually visiting prisoners will be allowed in the building.
• Any action which contributes a disturbance, as determined by the staff member supervising visitation, may result in termination of the visit;
• Smoking within the facility is not permitted, and is subject to a $50 fine.

Visitors and prisoners may not exchange any object during visiting. Approved gifts from visitors, however, will normally be limited to money.

Visitors must be appropriately attired when entering Ketchikan Correctional Center. Clothing similar to inmate uniforms so as to potentially confuse identification between visitors and prisoners will not be permitted.

Clothing of a provocative nature or that offers the potential for inappropriate exposure will is also not appropriate. When attire is deemed inappropriate, the situation shall be brought to the attention of the Shift Supervisor and may be grounds for termination of the visit. Some specific guidelines regarding clothing for visitors is as follows:

• Shirt and trousers for men; blouse or shirt and slacks or a dress for women;
• Cut-offs, shorts and beach-type clothing are NOT acceptable;
• Footwear must be worn at all times;
• Hats, gloves and other outer garments (coat, jacket, sweater, etc.) will not be worn inside the institution

Please leave hats and all other outer garments either in your vehicle or in one of the visitor lockers provided. All visitors must secure personal property in the lockers provided before entering the facility.

You must not bring anything that resembles or could be used as a weapon into the facility. Visitors are responsible for their property – the Department Of Corrections will assume no liability in the event of loss.

Prisoners may receive through the mail:

• Correspondence
• Photos
• Money orders, cashier’s checks, and certified checks for $500 or less

Prohibited mail is any mail that:

• Contains anything that has plans or threats of physical harm
• Contains contraband
• Is written in code
• Solicits money or gifts
• Contains anything that could aid an escape

All magazines, newspapers, and books must be sent directly from the publisher or an approved vendor.

How to Call an Inmate

Telephones are available from 08:00 am to 10:00 pm each day. Cleaning and inspections must be complete before the phones will be turned on.

Inmates in general population housing units may use the phone any time during the day if they are not on lockdown status. Inmates in the Segregation/Intake housing unit may use the phone upon request and when Officers are available.

All prisoner phone calls must be made via the state contracted computerized inmate telephone system. This system allows the inmate to call out but does not provide for the inmate to receive calls from the outside.

All prisoner phone calls are limited to 15 minutes per call and may be monitored and/or recorded. Both local and long distance calls are available through this system. However, long distance calls are “collect” only.

Prisoners placing long distance calls are allowed one (1) call, after which the system places a block on that number and sends the called party a bill. Once this bill has been paid and an account has been set up the system lifts the block. Failure of the called party to pay the bill will result in the number continuing to be blocked and the bill being turned over to a collection agency.

There is currently no provision for calling cards to be used with this inmate telephone system. Third party calls, call forwarding, or credit card calls are not authorized. Attempts to do any of these or to defraud the system carrier/contractor will result in the number being permanently blocked and possible legal action against the perpetrators and/or disciplinary action against the prisoner.

If you have questions regarding the inmate telephone system services you can contact Securus Technologies, Inc. at 1-800-844-6591. For complete details on how to call an inmate in Alaska, please click here.

How to Send Money

You can easily send money to an inmate at Ketchikan Correctional Center by mailing a Money Order, Cashier’s Check, or certified check payable to the inmate. Simply mail the money order directly to the inmate using the proper inmate mailing address, and remember to include the inmate’s name and ID number.

An inmate can receive a maximum of $500 each month.

​Programs For ​Inmates

• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) – This is a fellowship of men and women who share their experiences, strengths, and hope with each other so that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
• Core Chaplaincy Services – Worship services; Bible/religious studies; Devotional study/prayer; Special music, drama, religious events; One-on-one mentoring; Pastoral care and counseling; Crisis intervention; Death notifications; Management of religious diversity issues; Religious literature distribution; Critical Incident Stress management.
• Narcotics Anonymous (NA) – This is a twelve-step program of recovery from drug addiction. It is group oriented and modeled on the AA program.
• Adult Basic Education (ABE) – Includes basic academic instruction in Reading, Writing, and computational skills below the ninth-grade level.
• Alaska Reentry Course - Offender reintegration, including resume writing, interviewing, budgeting skills, workplace literacy, and a reentry plan.
• Computer Lab - General Education programs in keyboarding, WordPerfect, Excel, Desktop Publishing, Alaska Career Information, and a variety of enrichment software programs on disc.
• Criminal Attitude Program - A structured program designed to alter the criminal thinking of offenders, consisting of 15 separate modules delivered through approximately 45 hours of therapeutic time.
• General Equivalency Diploma (GED) - Secondary Education, in the form of instruction leading to a General Equivalency Diploma (GED).
• Parenting Classes (Inside Out Dad) - This is a program for incarcerated fathers that includes 12 one-hour core sessions and 26 one-hour optional sessions. The format allows a program to vary from very basic to very advanced depending on the needs of the individual. It can be implemented in a group or on a one-on-one setting.
• Post Secondary Academic Services - Post secondary computer courses are available in the computer lab, and inmates may also enroll in Distance Educations Courses through the University of Alaska. The Education Coordinator provides assistance with college applications, financial aid applications, tutoring, and test monitoring, plus acts as liaison with postsecondary institutions.
• Contracted Clinical Services – Professional one-on-one counseling provided by Akeela / Gateway Center for Human Services.
• Telepsychiatry - Psychological assessment and evaluation services provided by DOC Mental Health Clinicians via “Doc-In-The-Box” tele-med with the assistance of local medical staff and clinicians.
• ADEC Safe Food Handler Program – This is a program designed to train inmates to qualify for an Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation “Safe Food Handler” card that is required for employees working in food establishments regulated by the DEC. Such establishments include those where food for public consumption is handled; especially it is unwrapped ready-to-eat food of food that has any unprotected contact surfaces.
• Alaska Host Training (which is visitor industry related information about local history and customer service) and is sponsored by the State of Alaska.
• First Aid and CPR training, which results in American Heart Association sponsored first aid and CPR cards.
• OSHA 10 hour and 30 hour training
• AMSEA Marine Safety Training
• Flagger Training

Pictures of Ketchikan Correctional Center

Careers at Ketchikan Correctional Center

If you are interested in pursuing a career with the Alaska Department of Corrections, you can find available positions at Ketchikan Correctional Center by visiting their website. Correction Officers in Alaska start at $21.34 per hour.

Benefits include health insurance, plus paid leave and holidays.