Columbia River Correctional Institution

Columbia River Correctional Institution (CRCI) is a 595-bed minimum-security prison located on 26 acres in NE Portland. The institution opened in September 1990, and houses 595 male inmates in separate dormitory-style housing units. 

Approximately 50 inmates are housed in a separate living area designed specifically for use as a residential alcohol and drug treatment center where inmates voluntarily participate in a therapeutic community program designed to address serious addiction and substance abuse problems. This facility is focused on alcohol and drug treatment, work programs, and preparing inmates for return to the community.  

One of the 50-bed dormitories has been designated as residential treatment centers where inmates are involved in an intensive alcohol and drug treatment program for six months or more. This unit is self-contained providing inmates in treatment with the opportunity to successfully complete the program without unnecessary distractions from the general inmate population. 

The programs offered to other inmates in the facility focus on the development of work habits and skills necessary to obtain and maintain employment.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Visiting hours at Columbia River Correctional Facility are as follows:

* Thursday visiting for Incentive level 3 inmates and inmates with visitors under 18 ONLY

What to bring to your visit

• Identification (ID)
  • For visitors ages 15 and up: A driver’s license, passport, state ID card, military ID card, school ID card, or other official government ID card
• Appropriate clothing 
  • DO NOT WEAR BLUE DENIM OR BLUE CLOTHING OF ANY KIND. This is for security purposes, since inmates themselves wear blue and blue denim clothing.
  • Dress conservatively. Dresses, skirts, jumpers, culottes, and shorts are permitted if they are worn at knee level or lower when standing. Footwear and undergarments MUST BE WORN.
  • Inappropriate clothing includes suggestive, revealing, low-cut, or skimpy clothing. Hats, wrap-around skirts, halter tops, sheer or see-through clothing are not allowed. Other types of provocative clothing; camouflage of any kind; and clothing, hairstyles, insignias, or other paraphernalia associated with security threat groups or that are inflammatory in nature are also not allowed. 
  • TIP: Leave an extra set of clothes in your car if you are not sure that your clothing meets the requirements.
• Quarters
  • You may need to store items in a visiting locker, which requires a quarter to work.
  • You may also wish to bring quarters for use at the vending machine in the visiting room (no more than $15 in quarters is allowed).
• Metal Detector Medical Exception Form 
  • If you have a medical condition that makes it unsafe for you to walk through a metal detector, talk to your doctor about documentation and have them complete the Metal Detector Medical Exception Form linked above.

Other Approved Items

• Photographs to share
  • Visitors may bring five non-Polaroid photographs or five sheets of photographs into the visiting room. You must take all photographs with you at the end of the visit.
• Items for your infant
  • Approved items per child include: two diapers, one clear plastic bottle, one single layer blanket, one pacifier, and diaper wipes contained in a clear plastic bag.
• Emergency medications
  • Any medications that are prescribed for emergency purposes

What to Leave at Home or in a Facility Locker

• Non-emergency medications, prescribed or non-prescribed, are not allowed in the visiting room. 
• Smoking of any kind is not allowed within a correctional institution or on State of Oregon property, so please leave any tobacco products, vapes, etc. behind. 
• Cash or other negotiable instruments other than $15 in quarters. You cannot bring checkbooks, credit and/or debit cards into the visiting area. 
• No cell phones, pagers, or other electronic devices
• Weapons of any kind should not be brought into a facility.
• Metal buttons, body piercings, jewelry, underwire bras, and some shoes may activate the metal detector. Avoid wearing metal as much as possible or be prepared to remove certain items in order to pass through the metal detector successfully.
• Outer garments such as raincoats, ski jackets, and other garments that are lined are not allowed inside the visiting room.
• Hats of any kind are not allowed to be worn inside the facility.

How to Call an Inmate

How to Send Money

Programs For Inmates

Major program activities for general population inmates consist of community service work projects supervised by correctional staff, institution support and maintenance work, educational and cognitive skills classes, and Turning Point drug and alcohol program.

To promote good health and wellbeing, inmates are encouraged to take part in many recreational and other outdoor activities offered to them every day. Inmates are allowed access to the Recreation Yard three times per day for recreational purposes.

Organized yard activities include: 

• Soccer leagues 
• Basketball leagues 
• Volleyball leagues 
• Pickle-ball leagues (like tennis with a wiffle ball and high net) 
• Native American pow-wow's 
• Special holiday events

Individual recreational activities include: 

• Weight lifting 
• Jogging / walking trail 
• Hacky-sack 
• Other miscellaneous games and activities

Indoor activities include: 

• Aerobics 
• Yoga 
• Stationary bicycles 
• Bingo 
• Karaoke 
• Numerous board games and other indoor activities (cards, chess, etc.) 
• Religious services

Please contact the institution for a full list of programs and services.

Pictures of Columbia River Correctional Institution

Careers at Columbia River Correctional Institution