Topeka Correctional Facility

Topeka Correctional Facility is a prison for female inmates located in the state capital of Topeka, Kansas.  It is the only state prison in Kansas that houses women, so it houses all custody levels of inmates from maximum to minimum/work release. 

In 2009, the Topeka Capital-Journal newspaper published a series of articles revealing a “complex black market” of contraband, bribes, and a sex trade at the Topeka Correctional Facility that resulted in a prison employee getting one of the inmates pregnant.

This led to two independent audits in 2010, one by the National Institute of Corrections and one by a state legislature committee. There was also an investigation in 2012 by the Department of Justice, and it found that the problems continued, even though the facility’s administrator had been reassigned and two dozen operational changes were implemented.

In a letter to then-Governor Sam Brownback, the DOJ wrote, "TCF fails to protect women prisoners from harm due to sexual abuse and misconduct from correctional staff and other prisoners in violation of their constitutional rights. TCF has a history of unabated officer-on-prisoner and prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse and misconduct."

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Visiting hours at Topeka Correctional Facility are on Saturdays and State holidays from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm and Sundays from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. All visitors must arrive at the facility by 2:30 pm or you will not be allowed to visit. Outdoor visitation is allowed for incentive level III inmates only and occurs between April 1st to October 31st, from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm.

General Visiting Guidelines

Before you are allowed to visit, you must be on the offender’s approved visiting list. Application for Visiting Privileges forms are available to inmates through their Correctional Counselor. Inmates must return the form to their Counselor with postage and an envelope addressed to the visitor. 

The Counselor will enter the date the form was received and mail out the envelope. The visitor reads, completes and returns the application to the Corrections Counselor for review and processing. The approval process can take up to five weeks. 

All visitors entering the facility will be required to report to the Control Office, produce positive photo identification, and be signed into the log. A marriage license or birth certificate is acceptable for persons under the age of eighteen who cannot produce a photo ID. Visitors who are unable to produce positive identification will be denied entry. 

All visitors are subject to search. Visitors who refuse the search may be subject to loss of visiting privileges.

The walk-through metal detector at the entrance of the Facility is set at a level of sensitivity appropriate for a maximum security prison. All persons must clear through the metal detector. 

Visitors should be prepared to follow the procedures, and anyone who cannot clear the metal detector will not be allowed to enter the Facility. Any person does not clear will have to leave grounds. 

Shoes, coats, and jackets must be removed and sent through the scanner, along with any handbag, purse, or briefcase. The metal detector is very sensitive and will pick up virtually all metal. 

Visitors are urged to remove any metal items prior to arriving at the facility. Some bras will set off the detector. If this occurs, a handheld detector will be used to identify the bra as the source of the alarm. Items that commonly activate the detector include: keys, coins, belt buckles, piercings, foil wrapped candy and gum, jewelry, metal hair clips, and shoes/boots with metal eyelets. 

Most personal items are not allowed inside Kansas prisons. Prohibited items must be left in a vehicle. Items that cannot be possessed in any location of the Facility include cell phones or other two way communication devices; lighters, matches, or tobacco products of any kind; and pocket knives, mace pepper spray, or any type of weapon. 

Guests are not permitted to bring food or beverages. Mandatory penalties, including loss of visiting privileges and potential prosecution apply to any person possessing any cellular telephone, two way communications device, or tobacco product [including but not limited to cigarettes, chewing tobacco, lighters, matches] at any place in the correctional facility except within the locked confines of their personal vehicle. 

Guests may possess the following articles: Cash currency, or coin, not to exceed $50.00 total; Unendorsed personal checks in the checkbook, with other normal checkbook documents; Credit cards and any executed credit card receipts; Personal identification documents to include birth certificates, driver's license, marriage license; Membership cards, social security cards, medical alert cards, and insurance cards; Prescription medication, which does not require injection, not to exceed the amount needed for the length of the visit; Personal jewelry, including a medical alert bracelet, if appropriate; Eyeglasses, contact lenses, or sunglasses; and Personal keys, including house keys, car keys, and other personal keys that will not operate facility locking devices. 

Food and drink may be purchased as available in the vending machines in visiting rooms. Juice or formula required for infants or small children is allowed, and it must be in a standard baby bottle.

Dress Code

Items of clothing that are considered to be inappropriate for wear in a correctional facility include, but are not limited to:

• See through and/or bra-less attire 
• Tank or tube tops 
• Halter tops 
• Backless tops or dresses 
• Revealing, low-cut necklines 
• Shorts which are provocative, overly tight, or too short 
• Mini-skirts, slit skirts, or slit dresses 
• Any clothing that reveals a bare midriff, or any part of the breast 
• T-shirts with inappropriate/offensive logos or designs 
• Red ball caps and red stocking caps 
• Red, hooded sweatshirts 
• Gray sweatshirts and gray sweatpants

All visitors are required to wear shoes or appropriate footwear. Many areas of TCF involve a considerable amount of walking, including up and down stairs. Heels and flip-flops are strongly discouraged. 

The Kansas Department of Corrections also allows inbound and outbound electronic messaging with inmates from family and friends who have established an account at JPay.com.

How to Call an Inmate

How to Send Money

​Programs For ​Inmates

Topeka Correctional Facility doesn’t release specific information about the programs available to inmates. However, they do offer GED and vocational classes, work programs, and self-help programs. 

Pictures of Topeka Correctional Facility

Careers at Topeka Correctional Facility

If you are interested in a career with the Kansas Department of Corrections at the Topeka Correctional Facility, you can click here for more information.