FAQ

Your initial placement in a federal prison will largely depend upon three factors. First, it will depend upon your security level. Second, it will depend upon your medical designation level. Third, it will depend upon the bed space available. Federal prisons are currently 44% overcrowded. More and more defendants are being placed thousands of miles from their families. What is worse is that many defendants who are scored minimum security and should be placed in a minimum security federal prison camp are being placed in low, medium, or high security because of lack of bed space.  Don't let this happen, call us.

Your security designation depends on several factors. All of these factors will be determined by your Pre-Sentencing Investigation (PSI). Your past criminal history will be considered as well as the nature of your current offense. The severity of your current offense is also very important.

For Example:

• Was a gun used in the commission of the offense?
• Were people in harm’s way?
• What is the amount of money that was at risk?

Your sentence length is also an important factor in determining your security classification.

If you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of more than ten (10) years, you cannot be initially designated to or transferred to a Federal Prison Camp.

No. There are no coed Federal Prison Camps or Federal Prisons. There are female Federal Prison Camps and Prisons which may be located adjacent to higher security male institutions, but no fraternizing is permitted.

If what you mean by “real criminals” is violent offenders, the answer is no. The BOP attempts to keep like offenders together, although inmates in higher security institutions can work their way down over the years to Federal Prison Camps.

In a Federal Prison Camp you will normally find two types of offenders. The first and smaller group is composed of white-collar criminals. The second and larger group is composed of offenders convicted of drug related crimes.

At first you will not know. Eventually, you may have some inkling from someone interviewed by the Federal authorities who leaked the information to you. If you have an attorney, he will eventually be told that you are a target.

At least in Federal Prison Camps and low security Federal Correctional Institutions, sexual assaults do occur but not frequently. Most prisoners are respectful of other prisoners. Most inmates will not undress in front of other inmates and when taking a shower will only disrobe after being in the shower and pulling the curtain. Of course, there are always exceptions. Inmates in an FPC are just like citizens in the “real world”. They are knowledgeable about sex and some enjoy homosexuality and some despise it. If an inmate has a desire for a homosexual relationship, he will have no lack of willing partners.

Yes, the request for an extension should be made by your attorney to the sentencing court providing the valid reasons for the extension. The judge will determine if the extension is granted or not. Jail Time Consulting offers a Program for “Stay of Report Date”. Call Jail Time Consulting for details.

If you are remanded to federal custody in the courtroom, you may have a brief minute to say good-bye to your spouse and maybe get a quick hug, but that is about it. When you are transferred to a non-federal facility, a city or county jail, you are subject to the same rules as other prisoners in that facility.

No. An inmate may not receive any phone calls.

If an emergency occurs, your wife or family should call the prison directly and leave a message for you to call them. They should give the inmate’s name, inmate registration number, unit he lives in, and the name of his Correctional Counselor or Case Manager if they know it. Hopefully, they will get the message to you, but don’t count on it. If you are a client of Jail Time Consulting, call us. We can help.

Yes, you are allowed 300 minutes (which you must pay for) per month. You are not limited on the number of calls, just the number of minutes. In the months of November and December the BOP increases the total number of monthly minutes to 400 per month. Minutes do not carry over from one month to the next. If you don’t use them, you lose them.

All personal telephone calls and E-mail are monitored. Calls are tape recorded then reviewed later. E-mail is routed for review also. Some telephone calls may be monitored while you are talking live. All legal calls, made to your attorney, are not monitored.

Yes, remember at a Federal Prison Camp and all Federal Prisons all incoming mail is opened and checked for contraband. Outgoing mail is not normally opened and read unless the BOP staff feels you are doing something illegal or against BOP policy. All mail can be opened and read, incoming and outgoing.

Yes. You are not permitted to write or receive mail from other inmates or anyone who is a felon. If your wife is also in prison, you must request permission from both Wardens to write to each other which will probably be denied. Jail Time Consulting can help with this also.

No. Inmates may not receive flowers or any gifts.

You should consult your Unit Team members concerning this. If you have money in your commissary account a member of your Unit Team may be able to coordinate this for you.

If things go smoothly and you do what we suggest in Jail Time, the Book,you should be cleared for visits within 1-2 days after your incarceration.

No. Conjugal visits are not permitted in the Bureau of Prisons’ system.

No. At one time family members were permitted to attend church services with an inmate on Sunday, but no more.

He can contact the Bureau of Prisons’ facility in which you are incarcerated or he can contact Jail Time Consulting for this information.

Currently, the commissary spending limit is set at $290.00 per month excluding stamps and ITS-telephone credits.

You will not be permitted to purchase anything until your next monthly renewal date. There are no exceptions.

Basically, it is a pain! It is a tremendous inconvenience. Most of the time is spent waiting in line. If you are not one of the first 25 inmates per session, you probably will not be permitted to shop. Some inmates at the FPC waited in the commissary line for 4-5 hours prior to opening to get a spot in line. There are certain tricks of the trade and helpful hints. Jail Time Consulting can help you with these.

The commissary list varies from institution to institution. Normally, the commissary lists contain pre-packaged food items, toiletries, and athletic apparel not provided by the BOP. A Commissary list is provided in the Appendix.

The quality of health services in prison is pathetic, appalling and inexcusable.

No. Inmates are the responsibility of the Bureau of Prisons and only Bureau of Prisons’ physicians or those contractually bound to the Bureau of Prisons may be used. You are stuck!

Your job assignment is totally based on the needs of the prison. Some jobs are matched with an inmate’s skills, other times an inmate’s job skills may prevent him from getting a job. If an inmate has skills as a manual laborer or a trade profession such as a plumber, he may be able to work as a plumber at the institution. If the inmate is a pharmacist, dentist, or physician or even has a medical background, he will not be permitted to work in the Health Services office.

Inmates who work for Unicor make the most money of any inmates. Inmates, with non-Unicor jobs, start out at $ 0.12 per hour. Inmates working at Unicor start out at $0.23 per hour.

In one word, yes! Remember, every institution is different. But generally the food is terrible in both quality and quantity. Jail Time Consulting has current clients in almost every BOP facility and can provide information on each facility. Call us.

If you miss a meal you are out of luck. The dining hall is only open a short period of time each meal; if you are late, you don’t eat. You do have the option of cooking commissary food in microwaves if you have one in your Unit.

In order to watch television, an inmate is required to purchase a radio with a head set or ear plugs from the commissary. Television stations are programmed into FM radio frequencies. Without a radio you can still watch television, but you cannot hear.

No, unless it is a program which is required by your Unit Team.

If an inmate is unable to show that he has achieved a high school degree or its equivalent, he will be required to prepare for and pass a GED test prior to his release. In addition, during the course of a Unit Team meeting, the inmate’s Unit Team may make recommendations of courses to take or those that are required for release. It is to the advantage of the inmate to make sure these courses are taken.

No and no.

Absolutely! The RDAP program is a very specialized program offered by the BOP which is of great benefit to inmates with a substance abuse problem whether it be drugs or alcohol. As an incentive for taking the program and successfully graduating from the program, the inmate may receive additional time off his sentence. This program is the only program available to federal inmates which can potentially reduce their period of incarceration in a federal institution by up to eighteen (18) months. This is in addition to any Good Conduct Time (GCT) earned. There are also three other programs which may reduce an inmate’s stay in federal prison. They are the Second Chance Act Program, the Compassionate Release Program, and the Commutation of Sentence Program. Jail Time Consulting has programs for each of these. Look on our website for details.

Yes.