A Guide To Surviving Prison Life
For those facing a possible jail term, the world may abruptly turn upside down. Everything in life would seem as though they’re falling apart, with no hope for tomorrow. This is a depressing situation that prospective convicts commonly face.
In an attempt to help suppress the anxiety and fear that comes with the prospects of a jail term, we have compiled this guide specifically for you or your loved one. This guide explores the realities of prison life and shares tips on how to survive life in prison.
Our goal is to give you an idea of what awaits you at the prison facility and give you insights into how you can make your time there more bearable. Read on to learn everything you need to know about surviving life in prison. To enlighten you further, we have attached links to trustworthy sources to ensure you access as much valuable information as possible.
Life in Prison Help
Before we dig in, we’d like to introduce our personalized assistance to individuals who need extra help preparing for prison. If you’d like these services, please go through our services page for prison consultations. There, we provide valuable resources on prison preparation, in-prison topics, and assistance pages for family members.
Surviving Prison: An Approach To Adapting to Prison Life
Our objective is to provide information for inmates, prospective inmates, and their loved ones. We aim to encourage them to make good decisions and positive choices in the prison context. The main challenge is that adapting to prison life is a process that takes time, commitment, resilience, and experience to be able to make good decisions while in jail.
To speed up this process, accessing quality information and acting on what you read is vital. This prepares you for the unfamiliar prison life before you begin serving your time. It also helps you build resilience and favorable resolutions to adapt to the new prison environment and deal with the challenges stoically. That is where a detailed survival guide to prison comes in handy.
First Day In Prison
Your first day in prison is undoubtedly one of those experiences that you’ll remember for a long time. While the experience may vary from one prison to another, the first-time admission process is usually the same in all facilities. Here’s an overview of what to expect on your first day in federal prison.
Upon arrival at the demand or correctional facility, you’ll be taken to the Receiving and Discharge (R&D) center. At the R&D, your possessions will be examined and assessed to determine what you should keep or not.
You’ll be issued with a set of prison clothes and have your mugshot and fingerprints taken. You’ll then be issued with a prisoner’s identity card. This is no different from a jail booking process, and it marks the start of your first day in prison.
Admission and Orientation
Once the booking is made, officials from different departments will conduct some admission interviews and provide orientation for all incoming inmates.
This helps the administration understand every individual prisoner’s needs, whether they are fit for prison, which housing arrangements suit them, and medical or safety concerns that should be dealt with before being integrated into the general population.
They’ll also assess and determine if any medical conditions require specialized care. The next step is being issued with beddings and hygiene items such as a pair of bed sheets, blankets, undergarments, and toiletries.
The new arrivals will then be assigned sleeping bunks in specific housing units. If there is limited space in these units, then you can be taken into Special Housing Units, where you’ll stay for the time being as you wait for a resolution.
How to Get Acquainted New Cellmates
Entering a prison housing unit on your first day in jail is an unsettling experience. It is when the reality of life in jail settles in, and it can come with painful emotions.
In most federal prisons, there are usually two cellmates per cell, and the prospect of living is strange with questionable characters. To build a good rapport with your new cellmates, you should be sure to knock before entering your new cell.
Once inside, courteously greet your new cellmates. Respectfully and firmly introduce yourself to create a friendly impression, then locate and settle on your bunk.
If you want to avoid trouble and dwell in harmony with your new neighbors, you should follow the instructions, corrections, and directions of the most experienced cellmates.
Being polite and respectful is good, but don’t let anyone get the wrong impression to attempt to take advantage of you.
How To Talk to Prison Guards
One undeniable fact about prison life is that you’ll interact and talk with everyone, guards included. However, the politics of prison sometimes make this issue quite complicated.
While there is no sound advice on how you can approach this issue given its complexity and the fact that it calls for different approaches, there are some tips, which if you apply, can go a long way in helping you steer clear of trouble or get out of it.
The first law of prison life is never to snitch. No matter what happens, never tell on a fellow inmate. You should never under any circumstances mention the name of a fellow inmate within a guard’s earshot unless the inmate in question has given you the go-ahead.
Prison life and politics are harsh and cruel. Nobody cares about your conscience or virtues, and whether they sit well with you or not, you should always adhere to the unwritten rules of the prison. This will help you avoid unnecessary trouble and save your skin.
Also, always mind your business. If you were unfortunate enough to witness something that the prison authorities should be aware of, mind your own business and don’t say anything. It is the guards’ duty to investigate and unravel any misconduct, not you.
Never hang out with the guards, no matter how approachable they may be. Even if you’re not a snitch, being close to the guards only serves to create the wrong impression to your fellow inmates. The last thing you want to deal with is being labeled a snitch even if you’re not and being treated with hostility.
Overall, regard correctional officers with respect, be polite with them, be professional but don’t be their friend. While this won’t get you any favors or rewards from the administration, it will keep your reputation among your fellow inmates intact and save your skin.
Prison Food: What Inmates Eat
And now onto the most crucial question: what you eat in prison. Contrary to what you see on TV shows and movies depicting the pathetic food inmates live on in prisons, inmates at most federal bureau of prisons facilities are typically fed on three nutritious meals a day.
Meals are usually served in a large dining cafeteria known as the “chow hall,” where the whole prison population gathers at specific meal times. The food served in prison is usually prepared by inmates assigned to Food Service.
These inmates are tasked with cooking and serving the food, although they do everything under the supervision of correctional officers. The select guards who supervise them also have background knowledge in foodservice.
As an inmate, you don’t choose the food you’re served. The same portion is given to inmates without discrimination. Yours is to wait for your turn as the kitchen inmates serve similar portions on different trays for inmates.
All meals are served according to the same standard size. If you still feel hungry after eating, you cannot be served twice. Most federal prisons have meal cards or ID scanners to check if you have eaten more than once. This is a severe offense that may earn you an incident report for stealing according to Code 219 of the prison code of conduct.
While you can’t have everything you want or how much you want, you will be provided with enough food to survive prison life. Additionally, you can purchase food from the prison commissary if you have money in your trust fund or any inmate’s commissary account.
Prison Toilets and Showers
When it comes to toilets, there is always one toilet per prison cell. If you’re staying in a cell, you can consider using the restroom when your cellmate is out. In case of emergency, you can hang a sheet up for privacy if the door is locked and you need to use the restroom. For short calls, you can use the bathroom when a cellmate is present.
Prison Showers
Prison showering facilities are typically the same in the dorm and in cell-based housing (some cells have them). Typically, showers are made of the same single-head design to enable the inmate to close a shower curtain or a swinging door to maintain privacy.
In some instances, shower rooms consist of a single room with four or more shower heads which allow several prisoners to use at the same time.
Although prison showering facilities have been stereotyped to depict sexual and violent crime scenes, this is not always the case. Showers are often heavily guarded by guards while in use, and such incidents tend to be rare.
However, shower fights tend to be a common occurrence in prisons, and if you find yourself in an awkward position, the best thing to do is mind your own business, finish up and leave. Never get involved in a fight, no matter the extent of the provocation.
Prison Laundry, Clothing and Bedding
On personal hygiene and grooming, many tend to think prisoners wear prison uniforms all the time. On the contrary, the Federal Bureau of Prisons usually provides inmates with presentable clothing besides the prison uniform. They’re also provided with the necessary beddings and other items thru need for their daily survival. They include:
- A couple of pair of socks
- Underwear
- Khaki pants and button shirts
- Winter jacket
- Black boots
- Slip-on shoes
- Towels
- Blankets
- Bedsheets
- Washrug
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Tissue paper
- A bar of soap
- Body oil or lotion
On laundry, an executive order 13423, issued in 2011 by President Obama, directed all federal agencies to reduce water consumption by at least 2 percent per annum.
This led to the mass phasing out of standard washing machines by most federal prisons and replacing them with large, commercial washing machines and dryers.
As is the case with food service, some Inmates are assigned to the Laundry Service, whose job is to wash prisoners’ clothes on specific washing days.
Each inmate at a federal prison is usually issued with two towels, two washcloths, two bedsheets, and two blankets. If you wish to clean your beddings, you can put them in a laundry bag and drop them at the Laundry Service for washing. You’ll then be issued with new beddings.
Prison Commissary
Federal and state prisons allow inmates to have a prison commissary to buy essential items for their daily use. You can earn money by doing paid jobs in the prison facility such as teaching, nursing prison babies, etc.
Note that from these jobs, you are paid a small commission, not an average salary. Furthermore, you can receive money from family or friends who can deposit some amount of money into your inmate’s commissary account to spend per month.
Overall, essential items you can purchase at the commissary include mostly foodstuffs, stationery, toiletries, and entertainment items such as a radio or music player.
Religion in Prison
Generally, a prison term is meant to cut off most of an individual’s natural and constitutional rights of freedom. However, freedom of worship remains essentially permitted in all federal and state prisons. In these facilities, prisoners are allowed to conduct individual or group l fellowship programs and activities of the progressed faith.
Inmates are also permitted to worship alone in their cells, but group worship should be held at the prison chapel. Most federal and state prisons have religious libraries. Worship time is permitted on specific days of worship, e.g., Saturdays for Jewish believers, Sundays for Christians, and Fridays for Muslims. Special group fellowships are also allowed under different circumstances.