Wrightsville Unit

Established in 1981, the Wrightsville Unit  is a state correctional facility located in Wrightsville, Arkansas. This is a low-security prison that sits on over five-thousand acres, and is fully operated by the Arkansas Department of Corrections providing accommodations for 850 male and female inmates.

The prison has a double fence perimeter with armed roving patrols. Inmates are housed in secure dormitories that have room for 50 inmates. Each dormitory contains a group toilet and shower area as well as sinks. Inmates sleep on the standard double bunk beds, and have a metal locker for storage of personal belongings assigned to them.

Wrightsville Unit strongly believes in the educational and rehabilitative services they provide to effectively aid incarcerated adults to achieve positive change and successful re-entry to society. The inmates at this facility have ample access to several educational and vocational training programs that are available in effort to prepare them for a better life when they are released.

Selected low-custody inmates work outside of the prison under armed supervision of Wrightsville Unit COs. Inmate work assignments support prison farm operations and highway maintenance for the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

General visiting hours at the Wrightsville Unit are on Saturdays and Sundays between noon and 4:00 p.m. However, there is a rotating schedule based on different factors, so you must contact the inmate to find out their specific approved visiting hours.

How to get on the approved visiting list

If you would like to visit an inmate at Wrightsville Unit, you must first complete a visitation application. Once it is completed, return it to the address listed on the form to the attention of the Visitation Clerk. Do not mail it directly to the inmate because it will not be processed.

To get an application, the inmate must mail it to you. Once the application is received, it is processed, reviewed, and either approved or denied by the Warden. The screening process takes at least a week, and a criminal history check is done on all prospective visitors.

• Minor children under the age 18 are not be allowed to visit an inmate unless they are accompanied by an approved adult visitor, or upon proof of emancipation.
• Visitors age 12 and older are required to provide state-issued photo identification for entry into Wrightsville Unit.

Anyone who is not on an inmate's approved visitation list will not be allowed to visit.

General Visiting Rules

Any person or vehicle entering a correctional unit is subject to a search for contraband. They will not allow you to enter the visiting room if you are not willing to submit to a search. Visitors must also pass through a metal detector. Wrightsville Unit randomly drug tests visitors with an Ion Scanner. A positive scan can lead to a search of the visitor and their vehicle.

Visitors are not allowed to bring cameras, pagers, cellular phones, pocket knives, or food into Wrightsville Unit.

Visitors are allowed to bring in the following items:

• A small coin purse, billfold, or clear plastic bag to hold money for the vending machines
• Identification
• Baby bottles, baby diapers, diaper wipes
• Car keys
• Jewelry (being worn)

If you are unable to successfully clear all entrance procedures, you will be denied entrance into the visiting area.

Dress Code

Visitors’ clothing must be appropriate. Please dress modestly because provocative clothing is not permitted.

No halter-tops, sleeveless shirts, tank tops, hats, shorts, mini-skirts/dresses, see-through clothing, leggings, jeggings, or camouflage attire may be worn.

Children ten years of age and under are allowed to wear shorts of an appropriate length.

Metal on clothing items should be avoided due to delays in clearing security equipment when additional search procedures are required.

This address is only for letters. Please do not send care packages because they will not be given to the inmate. If you would like to send books, magazines, newspapers, or catalogs, you must have them mailed directly from the publisher or vendor.

In order to reduce contraband in the Wrightsville Unit, the staff will not give your letters directly to the inmate. Instead, they makes photocopies of all inmate mail. It is best to keep your correspondence simple. Use no more than two sheets of regular notebook or typing paper, and only write with dark ink (black or blue).

Inmates will receive two sheets of copy paper, which will include a copy of the envelope and the correspondence.

Even though you can’t mail food or care packages to an inmate, Arkansas is part of the Inmate Package Program. This allows you to buy up to $100 of goods through participating vendors at different times throughout the year. For more information, click on one of the links below.

• www.ARInmatePackage.com
• www.arkansaspackages.com

You can also send email and photos through www.accesscorrections.com, but you will need to open an account with them first before sending any correspondence.

All snail mail and email is subject to review by the facility staff prior to delivery, so make sure your content is appropriate.

How to Call an Inmate

Inmates at Wrightsville Unit can’t receive incoming phone calls. However, most inmates do have access to phones during the daytime hours. For complete details on how to call an inmate in Arkansas, please click here.

How to Send Money

If you would like to send money to an inmate at Wrightsville Unit, there are three different options: online, phone, or US Mail. One of the most-appreciated things you can do to support your loved one who is behind bars is to send them some cash. Even small amounts like five or ten dollars can go a long way, and seeing that money appear on your account is pretty exciting.

Inmates with jobs usually don’t make more than ten to twenty dollars per month, and those who are in school trying to earn their GED aren’t allowed to work.

Just like in the real world, money is important behind bars. Each week, inmates can place an order at the prison commissary where they can buy things like extra food, comfortable clothing, stationary, stamps, and electronics.

Online

The fastest way to send money to an inmate at the Wrightsville Unit is the ONLINE INMATE DEPOSIT SERVICE through the Arkansas Department of Corrections. This method requires a credit or debit card, and it does have a processing fee. Prepaid cards and payroll cards are not accepted.

Phone

You can also send money to an inmate by calling 1-866-250-7697. You will need a credit or debit card for this method, and there is a small processing fee.

US Mail

If you prefer snail mail, there are a couple of things to remember.

• Only send money orders
• Don’t send cash or a check
• Don’t mail it directly to the prisoner
• Always include a Money Order Deposit Slip
• Mail your money order to:

Arkansas Department of Correction:
Trust Fund Centralized Banking
P.O. Box 8908
Pine Bluff, AR 71611

Money orders should be made payable to the inmate’s name and you must include their ADC number.

​Programs For ​Inmates

• GED Program

GED classes are offered at Wrightsville Unit and the Board of Correction requires anyone without a GED or high school diploma to attend classes unless they are unable to participate due to health reasons.

• Agricultural

This program allows inmates to be trained in work habits and to develop marketable skills in the areas of: beef production and forage production.

• Braille Program

This program allows inmates to transcribe English textbooks into Braille for Arkansas’s School For The Blind and enlarging print of books for legally blind individuals across the State of Arkansas.

Inmates must have between five and eight years left on their sentence, have a GED or High School Diploma, be six months disciplinary free, have class I-C status, and demonstrate the ability to learn through self-motivation while working with limited supervision.

• Industry Operations ─ Graphic Arts, Furniture Manufacturing, and Data Imaging

This is a work program where inmates produce industrial products for tax supported and non-profit agencies.

• Substance Abuse Treatment Program

This is a four to six month residential treatment program, based on cognitive/reality therapy of treatment for chemical dependency utilizing a modified therapeutic community.

• Substance Abuse Therapeutic Community Program

A nine to twelve month residential substance abuse treatment program using a modified therapeutic community model.

• Think Legacy Program

Inmates can sign up for the voluntary Think Legacy Program when they are between six and 18 months from their release date.

The program prepares inmates for reentry into society, and covers topics like: Employment Readiness, Community Resources, Social Skill Readiness, Mentoring, Cognitive Behavior Awareness through “Thinking for a Change,” Victim Impact, Budgeting, Life Skills, Healthy Relationships, and Family Reunification.

Pictures of Wrightsville Unit

Careers at Wrightsville Unit

If you are interested in pursuing a career with the Arkansas Department of Corrections, you can find available positions at the Wrightsville Unit by visiting the ADC website.