Media Policies

Authorized vs. Unauthorized Information

Inmate - Authorized Releasable Information

• Name
• Age
• Birth year
• Physical description
• Sex
• County of conviction
• Crime, sentence
• Prior GDC incarcerations
• Release eligibility
• Death – ID withheld until next of kind is notified; cause withheld until autopsy results available

Employee - Authorized Releasable Information: 

• Work history (only historical) 
• Confirmation of employment or termination
• Adverse actions and historical grievances, once officially filed
• Suspension
• Charges, after served to employee

Inmate & Employees - Unauthorized Information: (cannot be released) 

• Information such as medical and mental health conditions and juvenile crimes
• Information about prior arrests, if not considered public record; prior convictions can be released
• Information concerning victims of a crime unless on the indictment
• Names and addresses of an offender’s or employee’s family
• Employee’s address, social security number, and medical and beneficiary information
• Employee’s age 
• An inmates’s Institutional file is deemed confidential, therefore cannot be released

Media Access to Facilities

Media representatives do not have the automatic right to visit any facility/center. However, access may be granted through the Office of Public Affairs. Access is subject to limitations necessary to maintain order and security, and protect safety of inmates and staff. Media representatives who have been approved to visit facilities/centers, must:

• Be accompanied by a member of the Office of Public Affairs or a facility/center office representative
• Wear proper attire as determined by the facility/center. No short pants, short skirts, suggestive or revealing clothing can be worn. When necessary, a facility/center may require or provide an appropriate change of clothes.

Disregard for Departmental policy, may result in refusal of future access to the facility/center. In addition, access to any facility/center may be suspended during a critical incident or emergency

The following items are not permitted inside facilities/centers:

• Cell phones
• Laptops
• Tablets (iPads)
• Tobacco products
• Purses
• Briefcases
• Keys
• Other contraband items identified by the Department