Prison Security Levels Guide
When inmates go into the Federal Bureau of Prisons, they are placed in one of the five levels of security prisons. These security levels vary depending on the population of the inmates held in the facility, the housing procedure, staff-inmate ratio, and security details of the institution perimeter like a guard tower and many more.
As a general rule, as federal prison levels increase, liberties and restrictions decrease. The risk of the population is the critical determinant of the prison security level; the lower the risk of the people, the lower the security level; the higher the risk, the higher the security level. If you want to know more, below is a prison security levels guide.
Prison Definition
Prisons are designed to house individuals who have broken the law by removing them from the free society. Inmates are locked away for a certain period and have limited freedom during their incarceration. While every prison serves the same primary purpose, each federal prison institution in the Bureau of Prisons falls into five different security levels; minimum, low, medium, high and administrative.
Inmates are placed in these levels based on their criminal history and their history while incarcerated.
Factors That Determine Federal Prison Security Level
- Gun towers are installed around a federal prison outside the perimeter. Armed BOP guards monitor the environment and activities from inside the gun towers.
- The use of mobile patrols that drive around the federal institution’s perimeter 24 hours every day.
- Detection devices like metal detectors and sound guns can intercept inmate conversations.
- Housing issues like whether the institution confines inmates in locked rooms, cages, or open dormitories.
- Perimeter barriers separating the federal prison from the community.
- Internal security considerations which include locks on doors or bars on windows.
- The ratio of staff members to prisoners.
Prisons Security Levels Guide Explained
Federal prisons house offenders convicted for different crimes ranging from theft to drug trafficking. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), there are 122 prisons holding more than 151,000 prisoners.
Various aspects are considered when assigning different prison levels to offenders, including their mental wellness, history of criminal activity, history of violence, etc.
The level design for a given correctional facility determines the physical security apparatus of the federal facility, the inmate to correctional officer ratio, and the privileges enjoyed by the inmates.
Below are the five prison security levels; the lowest to the highest;
Level 1: Minimum Security
Minimum security institutions house inmates who are serving out time for nonviolent offenses. Similar to the medium-security prison level, minimum-security prisoners are housed in dormitories but are considered the lowest risk to the public.
For this reason, medium-security inmates are allowed to participate in groups, sessions, and rectification projects to reform themselves.
A minimum-security prison is usually reserved for federal inmates with less than ten years left on their jail term, have a clean history of violence, and have no record of prison break attempts. Most inmates in this facility started at a higher security level. Most white-collar inmates like those face cases concerning mismanagement of funds or fraud charges at low risk of violence.
This level is mainly characterized by open dormitories in prison surrounding fences, fewer guards, and a little more freedom.
Inmates facing sexual-related charges are not included in the minimum security prisons and those with a history of decampment or group demonstrations.
Level 2: Low Security
Low-security level institutions are also referred to as Federal Correctional Institutions (FCIs), and like FCPs, they house inmates in dormitory-style housing. Low-security prisons have a solid orientation towards social work programs in the prison and have a higher inmate to correctional officer ratio than minimum security level.
A substantial number of inmates in this level tend to have some history of violence. However, there is no much violence at this level, with most prisoners usually having 20 years or less left on their prison time.
Although FCIs are surrounded by fences and sometimes double rows of walls, they lack the traditional loops of razor wire prevalent at higher security levels.
Violence is also minimal in these prisons, and sex offenders are permitted to be housed at low-security FCIs. Staffing levels are higher than federal camps and lower than medium-security FCIs.
Level 3: Medium Security
In the federal prison definition, medium-security prisons are referred to as Federal Correctional Institutions. This security level usually resembles an enormous residence hall that houses up to 70 inmates at larger, bunked sleeping quarters and group toilet facilities.
Medium security prisons house federal offenders in cells, and some of those inmates have a violent past. Although there is constant monitoring, medium-security inmates are afforded various work assignments, which allows them to be out of their cells for more extended periods.
All medium-security prions are enclosed with multiple fences, spools of razor wire, and armed perimeter vehicles that survey the perimeter 24/7.
Medium security prisons are the standard correctional facilities used to house most prisoners. Inmates in this security level are afforded cage-style housing, armed correctional officers, and more regimented daily routines than minimum security.
The inmate to correctional officer ratio is higher than both minimum and low-security levels, and inmates have up to 30 years of jail term to complete.
Level 4: High Security
In the federal prison language,high-security prisons are known as United States Penitentiaries. Penitentiaries are the correctional facilities where the real bad convicts are housed. They have a tightly secured border with half walls or several fences enclosing the inmate’s personal property.
These institutions have single or multiple cell housing with guards and cameras closely monitoring inmates. Despite the high-security prisons being equipped with armed guard towers, these jails are filled with chronic cases of inmate deaths due to gang violence inside prison walls.
It consists of single cells and close monitoring, and all federal offenders are permitted to be in USPs.
However, some prisoners, such as sex offenders and informants, have difficulty staying due to violent acts committed against them. USPs have the highest staffing levels.
Level 5: Administrative Security
The last security level prisons are known as administrative facilities.
Administrative security prison facilities are essential institutions with unique missions.
They house the following types of federal inmates;
- Inmates with severe or chronic medical conditions.
- Violent inmates
- Pretrial inmates
- Dangerous inmates
- Jailbreak prone inmates
They include;
- Federal Medical Centers – houses inmates who require serious medical assistance.
- Medical Center for Federal Prisoners – houses prisoners who have a mental illness.
- Federal Detention Centers- holds pre-trial offenders.
- Federal Transit Centers – holds prisoners awaiting transfer to another prison.
Metropolitan Correctional Centers (MTCs) houses both pre-trial detainees and sentenced inmates in a large building in a metropolitan area.
Security Points System
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is the agency that decides the security level every inmate is assigned to using their points system.
The point system considers the prisoner;
- History of violence
- Criminal history
- Time remaining on sentence
- The severity of the current conviction
- Jailbreak history
- discipline history
- Education level
- Age
Point system ranges for each security level differ for men’s and women’s prisons.
Men’s point system;
- Minimum security level- 0 -11 points
- Low-security level- 12-15 points
- Medium security level- 16-23 points
- High-security level- 24+ points
- Administrative security level- Total of all points
Women’s point system;
- Minimum security level- 0 -15 points
- Low-security level- 16-30 points
- Medium security level- N/A
- High-security level- 31+ points
- Administrative security level- Total of all points