FCI Bennettsville Details
I’m Michael Santos and our team at Prison Professors offers insight that will people who are going to FCI Bennettsville. We know a great deal about the system because we’ve been there.
The Federal Correctional Institution in Bennettsville also has an adjacent minimum-security camp. Many people in the camp serve sentences for white-collar crimes. We’ve helped people prepare for the best journey while they’re serving sentences in federal prisons. It’s crucial to learn more in order to get the best possible outcome.
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 Bennettsville. 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 FCI, Bennettsville, is a medium-security United States federal prison situated in the northeast part of South Carolina, 70 miles from Myrtle and 100 miles from Columbia. The facility holds male individuals and has an adjacent satellite minimum-security camp. The camp, which is situated on the right-hand side of the main institution, also features a warehouse facility, maintenance, and a mechanical garage. Currently, the facility has 1700 people, with 150 of them being in the satellite camp.
Bennettsville FCI sits on 670 acres, with 50 of the land within an enclosed perimeter wall. Its central unit comprises three big housing units with a total capacity of 500 beds. Each of these dorms consists of four floors and four pods of sleeping space. The satellite camp has 160 person capacity dormitories.
The age between those in prison ranges between 20 years to 86 years. The average sentence for people in Bennettsville is 143 months or approximately 12 years.
This facility began its operations in 1989, where it served only as a jail camp. It was not until a year later when it was converted to a Federal Correctional Institution. The facility mainly hosts individuals guilty of white-collar fraud.
Notable Inmates
Each Federal Bureau of Prisons facility has hosted and continues to host high-profile individuals. The individual below is arguably the most notable person ever to serve time in this facility:
Troy Titus
Troy Titus, a former lawyer and a real estate investor is currently serving a 30-year sentence for multiple fraud schemes. He faced accusations of masterminding a Ponzi scheme to defraud investors leading to the misappropriation of funds amounting to $10 million.
Inmates Daily Life
Personal Hygiene
The administration provides the items necessary for the maintenance of personal hygiene. These items include toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, razors, and soap. Similar products are also available for purchase from the commissary. In addition, the administration has no restriction on one’s hair length. However, the hair must remain neat and clean.
Individuals have access to a barbershop. The shop’s operating hours are available in each of the housing units and at the Barber Shop.
Limit on Personal Property
The facility has restrictions on the number of items people can have with them in the cells for security and cleanliness reasons. These restrictions are in place to prevent extra personal items from accumulating, which may act as a fire hazard or obstruct staff searches.
The prison commissary may replace any personal property that was legal at the time of admission but has since been rendered illegal. However, medical equipment and release garments are the sole exceptions to the restrictions. The individuals in incarceration keep personal belongings, as well as commissary goods, in the lockers within their cells. However, the facility prohibits boxes, wooden objects, or paper or plastic bags within the living quarters. Individuals are responsible for safeguarding their own belongings.
Legal materials
Individuals can keep legal documents in their lockers. However, the documents must relate to the current case. Any person who shows a need for extra document possession in connection with a continuing lawsuit may get temporary storage space and possession by staff.
Commissary Services
Deposits to Commissary
People from outside the facility deposit funds into commissary accounts via the mail to the National Lockbox or through Western Union. The sender must include the name and registration number of the individual in incarceration in all the deposits. In case these details are missing, the authorities return the negotiable instruments to the sender.
All envelopes to the National Lockbox must have the following address:
- Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Name of the individual in prison
- Registration Number
- O. Box 474701
- Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001
You must not include any personal letters or goods since the administration will not forward them to the target individual. To guarantee the safety of your money in the event the individual rejects it, include your name and return address on the top corner.
Moreover, there is the option of sending money through the MoneyGram Express Payment Program. Payments through this program reflect in the account of the receiver within 2-4 hours. The facility only accepts funds in cash that they receive through the Money Gram Express Payment option. Therefore, the sender has to make a cash deposit at a Money Gram Agent.
Withdrawal of Funds from the Commissary
Requests for Withdrawal from the Personal Funds account of the person in prison are the responsibility of the Financial Management Department within one week of receipt. All withdrawal forms take place via the TRULINCS system. However, those in Special Housing Units must fill a BP-199 form for a successful withdrawal. Additionally, those in prison have the freedom to send personal money to recipients on the approval list. As a result, the recipient has to be confirmed as an approved person by the PSI, background check, or unit personnel through phone calls or correspondence.
This process is in place to prevent criminal behavior from continuing. Therefore, the management allows withdrawals for transferring money to family members, friends, dependents, and postage, court charges, attorney fees, birth certificates, emergency bedside visits, funeral travels, legal books, legal copies, and education, and other purposes.
To learn more about the money sending endeavor in federal facilities, check out this resourceful article we have published on our site for you:
Commissary Policies
The commissary has several policies and procedures that guide its operation. These policies include:
- Prices may change at any time without notice.
- Every sale is final.
- All ice cream flavors will not always be available. The commissary changes the flavors regularly.
- Individuals can only shop once a week and on their designated shopping day.
The amount an individual can spend on regular purchases per month can be up to $360. Here are the allowed items in federal facilities:
Security Procedures
Counts
The process of accountability of individuals is one of the first realities of prison life. The jail personnel counts the people regularly in all federal facilities, including FCI Bennettsville. During a count, individuals must remain silent in their chamber until after the count. Counts happen daily between 4:00 and 10:00 p.m., where those in incarceration stand by their bedside for the official counts.
Additionally, an extra standing count happens at 10:00 a.m. on holidays and weekends. At any moment, further standing counts may be called. Moreover, the officers responsible for housing units conduct census checks in quarters between 8:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except during holidays and weekends.
Two-Hour Watch Program
In addition to their ordinary identity card, individuals in this program get a unique identification card that must always be in their possession at all times.
These people must find a supervisor in their area of allocation during the following times of the day: 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Programs and Services
Education Programs
The Education Department at Bennettsville operates on the premise that all people with the need and capability can sign up for a learning program. Below is a list of the education programs that the facility offers and activities available for these individuals:
- General Educational Development (GED) Program.
- English as a Second Language (ESL) Program.
- Vocational Training programs.
- Post-secondary degree program.
- Adult Continuing Education (ACE) programs.
- Parenting program.
The Literacy Coordinator questions new members shortly after their arrival at Bennettsville to assess their suitable educational requirements and programs of interest.
Recreational Programs
The Recreation Department FCI Bennettsville encourages all individuals to engage in the department’s activities and programs. They encourage them to participate and put their time to good use via leisure time programs. The objectives of the Recreation Department are to decrease personal stress, institutional tension, engage the mind, and improve physical fitness while in incarceration. The intramural programs include basketball, soccer, fitness program, and board games.
Music Programs
The music programs entail bands, self-taught practice sessions, and instructive “How to” books.
Drums, congas, non-acoustic guitars, amplifiers, speakers, brass instruments, microphones, and cables make up the musical instruments.
Psychology Services
In Receiving & Discharge area (R&D), all individuals have to fill out a Psychology Services Intake Questionnaire (PSIQ). The intake interview’s goal is to collect information and evaluate the individual’s present mental health.
Afterward, the psychologist produces a short written report after the interview. The staff maintains a copy of the report in the person’s psychological file and sends another to the unit team.
Referrals
To self-refer to the Psychological Department, a person must complete an Inmate Request to Staff form (cop-out) addressed to the Psychology Department or psychology staff and leave it down in the unit’s dropbox. In case of an emergency, those in incarceration should inform any staff member that they need urgent assistance.
A staff member may recommend a person to the Psychology Department if they think the inmate might benefit from psychological therapy. Counseling is generally optional. However, psychological staff will take necessary measures when the individual presents a danger to himself, others, or the institution’s safety and security.
