Hancock State Prison

Hancock State Prison is a closed-custody prison for adult male inmates located in Sparta, Georgia. This facility houses a maximum of 1,267 inmates, and the mission is to provide housing for males eighteen years of age and older who have been convicted of serious crimes. 

Hancock State Prison provides academic, vocational, substance abuse, and other program services for the population. Medical Services are offered on a 16-hour, four-day week with a 12-hour weekend coverage. Hancock also offers Vegan and Child Nutrition programs, and it houses an In-House Transitional Center Facility. This is a Tier I & II facility. 

There are nine general population dormitories housing 96 inmates each and two segregation units with a combined total of 133 beds. J Unit is an open bay tent housing unit, housing 70 inmates. The Annex contains four open bay dorms, housing 50 inmates each. This facility also houses a C.E.R.T. Team, Tactical Squad, and a Fire Station.

In November 2011, there was a riot at Hancock that left 12 prisoners injured. The fight was gang-related, and organized with contraband cell phones. Hancock is one of several high-security Georgia State Prisons found to have a large percentage of inoperative locks. In June 2012, auditors found 28% of Hancock's locks either didn't work or could be defeated.

Hancock was one of nine Georgia State Prisons implicated in an FBI sting operation announced in February 2016. The agency indicted 47 correction officers who'd agreed to deliver illegal drugs while in uniform. These charges were, "part of a larger public corruption investigation into Georgia Correctional Facilities."

A notable inmate at this facility is convicted serial killer Wayne Williams, who is serving a life sentence.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

The visiting days and hours at Hancock State Prison are as follows:

General Population:
Days: Saturday and Sunday
Hours: 9:00AM - 3:00PM

State Holidays Hours:
Days: Saturday and Sunday
Hours: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (General Population only)

Tier I and Tier II:
Days: Tuesday and Thursdays
Hours: 9:00AM - 11:00AM

You must fill out an application and be approved by the Georgia Department of Corrections before you can visit an inmate at Hancock State Prison. For complete details about the visiting process, click here.

All visitors, age 16 and over, must have a photo ID to visit an inmate. 

The only items you can bring to a visit are an identification card, car keys, and money. No food or drink can be brought into the facility from the outside other than bottled formula or store-bought products for babies. 

You are allowed to bring a maximum of twenty dollars ($20.00) in coins to be used for the vending machines. Musical instruments, radios, pets, cameras, or electronic devices are not allowed in the visiting area. 

All visitors are subject to a preliminary search by electronic surveillance instruments (metal detectors, etc.). All items brought into the facility by a visitor will be searched by officers assigned to the visitation area.

Visitors must wear appropriate clothing. Shoes are required at all times for visitors, including children, if they are able to walk or stand. 

Male visitors are required to wear shirts and full-length trousers. Females may wear trousers, or if a female visitor wears a dress, skirt or other similar garment, it may NOT be more than two (2) inches above the knees. Furthermore, all female visitors must wear undergarments such as bras, panties, and slips. 

Inappropriate clothing includes, but is not limited to:  

• Dresses or tops with thin straps which expose shoulders or chest area in any manner
• Tube tops or halters of any type
• Any type of clothing which reveals the stomach or midriff area
• Any type of clothing that is made of sheer or transparent material
• Shorts of any kind or any kind of slacks that are above the knee (twelve years old and under may wear shorts)
• Male visitors are not permitted to wear tank tops or short tops of any kind, nor see-through tops made of net or mesh webbing. 
• Shorts are not permitted (children twelve 12 years old and under may wear shorts)
• Any other type of clothing that is suggestive or revealing in any way is prohibited

Video Visits

Hancock State Prison does offer video visits through JPay. You must have a JPay account, and the video visit can last up to 30 minutes. The fee for a 30-minute video visit is $3.95.

You can send a package to an inmate through the George Inmate Package Program. You can also send and receive videograms and emails through JPay, which cost anywhere between one and three stamps each.

How to Call an Inmate

You can’t call an inmate at Hancock State Prison, but they do have access to phones during approved hours. For complete details on how to call an inmate in Georgia, please click here. 

How to Send Money

To send money to an inmate at Hancock State Prison, you must use JPay or MoneyGram. The fees for this service vary based on which method you use and the amount of money you are sending.

JPay Options

• Online or Mobile App: To send an inmate money with your credit or debit card, visit JPay.com or download the JPay Mobile App that is available at the Apple App Store (for iPhones) and Google Play (for Android phones).
• By phone: Call (800) 574-5729 to talk with a live JPay call center agent and send money with a debit or credit card. 
• Mail a money orderㅡmade payable to JPayㅡwith a deposit slip to:

JPay
P.O. Box 260010
Hollywood, FL 33026

A money order deposit slip is available here.

Moneygram

If you would like to use cash, visit a MoneyGram location in person and use receive code 6857. MoneyGram locations include all Walmarts and CVS Pharmacies. 

Programs For Inmates

WORK DETAILS:

City and County contract and non-contract details. Institutional work details include inside and outside maintenance, Fire Station, yard orderlies, barbershop, library, food service, sanitation, laundry operations, and dorm orderlies.

PROGRAMS:

• Academic: General Education Diploma, Adult Basic Education, Literacy Remedial
• Counseling: Motivation for Change, Re-Entry, Matrix Early Recovery Skills, Family Violence, In-House Transition Center, Moral Reconation Therapy, Thinking for a Change, Relapse Prevention, Individual Counseling, Career Center, Confronting Self, Sex Offender Psycho-Educational Program (SOPP)
• Recreation: General Recreation, Intramural Sports
• Volunteer Services: Heads-Up, AA
• Religious Activities: Activities: Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah Witness, Catholic, Protestant, General Services, Jumah and Talim services weekly. Bill Glass and KAIROS ministries.
• Vocational/OJT: Food Service, Laundry, Barber, Maintenance, Firefighting, GCI, Laundry, Grounds Maintenance, Custodial Maintenance, Career Center, and General Clerk

Pictures of Hancock State Prison

Careers at Hancock State Prison

The employees at Hancock State Prison have the mission of reducing recidivism. The facility offers avenues for positive change through effective vocational, educational, and healthcare services. Hancock State Prison provides a safe and secure environment for staff, inmates, and the citizens of Georgia through sound security and effective programming. Working at Hancock State Prison is not just a job, it's a career.

If you are interested in a job at Hancock State Prison, click here.