Every correctional facility operates under a disciplinary system that governs inmate behavior and imposes consequences for rule violations. Understanding how that system works is essential for anyone trying to navigate incarceration successfully, because a disciplinary record can affect housing assignments, program eligibility, good time credits, halfway house placement, and parole decisions. This section covers what types of disciplinary infractions exist and how they are classified, what the disciplinary hearing process looks like, what rights inmates have when facing a disciplinary charge, what sanctions can be imposed including loss of privileges, solitary confinement, and good time forfeiture, and how to appeal a disciplinary decision. The guidance here is written for inmates who want to understand the rules clearly enough to avoid violations and for families who want to help their loved one protect their record. See also our sections on Prison Violence, Survive Prison, and Sentence Reduction
Subject: Prison discipline
You can, but it's a big mistake.
Subject: Prison discipline
It can range from several months in the SHU and lost privileges to catching another charge and having time added to their current sentence.
Subject: Prison discipline
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...
Read moreSubject: Prison discipline
This is a serious situation and the consequences are going to be significant on multiple levels.
Work release is one of the most privileged statuses an inmate can have. It means the system trusted him enough to send him outside the walls with minimal supervision. Getting caught smuggling contraband back in is a direct betrayal of that trust, and the response from the facility and the courts will reflect that.
The immediate consequence is the SHU. Expect several months in segregation at...
Read moreSubject: Prison discipline
There is really no difference. They are all segregated custody from either an Administrative Order (AO) or a Disciplinary Order.(DO). The SHU is short for Special Housing Unit, Security Housing Unit or Segregated Housing Unit. and PC is "protective custody".
It sounds like something happened that caused the administration to declare him for PC on an DO. We interpret this to mean he was threatened (or threatened someone else) and it is being determined is he is a safety issue in the general population....
Read moreSubject: Prison discipline
SHU inmates at Wasco State Prison are permitted one fifteen-minute phone call per week. That is the standard allowance for segregated housing in the California system, and it applies regardless of the reason for placement. One call, fifteen minutes, once every seven days. When that window comes up, make sure you are available to answer because missing it means waiting another full week.
On visitation approval, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation processes visitor applications on a timeline that varies...
Read moreSubject: Prison discipline
The RHU is the same thing as the SHU, it's all about solitary confinement. I have been in there three times in federal, you're not gonna get BS from me. I don't know about horror stories, but isolation is no picnic. What are your expectations, for someone to tell you it's great? Inmates get sent to the SHU for a variety of reasons. In most cases, it is a merited punishment for some rule violation. The more serious the infraction, the...
Read moreSubject: Prison discipline
We do not know the mandatory minimums for these charges. There charges are very serious - smuggling weapons into a facility is going to cost him big time in our opinion
Subject: Prison discipline
He could be facing an additional five years, maybe ten. It will depend on his cooperation and what his record is. Work release is so close to the door, WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!?!?
Subject: Prison discipline
The inmates are all treated basically the same. The ones that have a harder time inside are making it hard on themselves. If you look for conflict and confrontation, you are in the right place. There is plenty of trouble to get into if you act up. Generally speaking it's not like you see on television - you get three square meals and a bed to sleep on. You have a menial job and lots of time to kill. Boredom is the...
Read more