Today has been a very long day. It started with someone in my prison’s housing unit — the F-North housing unit at FCI Petersburg — yelling about pedophiles hogging the TRULINCS computers (the people to which this comment was made were most certainly not hogging anything), continued with scoffs at a transgender prisoner in the
To explain precisely what UNICOR is and how it functions Prison Law Blog offers the following information. This information is from the Bureau of Prisons website: bop.gov. It provides the best and most succinct explanation of UNICOR. What Is UNICOR? “Federal Prison Industries (commonly referred to as FPI or by its trade name UNICOR) is a
UNICOR — also known as Federal Prison Industries, Inc. — is a government-owned corporation operated within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). It utilizes factory plant managers who oversee inmate workers to produce products and provide services. For the most part, UNICOR products and services are utilized to lower costs for state and federal agencies,
Disciplinary infractions are a fact of life for inmates incarcerated within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Simply put, those incarcerated in federal prison will likely have to defend against incident reports at some point during their incarceration. Learning how to defend against disciplinary action is not something that should be done after an incident report
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) offers several vocational training and apprenticeship programs for inmates under their care. These programs are designed to teach inmates marketable skills they can use upon release to gain sustainable employment. While program offerings differ from institution to institution, the BOP does offer a surprising variety of programs. A complete
As part of my role as a prison litigator and advocate, I review a number of Incident Reports and Disciplinary Hearing Officer (DHO) Reports every month. Most of the time I do a quick once-over to advise fellow federal prisoners if they have good cause to appeal a disciplinary finding or to advise them of
During my seven years of incarceration, I have rarely seen much in the way of kindness and the human spirit. There have been a few surprise moments. These usually revolve around a surprise birthday meal, a Christmas gift from an unexpected source, or the unexpected dispensation of compassion to someone truly in need. But, for
Avoiding aggression in prison is not easy sometimes. In prison, there are two sets of informal social rules which inmates must follow. One set of informal rules is utilized when dealing with fellow inmates, and the other more formal set is used when dealing with the guards. At times — when the guards are being
By Neo
Steve is looking down at his G.E.D. test booklet. It’s his fourth time taking this test. He’s mastered three of the five test subjects and he’s gazing at the questions – after months of preparation and studying – though it all looks Greek to him.
He’s sweating and feeling nauseous. Steve knows that he isn’t going to achieve what he’s been working on for so long. He failed and now he needs to do all the studying all over again. Image courtesy hopeworks.org
Many Americans go through this problem every day. Passing the G.E.D. is no easy task, but it’s achievable. Some call it Test Block Syndrome. That’s when you suddenly forget what you studied, but it’s not that: it is confidence.
Many prisoners incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons have grown up with minimal to no education. Prison administrations recommend that prisoners sign up and complete the G.E.D. program offered in their Education Department prior to release. But even then, a number of enrolled prisoner-students leave prison without attaining a G.E.D. This results in increased recidivism rates.
As a result, the prison-educators at FCC Petersburg have implemented a program that would remedy the problems that Steve encountered. That program is called: Fasttrack G.E.D.
Prisons are political places. Nothing shows this more than how those in prisons choose to refer to themselves. Some prefer the term prisoner. Others prefer inmate. And still, others favor convict. Since prison is such a political environment, referring to those in the prison context pursuant to their chosen term, whether inmate, prisoner, or convict,
We have profiled every prison within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Learn about each prison’s location, security level, educational and recreational offerings, and much more.
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