Aliceville Correctional Facility

Aliceville FCI, also known as Aliceville Federal Correctional Institute, is a low-security women’s federal prison that also has an adjacent minimum security camp. There are approximately 1,200 female inmates housed in the main prison and 250 in the minimum security camp.

The prison and adjacent camp are located in Pickens County, Alabama, and operated by the Southeast Region of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It became operational in 2013, and it is the first federal women’s prison built in Alabama.

Inmates housed at the main facility are in cells, while those in the camp are housed in dormitories. There is also a Special Housing Unit (SHU) that houses inmates in cells.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Visiting hours are on Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Each inmate is allowed a maximum of five adults per visit and no more than five children. All minors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Authorized visitors who can visit an inmate include family, friends, and associates. Relationships must be verifiable, and if you are not immediate family, you can't visit unless the inmate puts you on the visiting list.

As a rule, the inmate’s immediate family (parents, siblings, spouses, and children) will automatically be put on an inmate’s visiting list as soon as they are admitted into Aliceville FCI. Everyone else must fill out a visitor form, and they must have a relationship with the inmate prior to incarceration. If a potential visitor does not have a prior relationship with the inmate, their request will be reviewed by the warden.

Once the inmate requests to add someone to their visit list, a correctional counselor will provide them with a visiting form, and the inmate is responsible for mailing these out and letting the potential visitor know that they need to fill out the form and return it to the institution staff.

The unit team will determine if a visitor application is approved, and they make their decision based on constructive and security factors. The process takes about a week, and the unit staff will notify the inmate when the requested visitor is approved or refused  It is the inmate’s responsibility to notify the visitor of the decision, and the process is the same for both adult and minor visitors.

All visitors are subject to a visual and pat search by an officer. You will also be scanned by a metal detector and stamped with a stamp that can be detected by blacklight. Any item you bring into the facility will be opened and searched by a staff member, and anyone who refuses a search of themselves or their property will not be allowed to visit with the inmate.

The only items you are allowed to bring into a visit are:

• A clear plastic purse or bag (no wallets)
• Prescription medicine that will be kept at the officers’ station
• A clear plastic diaper bag
• Sealed baby food
• Plastic baby bottles
• Baby formula/milk
• Baby lotion and powder
• Small Blanket
• Change of clothes for a baby
• Diapers
• Baby Wipes

You can bring up to $20 in change to the visiting room to use for vending machines, but all other property must be left in your vehicle. You cannot bring any food items into the visit.

You must bring a valid photo ID with you to the visit, like a state or federal ID card, driver's license, current passport, or resident alien card. Birth certificates are not valid forms of ID.

The dress code for visits is as follows:

• No shirts that are low cut or revealing, no tank tops, no tube tops, or halter tops.
• No clothes that are see-through, extremely tight, or reveal the mid drift.
• No sleeveless or strapless dresses, no swimsuits.
• No bandanas, doo-rags, camouflage, military clothing, or clothing that resembles security uniforms.
• No gang or obscene or distracting messages, shapes or designs.
• No coats or jackets and sweatshirts, raincoats or other outer garments.
• No hats except as religiously recognized.
• No sunglasses or excessive jewelry.
• No open-toed shoes, flip-flops, house shoes, or slippers.
• No shorts.
• No sleeveless shirts.
• No khaki or orange-colored clothing resembling an inmate.
• No skirts above the knee.

There is no limit on the amount of mail that inmates receive, but all correspondence must have the inmates complete name, registration number, facility name, and address.

You can only send cards or letters to these addresses. Paperback books and magazines must come directly from the publisher via a subscription or mail order.

Inmates cannot receive packages through the mail, with the exception of a package of release day clothing. You can't send the release day package until 30 days prior to the scheduled release date.

How to Call an Inmate

Federal inmates are not allowed to have cellphones and they can't receive inbound calls. They can make outbound calls during approved hours, and they must pay for them with the money that is on their personal account or call collect.

Local calls cost $.06 cents per minute, long distance calls are approximately $0.21 per minute, calls to Mexico are $0.55 per minute, and calls to Canada or $0.35 per minute. All other international calls cost $0.99 per minute.

There could possible be connection fees that range between .06 to $0.38 per minute for local calls and $.56 per minute for long distance

Inmates will use TRULINCS to make call to both landline and cell phones. This is also how inmates are able to send and receive emails. Your number must be added to the contact list for approval.

All phone calls are limited to 15 minutes, and will be monitored and recorded.

How to Send Money

Sending money is one of most important things you can do for an inmate. The prison will issue each prisoner the minimum amount of clothing and hygiene items, and provide them with three meals a day. But, it is extremely difficult for prisoners to have any level of comfort when living with just the items that are prison-issued.

Inmates can receive outside funds while incarcerated at a BOP-managed facility, which are deposited into their commissary accounts.

Postal Service
For federal prisoners, you can send money through the United States Postal Service by MONEY ORDER to the following address:

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Inmate Name
Eight-Digit Register Number
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

Send the funds to the address above. Replace the second line with the inmate's valid, full committed name. Replace the third line with the inmate's eight digit register number. Never send money directly to the prison. If you are using the postal service, you must always send your money order to the bureau of prisons using the above address.

MoneyGram
You can send an inmate funds electronically using MoneyGram's Express Payment Program.
To send funds using this method, please read and follow these steps carefully:

1. Wait until an inmate has physically arrived at a Aliceville FCI.

2. Gather the information you'll need. Which includes the inmate’s name and number.

3. Visit moneygram.com to complete your payment.

Information needed to complete MoneyGram payment:

1. Account Number: Inmate's eight-digit register number with no spaces or dashes, followed immediately by the inmate's last name (example: 12345678DOE).

2. Company Name: Federal Bureau of Prisons

3. City & State: Washington, DC

4. Receive Code is always: 7932

5. Beneficiary: Inmate's full committed name

Western Union

If you would like to see a sample Western Union form click here. On their website, they have a special form for sending money to inmates, and you go directly to it by clicking here.

You will need to know the inmate’s full name and number, and you can pay with a debit or credit card at westernunion.com.

Remember, any time you send money to an inmate you must always include their name and registration number on everything.

There are a few things that inmates can spend their money on. This includes phone calls, emails, magazine subscriptions, and commissary.  The commissary is the prison store, where inmates can buy things like beverages, meals and snacks, OTC medications, stationary, personal hygiene items, clothing, or other miscellaneous products.

Please be aware that prisoners have their own economy inside the prison walls just like we do in the real world. Inmates that have a lot of money can do a lot of things both legal and illegal. Prisoners can potentially use the money in their account to buy things for other inmates in exchange for drugs and paraphernalia. This activity is illegal and can get an inmate in a lot of trouble.

Is important to keep track of how much money you are sending your incarcerated loved one, and watch out for any suspicious behavior. There is a $360 spend limit per month for each inmate.

​Programs For ​Inmates

DRUG ABUSE

• Drug Education Classes
• Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP)

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

• Literacy
• GED and GED Prep classes
• Spanish Language GED
• English-As-A-Second Language (ESL)
• Special learning needs program
• Adult Continuing Education (ACE) and parenting classes
• Release preparation
• Tutors available to teach job searching, resume writing, budgeting, and buying a home
• High School Diplomas and post-secondary programs are also available through paid correspondence programs
• Vocational training in carpentry and electrical
• Apprenticeship Training in carpentry, electrician, HVAC, and plumbing
• Aliceville FCI also offers both Law Library Services (electronically) and Leisure Library Services.

Pictures of Aliceville Correctional Facility

Careers at Aliceville Correctional Facility