Learn about FCI Bastrop
I’m Michael Santos and I served 26 years in federal prison. While incarcerated, I learned a great deal about how prisons like FCI Bastrop operate.
Today we have a team of formerly incarcerated people. Together, we strive to help others learn how to prepare for the best outcome during imprisonment.
We are fully aware of the hardships a person is likely to experience in prison. However, we also know how to encourage, restore strength and confidence by offering beneficial information about federal prisons, including FCI Bastrop.
At Prison Professors, we offer dependable guidance people can use to live through prison and leave as better citizens no matter where they serve their time.
The Federal Correctional Institution Bastrop is a low-security institution for male offenders located in the Western Texas judicial district, Bastrop County. The total incarcerated person population is 975, with 875 of them at the FCI and 97 at the adjacent minimum security satellite camp. It is run and operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the South Central Region Division.
The facility was opened in 1979 and is located eight miles north of the city of Bastrop and 30 miles southeast of Austin.
The incarcerated individuals at the FCI facility are quartered in two-person cells within one of the five available dormitories. On the other hand, those in the camp are quartered in dormitories.
Notable Imprisoned Individuals
Convicted for different crimes, some recognizable individuals have been held within the walls of FCI Bastrop over the years. The following feature in this list:
- Sam Hurd
In 2013, the former NFL player pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. This was connected to his attempt to form a drug ring in Chicago, Illinois, dealing in cocaine and marijuana. He was sentenced to 15 years and is scheduled to be released on 30th August 2025.
- Chris Lamprecht
The computer hacker is widely known as the first person legally barred from using the internet, and in 1995 he pleaded guilty to money laundering after stealing and selling telecommunications equipment. He was released in 2000 after serving a five-year sentence.
- Richard Causey
At the time, chief accountant of the now Defunct Enron Corporation, he misled shareholders about the company’s financial problems before its 2001 collapse. He pleaded guilty to Securities fraud and served a four-year sentence, being released in 2011.
Services and Programs
While federal facilities adopt a corrective approach towards rehabilitating incarcerated individuals, they also significantly empower them. For instance, individuals at FCI Bastrop access a variety of beneficial programs and services. Such include the following:
Health Services
Incarcerated persons receive dental care, physical examination, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic and infectious diseases and access prescription drugs as advised by the available health practitioners. For non-emergency services, incarcerated persons are expected to submit a sick call form for a fee of 2$ charged to the incarcerated person Commissary Account per visit. The facility also has a 24-hour emergency medical service at the disposal of the incarcerated individuals.
Psychological and Mental Health Services
Individuals at FCI Bastrop receive counseling and other mental health services. Ideally, the facility has onsite psychologists with offices inside the institution and at the camp. These professionals help develop and run counseling programs, including group therapy and substance abuse programs. They also offer personal therapy and, even better, through a referral from the psychologist, psychiatric services are also available to the affected persons.
Drug Abuse Programs
Various drug abuse interventions are available at both the FCI Bastrop and the satellite camp. These include a Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), a drug abuse education course, a Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP), and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).
Education Programs
Among the education programs offered at FCI Bastrop are GED, English-as-a-Second Language (ESL), Adult Continuing Education (ACE), and special needs programs.
Through paid correspondence, high school diplomas and post-secondary programs are also offered.
Individuals at the FCI facility can also receive Advanced Occupational Education in culinary arts, horticulture, building trades, and oil and gas field technical courses.
Apprenticeship
The apprenticeship programs offered at the FCI Bastrop include baking, carpentry, painting, maintenance and repair, quality control, electrical maintenance, heating, and A/C installation and servicing and dental assistant apprenticeships.
The camp offers heating and A/C installer, stationery engineer, and welding apprenticeships.
Library Services
Part of the Education Department is a leisure and law library. All legal materials are available in the law library, while the leisure library avails newspapers, books, and magazines to be read during free time.
Incarcerated person clerks are usually available to aid in research and preparation.
UNICOR
The UNICOR factory at FCI Bastrop retrofits vehicles for other government agencies.
Commissary Services
Incarcerated individuals can purchase items at the institution commissary using funds in their accounts. Their loved ones r any other credible community contact can fund their accounts through the authorized avenues.
They are allowed to spend as much as 180$ fortnightly for commissary and special purchase orders. However, withdrawals for education and leisure time items can go up to 320$ as approved by the education supervisor.
To learn about how you can send commissary money at FCI Bastrop, you can check out this article that we have specially prepared for you:
Even better, you can get a complete guide on the allowed commissary items in federal facilities here:
Recreation
All federal prisons, including FCI Bastrop, give imprisoned persons some recreational time and even better facilitate some of them. In this facility, these individuals can participate in a variety of indoor and outdoor recreational activities. The prison has a recreational yard, a gym, a hobby craft shop, and a weight area where the incarcerated person can participate in the activities of their choice. These include weight-lifting, basketball, volleyball, soccer, board games, and cards, among many others.
Visitation at FCI Bastrop
Individuals are allowed to visit their loved ones at FCI Bastrop. However, the visits are conducted in an orderly manner, following a very strict schedule, and there are strict rules that must be followed. In this facility, visitation entails the following process:
Locating a Loved One
Before setting off on the journey to see a loved one, it is important to determine whether they are still located at the facility. This is because there are situations where an incarcerated person is moved to a different facility for different reasons including, to be part of unique programs not on offer at the facility, to be treated for a medical condition, due to security concerns, among many others. Therefore it is prudent to know where a loved one is housed before visiting them.
Getting Approved
To be able to visit an incarcerated person, you must have received clearance from the BOP. This happens when an incarcerated person successfully places you in their list of potential visitors.
Ideally, when an incarcerated person arrives at a federal correctional facility, they create a visiting list via the following process:
- The incarcerated person receives a visitor information form on arrival
- The incarcerated person fills in their portion of the form, then mails a copy to every potential visitor
- Potential visitor fills in their part of the form fields
- Potential visitor resends completed form back to the incarcerated person
- The facility will then perform a background check on the suggested visitor
- The incarcerated person is then notified of individuals on his list who failed to obtain approval, and it is upon them to notify said individuals of the same.
The following is a list of people the incarcerated person could potentially add to their visitors’ list;
Immediate family:
- Father
- Mother
- Foster parent(s)
- Step-parent(s)
- Spouse
- Children
- Brothers
- Sisters
Relatives:
- Grandparents
- Uncles
- Aunts
- In-laws
- Cousins
Other types of approved visitors:
- Attorneys
- Parole advisors
- Members of religious groups
- No more than ten friends/associates
- Sponsors
- Foreign officials(foreign, non-U.S. citizens can meet officials from their home countries
Preparation
Before visiting FCI Bastrop, it is important to be familiar with the visiting rules, regulations, and procedures to ensure that the visit goes smoothly and without incidents. The following are some important matters to be familiar with:
Dress Code
Modest dressing is important when among groups comprising of different genders and ages, that is, men, women, and children. Provocative and revealing dressing may result in denial to see your loved one. The following clothing is generally not permitted in this facility;
- Revealing shorts
- Bathing suits
- Crop tops
- Halter tops
- Hats or caps
- Sleeveless garments
- See-through garments
- Low-cut blouses or dresses
- Leotards
- Spandex
- Miniskirts
- Backless tops
- Skirts with two inches or more above the knee
- Dresses or skirts with a high-cut split in the back, front, or side
- Clothing that looks like incarcerated person clothing(khaki or green military-type clothing)
Visitation Duration
According to law, an incarcerated person should receive a minimum of four hours of visiting time per month, but it can be more at the discretion of an individual prison.
The warden, however, can restrict visit length and the number of people visiting at the same time to prevent overcrowding at the visiting room.
General Behaviour
It is usually expected that visits will be quiet, orderly, and conducted in a dignified manner. If this is not the case, the visiting room officer is at liberty to halt the visit.
Physical contact
At FCI Bastrop, handshakes, hugs, and kisses are allowed at the beginning and end of the visit. However, contact may be restricted to prevent attempts to smuggle in contraband and maintain order in the visiting area. Like in other federal correctional facilities, conjugal visits are not allowed.
Planning your Trip
After going through all visitation requirements, you must then find out when to visit and how to get to the facility.
Visiting schedule
Federal prisons mostly have their visiting hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and some have them at other times over the week. At FCI Bastrop, social visits are allowed from Friday to Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and on federal holidays, as stipulated by the warden. Entry after 2:00 p.m. is not allowed as visitors should be getting ready to leave by then.
Visits to the satellite camp happen on Saturdays and Sundays, between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., with entry also not allowed past 2:00 p.m.
Special housing unit visits are held every Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, with entry not allowed past 9:00 a.m. For the special or after-hours visits, you have to get the approval of the relevant administration.
How to get to the facility
Transportation to and from the facility is a personal prerogative as the government does not offer any payment or refund for the same. You can, however, contact prison staff for questions and directions.
