Ask The Inmate. Real answers from people who've been there.

When someone is taken into custody at a probation check-in and held pending investigation, it means the authorities have enough reason to believe a violation occurred but have not yet completed the process of confirming it. That is probable cause in practice, and it is enough to hold someone while the investigation plays out. What triggered it could be a number of things. A failed drug test, a new arrest, surveillance information, something flagged in his background, or a tip that...

Personal recognizance, commonly called PR or OR release, is when a judge releases someone from custody without requiring them to post bail. Instead of paying money to secure release, the person signs a written promise to appear at all future court dates. It is essentially the court saying it trusts this person to show up without a financial incentive to do so. Whether someone qualifies for PR release depends on several factors the judge evaluates at the bail hearing, typically held...

State prison anywhere is no picnic. It is not the facility, it is the inmates that are inside. Inmates have to figure out how things works, just like on the streets. Most cases there is not much to worry about, but there are predators that will try guys to see whose soft, so they can take advantage of them. It is going to be all up to him, how he interacts, how he processes and handles situations where confict is...

Visits are never long enough. There are never enough visits. The lower the security, the better the visits are. Minimum security visitation is in a very relaxed state and they are at least two hours long. You visit on park bench-style set up. For federal prison, this was as good as it could get. The worst goes with the higher security facilities where there is no contact and the visits last minutes, not hours. We understand why, it's just a tough...

A facility shakedown is where the inmates are sequestered in an area for hours while the guards go through the facility, cell by cell, room by room, searching for contraband. They will turn beds upside down, they go into the ceiling where there is access, they check the kitchen, bathrooms, chapel... everywhere. After they have finished, the collection of contraband is displayed in some form to show the inmates that they will eventually find everything. If they can tie anything...

County jail visitation varies more than people expect, and Loudoun County has specific protocols worth knowing before you show up. Contact versus non-contact visits depend on the inmate's housing classification and the facility's current setup. Many county jails, including a number of Virginia facilities, use video visitation terminals or glass partition visits rather than contact visits for general population. That means you may be speaking through a phone handset with a glass or screen between you rather than sitting at a...

Inmates that have money on their inmate trust accounts can purchase stamps and envelopes at the weekly commissary. If they do not have money on their books, the prison will provide indigent inmates with all the materials necessary to send out mail to their loved ones. If your inmate writes to you directly, using your address, the cost of the mailing is a 49 cent stamp. Many of our members use the Inmate Response Mail service through InmateAid. Your inmate would...

Loudoun County Adult Detention Center is a county jail, and like most county facilities its biggest challenge is not violence, it is boredom. County jails are not designed for long-term housing. There is limited programming, minimal structured activity, and a lot of hours with nothing to fill them. When you put dozens of people in a confined space with nothing to do, tension builds. Most conflict in county jail does not come from hardened criminals looking for trouble, it comes from...

Inmates may use the phone pretty much during all "waking hours". Phone lines are open at 6am and turn off at 11pm. Visitors to Hill Corrections Center will be required to produce photo identification and verification of date of birth. Please be sure to bring 2 forms of identification with you; these would include a current photo ID such as a driver’s license, a state ID card, government ID card, military ID/driver’s license, or acceptable documentation of non-U.S. citizenship including a...

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice will not tell you the destination in advance, and that is standard policy across virtually every correctional system for transfers of any kind. Transfer routes, destinations, and timing are kept confidential for security reasons. It protects the inmates being moved, the transport staff, and the integrity of the process. That information does not get shared with family members ahead of time regardless of the circumstances or how the question is asked. SAFPF, the Substance Abuse Felony...