The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) is returning in-person visits at Whatcom County Jail for the first time in nearly three years starting Saturday, December 7.
Visits were suspended in January 2022 after the jail’s three main elevators broke down and the WCSO announced it was no longer safe to allow visitors. People incarcerated in the jail were able to contact loved ones through video and phone calls as well as messages.
Jed Holmes, spokesperson for the Whatcom County Executive’s Office, wrote in an email to The Northern Light that the repairs took nearly three years because the elevators needed to be redesigned to fit the building, requiring new parts to be created. The three elevators also needed to be repaired sequentially and the installer ran into staffing challenges.
Holmes said the repairs began at the beginning of 2024 and finished in September before receiving final inspection in October.
Visitors will be able to see people incarcerated at the jail on Saturdays and Sundays. In-person visitation times will be listed at the jail’s front desk and whatcomcounty.us/271/inmate-visitation.
The Whatcom County Jail was built in downtown Bellingham in 1983. Whatcom County voters approved construction of a new county jail during the November 2023 election.
