You may want to know whether your loved one who is incarcerated has been transferred or not. You need to know whether the inmate has been transferred or not because the inmate may not inform you. So, what can you do to know it?
According to the Prison Connect blog, you have to know the system the inmate is in. Is the inmate in a state prison or in a federal institution? Or they may be in a county jail. So, here are the different systems of prison according to the Prison Connect blog.
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- Federal Prison
This is a prison which houses convicted of federal felony-level offenses, charges with federal felony-level offenses and awaiting trial, and charged and/or convicted of state felony-level offenses in Washington DC. - State Prison
This prison houses charged and/or convicted of state felony-level offenses and convicted of misdemeanor-level offenses that carry sentences exceeding one to two years. - Local/ County Jail
This jail houses convicted of misdemeanor-level offenses with terms shorter than one to two years and being detained before and during trial prior to transfer to a prison system.
- Federal Prison
If you have known the system where your inmate is incarcerated, then you are able to start your search. It is important for you to note that federal, state and county facilities have different ways for you to find inmates. Each of them has its own identification system.
If the inmate is incarcerated in the Federal prison system, there is a specific website that you are able to use to find an inmate. The website is BOP which can be accessed at https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/. If you want to find an inmate, you need the inmate’s name and/or his/ her BOP identification number. However, let’s say that your inmate is incarcerated in the State prison system. If so, there is a separate website for every state.
If your inmate is incarcerated in a local county jail, it can be more challenging. It is because the jail may not have a website for inmate searches, but it depends on the size of the county. If it does not have a website, then you are able to contact the facility.
You are able to contact the facility where the inmate was incarcerated before he is transferred. The facility may have the data about where inmates are transferred. There are also some inmate locators on the internet that you are able to use for finding an inmate. So, these methods can be used.
If you want to know where your inmate has been transferred because you use Securus for contacting the inmate, according to the Securus site, if your inmate is transferred to a site that does not have the new two-way Securus eMessaging available, the name of the inmate will leave your contact list. It also can happen if your inmate loses access to his or her tablet for any reason. If you find that your inmate’s name leaves your contact list, when you talk with them next time on the phone or when you visit them, you may want to let them know.
According to https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-01960#:~:text=Inmates%20Transferred%20to%20a%20Federal,call%20BOP%20for%20further%20assistance, you are able to find out whether an inmate is transferred to the New York State facility by using the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Inmate Locator. You are also able to call DOCCS for getting help. Here is the information about the New York State Department Of Corrections and Community Supervision.
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- Agency: New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
- Phone Number: (518) 457-8126
- Business Hours: Monday to Friday at 9 am to 5 pm
You are able to find out whether an inmate is transferred to a federal facility by using the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Inmate Locator as explained earlier and here is the information about BOP.
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- Agency: Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Phone Number: (202) 307-3198
- Business Hours: Monday to Friday at 8 am to 5 pm
The Reasons Why Inmates Are Transferred
There are a number of reasons why inmates are transferred to another prison. According to the Prisoners Families site, here are the reasons inmates are transferred to another prison.
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- The category of security of the inmates has changed.
- They need to serve their final weeks of their sentence in a prison near their home.
- Their sentence plan requires them to be able to do a course which is not available at the prison they are housed.
- They are having behaviour which is disruptive.
- They are category A inmates so that they are routinely transferred from time to time where the reason is for security reasons.
- They are being bullied so that for their own safety they are transferred to another prison.
- Their main visitor, who is their immediate family member, has a medical issue and it makes it difficult to visit the inmate so that the inmate needs to be transferred to a prison near their home.
Some Questions and Answers About Inmate Transfer
You want to know more about inmate transfers. So, here are some questions and answers about it according to the Prisoners Families site.
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- Is an inmate able to request a transfer?
An inmate is able to request a transfer through the request/complaints system. He or she can also do it on a special form which is provided by the prison to request transfers. Usually, transfers will only be considered after the inmate has served a few months at the prison that he or she wants to leave. - How long does it take for inmate transfer?
If the inmate uses the requests/ complaints system, the inmate needs to receive a response to the request within seven days. - What can an inmate do if the request is rejected?
The inmate is able to make an appeal through the request or complaints system and it is entitled to a reply from Prison Service Headquarters within six weeks. Let’s say that the inmate is still not satisfied with the reasons that are given to them. If it happens, the inmate is able to write in confidence to the Prisons Ombudsman. However, the inmate needs to do it within one month of getting the reply from Prison Service Headquarters.
- Is an inmate able to request a transfer?
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