Utah State Prison - Wasatch

Utah State Prison – Wasatch is a medium-security prison for male inmates, and it's the oldest facility in the prison complex located in Draper, Utah. Wasatch has housed inmates since 1951, and the complex has gradually expanded ever since. 

Wasatch can house a maximum of 800 inmates, and it's where the prison’s infirmary is located. It also includes the Culinary, barbershop, library, a Family History Center, a non-denominational chapel, and a recreation gymnasium. 

Wasatch A West is the short-term, overflow housing unit for Receiving and Orientation, which is located in Uinta 5. The unit can house a maximum of 95 offenders. Wasatch A East can also house up to 95 offenders. Both sections are three-tiered housing units that use the old manual “Johnson Bar” system. This system was used at Alcatraz and was brought over from Sugar House, Utah's previous prison complex.

Inmates in A East are housed in single cells. The amount of time they are able to spend time outside of their cells is based on privilege level and classification. While housed at Wasatch, inmates have the ability to move around the facility to work, attend educational classes, and engage in other programs. 

The Wasatch Baker Block is a medium-security housing area located inside the Wasatch building. It can house 192 offenders at capacity, but this section was closed in October 2015 due to a staffing shortage.

Wasatch B-North is a medium-security housing area that focuses on inmates with learning disabilities and low IQs. It can house a maximum of 28 inmates. There are two reasons for separating these inmates from the general population. First, they do this to ensure that these inmates get the appropriate assistance they need to improve their lives. Second, they segregate these inmates to make sure that they aren't taken advantage of. This section was also closed in October 2015 due to a staffing shortage.

The Wasatch Charlie Block can house a maximum of 68 offenders. This is a popular housing unit because of the variety of educational and programming opportunities. Inmates in this section have a relatively high degree of flexibility in terms of movement and privilege allowances. 

Many inmates who live in Charlie Block serve as educational mentors to other inmates. They also take part in distance learning. The inmates at Charlie Block must be very well behaved and follow rules closely.

D-Block (sometimes called “Dog Block”) houses a maximum of 192 inmates. This unit is for inmates who have undergone sex offender treatment or who are awaiting entry to the sex offender program. However, not every inmate housed in D-Block is a sex offender.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

The visiting hours at Utah State Prison rotate based on inmate last name, unit, and facility. Please contact the Visiting Office at 801-576-7014 for visiting hours for your inmate.

Visiting Applications

An inmate may send you a visiting application or you may download one on the Visitor Application Forms page. Fill out the form and submit it to: Inmate Visiting Office, P. O. Box 250, Draper, UT 84020.  

If you pass a background check, you will be added to the inmate's approved visitors list. Minor children, with some exceptions, may visit inmates when accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or other authorized family member. Approval may take 21 to 45 days.

Visiting Rules

General Visitor Rules: 

• Visitors may access only those areas specifically designated as visiting areas.
• Personal property such as purses, wallets, paper money, coats, sweaters (used as an outer garment), blankets, writing paper, writing instruments, pictures, letters, etc. are not permitted in the visiting area. 
• Visitors may bring in no more than two vehicle keys. The keys should be on a small keyring.
• Visitors with babies may bring no more than one transparent baby bottle and no more than two diapers into the visiting area; sippy cups are not allowed.
• Tobacco products, matches and lighters are prohibited in the visiting areas.
• Food items (gum, candy, etc.) from outside the prison shall not be allowed.
• Visitors shall not be permitted to bring cameras or audio/video recording devices, cell phones or pagers into the visiting area.

Processing Visitors Entering Visiting Area:

• Visitors 16 years of age and older must present a government-issued identification card prior to being permitted to visit.
• Visitors are screened with a metal detector, and must clear the metal detector, prior to visiting.
• Visitors are subject to a search (i.e., ionizer, property, vehicle search) upon entering the prison and/or visiting area. Visitation may be denied for failure to submit to a search request. 
• Visitor access should not be permitted during any scheduled visiting session if less than 30 minutes remain in the visiting session.
• A maximum number of five visitors, including minors, will be allowed to visit an inmate per visiting session.

Dress Code

Failure to follow the dress code could result in visit cancelation.

• Visitors must be fully clothed including footwear
• All clothing shall be knee length when standing including slits in garments
• Undergarments must be worn at all times and cannot be exposed
• Religious attire may be worn but is subject to removal so it can be searched

The following types of clothing is not allowed:

• Any clothing, taken as a whole, that resembles inmate issued clothing;
• Transparent, tight, revealing or sheer clothing;
• Any items that may not pass the metal detector;
• Any type of shirt that shows the bare shoulders, midriff or back and low cut shirts that show cleavage;
• Clothing that displays gang insignia, offensive slogans or obscene words, phrases or pictures;
• Hats, hoods, caps, hooded tops and/or jackets with hoods 
• No more than three items of jewelry.

How to Call an Inmate

How to Send Money

Programs For Inmates

Education: The Utah Department of Corrections offers high school education through partnerships with local school districts. The Canyons School District operates the South Park Academy at the Utah State Prison.

The Department offers vocational training through partnerships with the Davis Technical College; Snow College; and the Uintah Basin Technical College.

At Wasatch, male inmates may earn certificates in Automotive Technology; Machinist Technician; Maintenance Technician; Welding Technology; Business Technology; and Culinary Arts. 

Inmates also may take advantage of numerous life-skills and literacy classes taught by volunteers and community organizations.

Life skills: Courses include Thinking for a Change, Communication, Computer Literacy, Relationships, Relapse Prevention, Career Power, Financial Literacy, Anger Management, Parenting, Impact of Crime on Victims, Domestic Violence, Victim Empathy, and Thinking Errors. 

Reading for the Blind: This program employs offenders at a modest wage to make audio recordings of books for the visually impaired.

Employment: Inmates may apply for jobs with Utah Correctional Industries (UCI). These jobs are located both within the prison and off site. Within the prison, inmates' work opportunities include the Commissary, the sign shop, the furniture shop, the license plate shop, the print shop and the upholstery shop. 

UDC Sex Offense Treatment Program: Nearly one-third of the incarcerated individuals in Utah's prison system are serving time for a sexual offense. The Department of Corrections treats persons who sexually offend (PSO’s) through effective treatment interventions based on their individual risk factors.

The Department's Sex Offense Treatment Program (SOTP) is designed to last 15-24 months depending on the PSO’s identified risk factors and overall risk level. SOTP is based on evidence-based practice principles centered on cognitive/behavioral therapy with a strong relapse-prevention component.

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