The criminal justice system has its own language and navigating it without a guide is disorienting for families encountering it for the first time. This section covers the terminology that appears in court documents, facility communications, and case records, from the difference between jail and prison to what terms like disposition, detainer, adjudication, and supervised release actually mean in plain language. It also covers general questions about how prisons and jails operate, what a typical day looks like inside, how different security levels function, and what the practical differences are between federal, state, county, and private facilities. The answers here are written for people who have no prior experience with the system and need clear accurate explanations without legal jargon. If you encountered a term you did not understand this is the right place to start. See also our sections on Law Questions and Legal Terms, and Sentencing Questions.
Subject: General prison questions-terminology
In Illinois, yes, it is possible. Introducing contraband into a correctional facility is taken extremely seriously and the charge level depends on what the contraband is and how it was brought in.
Cigarettes are contraband in most Illinois correctional facilities because smoking has been banned in state prisons for years. Possessing tobacco inside is an infraction, but the more serious criminal exposure comes when someone on the outside attempts to bring or send cigarettes into a facility. Smuggling contraband into a...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
Yes. Cooperation with law enforcement does not have to happen before sentencing to be valuable and the opportunity to work a deal does not automatically close once someone is already serving time.
In the legal system it is called substantial assistance. In the prison yard it is called something else entirely and the gap between those two descriptions captures everything you need to understand about why this decision has to be handled with extreme care.
Substantial assistance motions are filed by prosecutors...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
Former inmates are answering ALL of the "Ask the Inmate" questions, including yours...
Subject: General prison questions-terminology
The person is not notified when you make an InmateAid account, inmates do not have access to the Internet. People have have been in your husband's situation are answering this questions. They are no longer incarcerated. The answer to your third question has many potential answers. Depending on his probation length and the stipulations to their release (set by the courts) will dictate how well this will go. If your loved one has a solid and honest plan when they...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
You can send a letter to an inmate but before you do it is worth thinking carefully about what you write and what effect it might have.
All incoming mail at correctional facilities is read and monitored by staff. Nothing you send is private from the facility's perspective. That means anything you write about your daughter's injuries, the relationship, or your concerns becomes part of the record at that institution. In some cases that information can be flagged and passed along...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
Release from a CCA facility, now operating under the name CoreCivic, generally happens in the morning with most releases processed between 7 and 9 a.m. The exact time on any given day depends on how many inmates are being released at once and how smoothly the discharge paperwork and processing moves through the system.
Release day involves more administrative steps than most people anticipate. The facility has to complete final paperwork, return personal property, issue any gate money the inmate is...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
Fort Dix is one of the largest federal correctional complexes in the country and it operates both a low security facility and a minimum security satellite camp on the same grounds. Understanding how the assignment process works before you arrive takes a lot of the uncertainty out of what is already a stressful experience.
When you surrender, you will be processed through the intake area, which is located in the low security facility. Everyone goes through this initial processing regardless of...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
At low security federal facilities, the housing terms can be confusing because different facilities use different setups and sometimes different language for similar arrangements.
Dorms and cubicles are open housing areas where inmates sleep in bunks within a large shared space. Cubicles are partial partitions that create a small defined area around a bunk without full walls or a door. They offer a degree of personal space without being an enclosed room. This is the most common setup at federal camps...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
Once an inmate is settled into their routine, the time goes by pretty quickly, all things considered. But, if you are close with your family, you will witness the time dragging on for them as there are greater hardships on your loved ones on the outside. The loss of income that is caused by the incarceration creates huge issues for the family trying to pay bills. That is tough on an inmate mentally carrying that baggage knowing what they did...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
The phone service at the California State Prison - Sacramento is GlobalTel (GTL). Unless there is a disciplinary hold on your inmate, he should be able to make all the calls he wants provided he has funds on his books or in an Advanced Pay account. If you are long distance to Sacramento, the InmateAid Discount Phone Service is something you should look into. We can save about $4.50 per call instate and more if your are out of state....
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
Start with VINELink.com, a free national victim and family notification service that provides real-time inmate location and custody status across most county and state systems. If the county denies having them but an inmate number exists online, VINELink can help confirm where they are held.
Subject: General prison questions-terminology
Reading is the great escape. Concentrating on things you can control, not worry about things you can't - it is where the focus must lie. Inmates need to get into a routine which will make their time go by smoothly. They need to make a goal list of things to accomplish with all of this time on their hands, to not just waste it playing cards and bullshitting. If they are inclined, anyone can come out better than when they...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
If your inmate is in set up in the TruLinks system, their PIN will transfer from facility to facility. Inmate transfers are not publicly posted or acknowledged for security reasons. Once he has reached his new designation, there will be a posting of this new locale on their website. If they land in county for a night or so, the calling from there can only be done "collect".
Subject: General prison questions-terminology
Maximum security is the grade of high security level used by prison systems in various states and counties.
In a maximum security prison or area, all prisoners have individual cells with sliding doors controlled from a secure remote control station. Often prisoners are confined in their cells 23 hours per day, but in some institutions, prisoners are allowed out of their cells for part of the day (recreation, education or medical). General population areas are limited with timed movements and escorts. Maximum...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
Inmates do not have Internet access, the inmate profile pages are created by the members of this site.
