Sanford Correctional Center: Visitation, Inmate Search, Contacts, FAQs
This article discussed everything you need to know about Sanford Correctional Center: Visitation, Inmate Search, Contacts, FAQs. We have answered some of the questions about this prison like it safe? What are the rules to visit and everything that you are interested in about this facility.

Sanford Correctional Center is located in Lee County, in the seat of Sanford, North Carolina, located at 417 Prison Camp Rd, Sanford, NC 27330, United States. This correctional facility is a minimum security prison that houses approximately 300 adult male inmates.
The correctional facility is managed by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. The Sanford Correctional Center is located 184 feet below sea level, making it the lowest elevation of a prison which is in part because it is usually used as a minimum security prison. It was primarily used by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) which dissolved into three new entities in 2003, to incarcerate immigrants who have been detained and are close to being released.
Sanford Correctional Center was one of 61 field unit prisons renovated or established during the late 1930s to house offenders who worked on building roads. It was later turned into a training center for officers and, in the 1970s, was converted back to a prison field unit.
The General Assembly approved a program for the improvement of prison conditions. It was authorized in 1987. As part of this $28.5 million Emergency Prison Facilities Development program, Sanford was provided two 50-bed dormitories. Another two additional 50-bed dormitories were provided as part of the $87.5 million prison construction program authorized in 1993.
The prison's original dormitory continues to be in use. Two new dormitories opened in 1987, and another two opened in 1993. These four new dormitories each house 63 offenders, while the older unit houses 46.
Rehabilitation facilities at Sanford Correctional Center
The Sanford Correctional Center is one of four North Carolina prison facilities that have earned accreditation from the American Correctional Association which means the facility meets the corrections industry’s 'gold standard’.
To ensure offenders receive humane treatment, the accreditation process monitors quality-of-life standards such as sufficient space and light, rehabilitation programs, health care, and post-release plans for one year.
Most offenders at Sanford are allowed to work jobs both on and off prison grounds. Some inmates with exceptional behavior are granted work release which lets them report to a job during the day and return to the prison at the end of their shift. Inmates are housed in open dormitories and religious studies, and substance abuse treatment programs are available to them at this institution.
The work opportunities provided for inmates at Sanford Correctional Center include road crews, recycling crews, culinary duties, landscaping, and custodial work. Offenders are allowed to choose one of the following jobs:
- Department of Transportation squads in Lee, Harnett, and Moore counties for collecting old, worn, and damaged road signs and license plates
- Correction Enterprises Sign Recycling plant at the old Moore Correctional Center which recycles old road signs and license plates to be used by the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV)
- Labor contracts with local governments
- Work release jobs in Lee County
The correctional facility provides the offender workforce for the Office of Staff Development and Training located in Apex, Wake County, NC.
All other prisoners work on jobs at the facility in the kitchen or as janitors or groundskeepers. Sanford Correctional Center offers a Masonry Program through Central Carolina Community College (CCCC).
Night programs offered at the facility include Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Yokefellow Bible study, and religious services for the rehabilitation of offenders. Central Carolina Community College also provides classes for adult education and preparation for GED tests for all prisoners as well as some vocational programs to help an inmate prepare for reentering society.
How to search inmates in Sanford Correctional Center?
It is pretty simple to search for an inmate that is incarcerated at the Sanford Correctional Center as the facility’s official website is open to the public. A few things you will need to know are the inmate's first and last name, and their ID number.
When offenders are incarcerated at Sanford correctional center, they are assigned specific IDs which are used during their entire time in the prison. These ID numbers are essential to search for a prisoner if someone is planning to visit or send mail or make a call, etc. Work records and accounts are also kept based on this ID.
To find an inmate, you will need to browse Sanford Correctional Center’s database and provide the inmate's first name, last name, and ID number. If you don’t want to use the website, you can call the Sanford Correctional Center visitor Information Line at 919-776-4325. You will need to give the credentials of the prisoner that you are looking for. The facility will provide any information that you need upon receipt of the correct credentials or ID.