(WENY) -- Smaller County prisons in New York have had an easier time accommodating outside visits from family via a hybrid format. Larger prisons like Chemung do not have this luxury, according to Chemung County Sheriff Bill Schrom.  

County jails in New York State have slowly started switching to a hybrid format visitation system. Jails with smaller inmate populations can allow non-contact visitation or provide physical barriers to eliminate the risk of COVID spread. Other facilities have phone and FaceTime services provided by GTL, a telephone service company. However, large inmate numbers at the Chemung County Jail have restricted the ability to open up any type of visitation. The County has been working to make hybrid visitation accommodations for families of inmates.  

“We are in the process to get that implemented hopefully within the next 30 to 45 days at the Sheriff's Office,” Schrom said. “We feel if we had that earlier, it would've been a huge relief for families and inmates.”  

Sheriff Schrom feels facilities have more flexibility when accommodating fewer inmates. He says neighboring counties that allow hybrid visitations can do so because they have a smaller jail population. 

“Our population fluctuates between 130 and 150 on any day, so that's a lot of people to consider,” Schrom said. “If you have a facility that's much smaller, and you only have a handful of inmates, that's a little bit easier to accommodate.”  

Schrom feels Chemung is doing the right thing by playing it safe and abiding by COVID guidelines. He explains what could happen if the prison doesn't take the right precautions.  

“If we give in to the pressure of opening visitation up and the inmates start to get COVID, that inmate and whole block get to quarantine,” Schrom said. They're locked in for 10, 14, 15 days.”  

Schrom says the Sheriff's Office will release more information regarding visitation in the coming weeks.