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
We don't think our answer would be anything but a guess. The honor farm is the best level of custody for an inmate and something must have triggered a classification change and lose that sweet job set-up. There might have been an accusation against him that was proven false... which would explain him going back and forth between details. Or, he might have gone to court and needed a change of location to facilitate it... it could be so many things. But...
Read moreSubject: Prison discipline
CDU stands for Control and Discipline Unit, sometimes called segregation or the hole depending on the facility. It is where inmates are sent when they are found to have violated a facility rule, whether that violation involved a verbal order, a written directive, or a more serious infraction. Being sent to CDU means the facility determined your fiance broke a rule serious enough to warrant removal from general population.
As for what specific order he disobeyed, the facility will not tell...
Read moreSubject: Prison discipline
It means that they are in protective custody, special housing unit, the SHU - it is segregation from general population, 24/7 lockdown (3 hours per week for rec). This can be for either administrative or disciplinary reasons.
Subject: Prison discipline
After the fight, the participants are taken to the SHU (the hole). They get a hearing from the Disciplinary Hearing Officer (DHO). The DHO is lawyer, judge and jury. The inmate may call one character witness (in my case i used the CO who ran my work detail). The decision is instant and the penalty is immediately enforced. Fighting, depending on the severity of injuries, if any, or property damaged will weigh into the penalty phase. They could lose visitation,...
Read moreSubject: Prison discipline
Not good. Shu for months, loss of good time, then transfer from facility to higher custody level - much harder time going forward, loss of all privileges and maybe catch a new charge or two.
Subject: Prison discipline
Hair dye is a minor infraction especially in a camp, but contraband is a loosely used term in the incident reports. Contraband can be a weapon, drugs, obvious signs of operating a business, gambling records or ANYTHING not on the comissary list. Hair dye seems almost like a nuisance charge, we wonder whose bad-side did your husband get on. Our guess is that the SHU stay will be no more than two weeks and he might have some limitations on commissary purchases...
Read moreSubject: Prison discipline
LOP is "loss of privileges". If he was moved, it was probably to a disciplinary or special housing unit (SHU) within his complex detention unit (CDU). The loss of privileges could include limited or no visitation, limited or no phone or limited or no commissary. The length of time will stem from the charges and results of his hearing.
Subject: Prison discipline
Refusing to take a urine test in an Arizona state prison is treated as disobeying a direct order, which makes it a major violation. The classification is intentional. Without the ability to enforce orders, staff lose control of the facility, so the punishment is designed to be severe enough to discourage anyone else from trying the same thing.
The first consequence is placement in Disciplinary Segregation, which goes by several names: the SHU, the Special Housing Unit, solitary confinement, or just...
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Restricted housing is solitary confinement, known inside as the hole. It means he was cited for a rule violation and pulled out of general population as a disciplinary measure. The facility is not going to tell you much beyond confirming he is there, which is frustrating, but it is standard.
How long it lasts depends entirely on what he did. There is no universal cap on restricted housing time. Some inmates serve a few days for minor infractions. Others spend weeks...
Read moreSubject: Prison discipline
When an altercation occurs at any correctional facility, including Halawa in Hawaii, both participants are typically removed from the general population and placed in the Special Housing Unit. That placement comes with immediate and significant restrictions on all privileges, including phone access.
In the SHU, phone access is reduced to one 15-minute call per week. That is the standard allowance across virtually every correctional system and it applies regardless of which facility or state the inmate is in. One call, fifteen...
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