What To Expect When You Turn Yourself In:

When you get to Devens, you will need to report to the Medical Center building. This is a medium security prison which houses over 1000 inmates whereas the Camp holds 124. The Medical building is where you will be processed and examined, and where you will wait for an open bunk at the Camp. Some inmates are lucky and go directly to the camp the day they arrive. Others spend time waiting in what the BOP refers to as the “Special Housing Unit”, otherwise fondly known as “The Hole”. These holding cells are tiny concrete spaces with two bunks, a toilet, sink and a shower spout sticking out of the wall. The hole sounds much like solitary confinement, although you may have a roommate while you are there. These cells are also used as a disciplinary tactic. Once in the camp, inmates who don’t want to go to the hole remain on their best behavior. While you are here, you may not be able to use the phone or get things like paper and stamps for contacting your family for several days. You will be able to get mail, and will eventually have an opportunity to put together a phone and visitors list.

If you are on any medication, bring enough with you for at least a couple of weeks. Be sure to tell the physician who examines you about any physical needs you may have. You should also make them aware of any dietary restrictions you may have. . Other than your medication, some cash, and a form of ID, your wedding ring and a necklace with a religious pendant on it, don’t bring anything else with you!! The clothes and shoes you are wearing will be mailed to your family later. This is not a country club!! Leave your golf clubs at home!!

Once You Get To Camp:

Once you are at the camp you will be assigned a bunk and a locker. You will get some basic clothing and grooming items. You may want to bring at least $100 dollars with you when you first turn yourself in so that you can buy some sneakers and normal toothpaste (the prison offers tooth powder without cost to you) once you get to camp. You will have an opportunity to fill out a form to order things from the commissary list such as additional clothing, grooming supplies and snacks. Commissary forms are handed out on Saturdays and have to be turned in on Tuesdays. Commissary items are delivered on Wednesdays. You will have an account set up with which your commissary and phone calls will be deducted.

The camp has dirt track, a basketball court, a baseball field, a small gym with a couple of treadmills and a Stairmaster, a couple of ping pong tables, and a chapel. You will be allowed to wander the camp grounds until 9pm curfew, and after 6 am. You are not allowed to talk to anyone other than other inmates and prison personnel while you are outside. Count times are at midnight, 3am, 5am, 4pm and 9pm. There is a 10am count on weekends. Other random counts may be ordered as well. Inmates need to be at their bunks for count.

There are a few televisions which require a head set to listen to, which can be purchased through the commissary. There are a few games, a library and movies on the weekends. All inmates will eventually be assigned a job. There are several different types of jobs and schedules. None are very interesting and few require any amount of intelligence or skill to do. The average starting wage is 12 cents per hour, which should go directly into your account once a month. These are non-taxable wages. As for educational programs and opportunities—don’t count on it. There are classes from time to time, but they are very basic and not usually taken seriously.


Visits

Visiting hours are Friday from 1pm to 8pm and Saturday, Sunday and Federal Holidays from 8am to 3pm. Your visitors can stay the entire time if they would like. Visitors cannot arrive for a visit during count time. On Fridays visitors will want to stay away from the 3:15 to 4:10 window, and weekends from 9:15 to 10:10. Once a visitor visits and leaves, they are not permitted to return for another visit on the same day. If a visitor comes while you is at work, you will be excused from work. Visitors will need to hand over their drivers license, fill out a form and sign a log book before each visit. They will need your register number, as well as the year, make, model and plate number of the vehicle they arrive in. They cannot bring anything for you. This includes food, books, money, etc. There are vending machines in the visiting area. Visitors may purchase food and soft drinks for themselves and you to consume in the visiting area. Very limited and “tasteful” physical contact is allowed during a visit, but hugs and kisses are permitted only once upon arrival and departure of the visitor. Cell phones and pagers are not allowed in the visiting areas. Immediate family members may be able to visit before the visiting list is approved. Otherwise, you will have to send visiting forms to friends and family to fill out. You will be notified once someone is approved, and it is your responsibility to let the visitor know they are approved and what the rules and visiting hours are, etc.


Mail

Your friends and family are going to want to send you things to make your stay more comfortable. However, the rules are very strict when it comes to mail. Here’s what you can receive: letters, cards, photos, soft cover books, magazines and checks and money orders. Checks and money orders need to be made out to you and must include your register number. Money orders go through a lot faster than checks. You never actually see these thing, as your mail is opened before you get it and the money goes straight into your account. You will get a receipt, but it won’t specify the name of the sender. It will likely be in the envelope it came in though, so you can tell who sent it. The persons who open the mail are not very careful. They usually slice a good portion of the top of the envelopes off, sometimes removing part of your letters. Ask your friends to fold letters so that there is an empty space along the top of the envelope. They will also staple right through the center of your photographs most of the time. So ask friends and family not to send any photographs that are not replaceable. You will also be able to receive hardcover books if they are ordered through a place like Amazon or Borders. That is it. No stamps, paper, food or anything else can be mailed to you.

Phone Calls

Once your account has some money in it, you will want to have a list of friends and family to call from. You will need the names, addresses and phone numbers of these people. You may want to put the list together ahead of time so that a family member can mail it to you once you get to Devens. You will be allowed 300 minutes of phone time per month and sometimes additional minutes during the holidays. Each call is a maximum of 15 minutes long. When your friend answers your call, they will hear a recorded voice telling them “this call is from a federal prison.” They will then be prompted to accept or refuse the call. Just in case you forget where you are, there is another message 6 minutes into the call! There is a one minute warning “click” and then it hangs up on you. If you run out of money in you phone account, you will get the same warning click before the call is disconnected. If people on your list use call forwarding or answer call waiting during your call, YOU will get into trouble. Make sure they know the rules. Calls cost 10 cents per minute. You cannot call collect, you can’t use 800 numbers or calling cards. –So having some money in your account is essential if you like to talk on the phone.

Directions to Devens

Route 2 to the Jackson Rd./ Devens exit (37B)
Take your second right onto Patton Rd.
The Medical Center is the first building on your right
The camp is just past a wooden stockade fence on the right

Please note:
This document is not from the Bureau of Prisons. It is written by me through my husband’s and my experience with his stay at the Devens Camp. Rules may change (as they have many times in months Rob has been there) and your experience may be quite different from ours. I wrote this as a basic guide so that you and your family may have a better idea of what to expect than we did. I hope it helps. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions through our email address: freerobrothberg@lycos.com.

Shannon Rothberg.