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

A transfer to a fire camp is a positive development. California Conservation Camps, commonly called fire camps, are operated jointly by CDCR and CAL FIRE and represent a minimum security placement where inmates participate in firefighting and conservation work. The environment is meaningfully different from a traditional prison setting, and visitation at fire camps is generally contact-based, meaning you can sit together in the same room rather than through glass. The letter still showing Tracy and Deuel Vocational Institution as the...

The silence after a transfer to a new state facility is normal and almost always temporary. Coastal State Prison, like most Georgia Department of Corrections facilities, requires new arrivals to complete an intake and orientation period before phone access and visitation are established. That process typically runs one to two weeks depending on the facility's pace and current population. During that window your son is being evaluated, assigned to a housing unit, and meeting with his unit team. Phone lists and...

Two weeks into a seven year sentence at Safford Graham Unit is one of the most disorienting stretches of any incarceration, and not just for the inmate. For families on the outside waiting for mail to arrive and calls to come through, the silence of the early weeks can feel alarming even when nothing is actually wrong. What is almost certainly happening is that your son is working through Admissions and Orientation, commonly known as A and O. This is a...

When an inmate transfers between state facilities, communication does not automatically carry over. Phone lists, visitation lists, and account access all have to be re-established at the new facility, and that process takes time. At most state facilities, expect one to two weeks before phone and visitation lists are set up and approved. Some facilities move faster, others slower, depending on staffing and the volume of new arrivals they are processing at any given time. The most reliable way to get a...

Three Rivers Federal Satellite Camp is a minimum security federal facility and the orientation process there follows a fairly predictable pattern that will help you plan your first contact. Orientation Orientation at Three Rivers is typically conducted once a week on Wednesdays and runs practically the entire day. Until your fiance completes orientation he will have limited access to facility services including the phone system and visitation list setup. If he arrived mid-week he may wait several days before his orientation date...