Disciplinary Actions in the Federal Prison Camp
Feb 13th, 2009 by Rickey
So what happens when an inmate breaks one of the rules in the prison camp? There are a number of actions taken. They get a “shot”, put in “the hole” or in the case of serious violations an inmate looses his camp status and placed in a low or medium security prison.
The minor offense is a “shot”, it’s a term used in the prison system by the BOP personal and inmates. Basically it’s a written reprimand placed in the inmate’s file stating the rule that was broken and stays on the inmate’s file through out his time in prison. If too many shot’s are accumulated, the inmate looses his camp status. Disciplinary following the shot may be a loss in work detail, lower bunk privileges, visitation rights, commissary days and/or phone use. Example would be taking food from the kitchen or simply disobeying an order from the camp administrator or correctional officer.
The next course of action is inmates being placed in “the hole”. This is confinement in a cell for a period of time. Inmates who are put in the holding cell wait while an investigation is under way or just a cooling down time while the inmate reflects on the rule broken or his misconduct. Yes, a shot is placed in his file also. Example would be fighting or raising your voice and arguing with a camp official.
When a serious violation has taken place the inmate is put in the hole pending time of transfer to a low, medium or high security prison, as to which will be determined by the severity of the rule or regulation broken. Depending on the situation or possible crime committed may result in more prison time for the individual. Examples would be attacking an officer or inmate, stealing from BOP and/or escape attempt.
Discipline in a prison camp is easier to enforce and follow because of the privileges and certain rights inmates do receive. Another reason for its effectiveness is due to the fact that when one inmate breaks a rule, the whole camp is disciplined and punished for it. Funny but you would be amazed at how quickly discipline takes place when you take the TV away from the inmates for a week. The camp really shapes up.
My fiance has been at his camp for 2 weeks now but has not gone through orientation. After count he said he saw other inmates going to the bathroom and showers, so he thought count was over and went to take a shower too. As it turns out, count wasn’t over and he got put in the hole. I know this will probably be put in his file but will this hurt his chances of getting less time for good behavior? Will they consider that he has not gone through orientation? Thanks for your help….
Adriana,
Orientation never takes place on a timely schedule and each department works around their own schedules so it’s best to just be patient and follow their way of doing things, they are not in a hurry.
Never leave the count line until the officer clears it and yes, there will be some who choose to defy or disobey the rules but there are consequences for such actions as your fiance has found out.
I believe this incident will be over looked by the officers doing the investigation since he is new. In fact it’s a good thing it happened early in his stay because the lesson is a valuable one to learn from and now he will be cautious of what other inmates do.
In regards to it affecting his good time behavior, I doubt it because there are still team meetings that he will be attending which will show his conduct so tell him to be on his best behavior and follow the rules and regulations, they may be unfair at times but it’s the rules.
As to the orientation, he will just have to wait till the next scheduled one.
Again this is not a serious incident, only a simple misunderstanding which he will learn from.
Rickey,
I can’t thank you enough for your help. I’m sure I’ll have more questions as time passes by.
Hi Rickey,
Can you tell me about the points you’re allowed until you get kicked out of camp? My fiance said because of what happened (my last question to you) he has 2 points and that after 11 you get kicked out. Another inmate told him that if you’re younger you automatically start out with high points? That doesn’t make sense to me. Could you explain this? Thanks a bunch.
Adriana,
I am not familiar with the term points but I do know about the term shots as mention in this article. If an inmates gets too many shots then yes he can be removed from the camp status and be in a security prison.
Inmates tend to be very careful about not getting any shots because of the seriousness of them. Shots vary in degree from a 100 shot to a very serious 300 shot, for example fighting or stealing which would automatically remove you from the camp.
Your fiance would have been given a copy of this “shot” system of discipline which explains it very well in detail. This is a case where he should not listen to another inmate but follow what is written by the camp administration. Following somebody else’s opinion can lead him to a lot of trouble and the BOP doesn’t care who said it.
All inmates start with a clean slate whether young or old. If an imate has already accumulated shots on his record they transfer with him as he moves from one camp to another.
Ricky,
God bless you and your for taken the time to help all of us understand all this madness.
My son is in pc and he violated the rules by having more stamps than he sound have. He sent me a Letter stateing he will not be able to make phone calls in 6 months and commissary taken away he spent 1wk in hole. he wrote me 1 time since and it has been 15 days since I have heard from him. I have written him 3 time since then and not a word from my son. WHAT COULD BE HAPPENING.
WAITING TO HEAR YOUR RESPONSE
Thank you so much
Patricia
Patricia,
Thank you for your comments, they do keep me motivated.
Yes, at times it does seem like madness but let me encourage you by saying there is an end to it, time can not stop his exit date, focus on the time when he will be home again.
Prison camps are full of rules, regulations, privileges and yes, the consequences of violating one of them.
Stamps are a form of currency in prison, they are used for all forms of payment and getting caught with a lot of stamps leads to the conclusion that an inmate is conducting some kind of scam or winnings from gambling.
The penalty of going to the hole is punishment and so an investigation can take place. Losing phone and commissary privileges is a typical disciplinary action because of its’ value to the inmate.
Now as to reason for not hearing from him, it could be that he has no stamps to mail letters with, it could be further investigation with more time in the hole, possibly a transfer to another location (worst case) or he may not want to write at the moment.
Here are two suggestions. Call the institution that your son is in and simply express your concern for him because most of the BOP staff is fairly understanding towards family members, especially mothers.
The other suggestion is keep writing to him, I say that because mail call is one of the highlights for every inmate and they look forward to it.
Patricia, I have prayed for communications to be restored and now we will believe together that it will be. Praise God! God bless you and your son.
Ricky,
Thank you for your quick respond. How long are they alowed to keep my son in the hole if that is the case. I have sent him money. And I know he would have wrote me by now. I will call the institution tommorrw. Will they let me know something or will they make me feel worst than I already feel, because I don’t want that.
Ricky we really do appreiciate you allowing GOD to use you this is a ministry within its self.
Yes I do agree with you in prayer that all is well with my son.
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
Patricia,
Yes, it is a ministry and it’s a joy to help in any way I can and thank you for the blessing, it’s received with great love and appreciation.
The length of time in the hole will depend on the investigation, case load and the seriousness of the violation, it could be a few weeks or never. Some violations cause the inmate to loose their camp status and transfered to a low or medium security.
Funds sent in to any inmate always gets deposited to their commissary accounts and the inmate is the one who transfers it to his phone account as needed.
Calling the institution is no gaurantee of good or bad news but at least you will know some facts. If you decide to call, be patient and polite with your questions. The secretary may not know anything about the situation so ask to speak to a case manager, counselor or camp administrator about your son.
Trust in God, my hopes are with you.
Ricky,
Thank you thank you thank you, But most of all thank GOD for you.
My son finally wrote. See GOD does answer Prayers. Someone in the unit had drugs so all had to stay in unit until search was over they had the k9 dogs. So that was why my son could not write. Ricky that is all needed to be said. stay blessed you and your family.
I will be in contact with you from time to time just to say Hello appreciate all your knowlege and support through my test.
We love you Ricky
Patricia
Patricia,
Yes, God does answer prayers. Glad to hear your son is alright, it always warms my heart when things work out and love prevails.
Please do keep in touch because our comments, conversation and experiences are a great help and blessing to many families.
hello Mr. Ricky
If my son was in visitation and his wife touched on his private area, Will she be able to visit him again. Will i be able to visit him? What will normally happen in this situation. This is his first time in any trouble and he has been there about 2 months.
Claire,
This subject depends a lot on the officer in charge of visitation and the extent of the sexual touch. For example I have seen a lot of inmates who were given warnings to stop because of agressive kissing and hugging to tightly but were still allowed to visit.
I also remember an inmate who went to far by letting his girlfriend touch him for pleasure but they were caught. This resulted in immediate termination of the visit where the girlfriend was asked to leave and they took the inmate to the hole, he also lost his camp status a very serious offense where he goes from camp to a more secure facility behind a fence and locked cell.
Now to answer your question, if an inmate is caught in sexual mis-conduct. Yes, he can lose his visitation privileges for a few months to all of it where his wife or other family members are not allowed to visit. Please remember that visitation is a privilege and a privilege not to be abused.