Federal Correctional Complex - Pollock

The Pollock Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Pollock) is a federal prison complex for male prisoners located in Louisiana, and it contains both the Federal Correctional Institution, Pollock (FCI Pollock) and United States Penitentiary, Pollock (USP Pollock).

FCI Pollock is a medium-security federal correctional institution for male offenders, and USP Pollock is a high-security facility with an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp.

Inmates at FCI Pollock and USP Pollock are housed in one or two-person cells. Inmates at the camp are housed in dormitories.

Notable former inmates who served time at FCC Pollock include Gene Gotti, a caporegime of the Gambino crime family and brother of John Gotti. He was convicted in 1989 of running a multi-million dollar heroin ring, and he served 29 years before being paroled in 2018.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Visiting hours at FCI Pollock and USP Pollock are as follows:

Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, and Federal Holidays from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Visiting hours at the camp are on Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal Holidays from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Inmates at all institutions may have a total of five visitors at one time, to including children .

The visiting rules and regulations are the same for all facilities in the complex.

Getting on the Approved Visit List

Authorized visitors who can visit an inmate include family, friends, and associates. You can't visit an inmate unless he puts you on the visiting list.

Everyone 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 do a background check and determine if a visitor application is approved. 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.

Basic Visit Procedures and Rules

All visitors are subject to a visual and pat search by an officer. You will also be scanned by a metal detector and an ION spectrometry device, plus you will be stamped with ultra violet ink.

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.

Visitors 16 years of age or older must have a current government-issued photo ID (driver’s license, state ID, passport). Birth certificates and expired photo IDs are not proper forms of identifications.

ONLY THE FOLLOWING ITEMS LISTED BELOW ARE AUTHORIZED TO BE TAKEN INTO THE VISITING ROOM BY VISITORS:

• One (1) wallet or transparent change purse no larger than 5 " x8 " x4 " 2 
• Four (4) diapers
• Two (2 ) jars of baby food , unopened
• Two (2) full clear baby bottles
• One (1) baby blanket
• Female sanitary napkins or tampons
• Emergency medication only (to be maintained by the Visiting Room Officer, name on medication must match that of the visitor )
• A maximum of twenty dollars (no bills larger than $5 .00)
• Worn jewelry (Exception : NO WATCHES ARE ALLOWED)  
• Two quart size transparent bags may be used to carry authorized items into the Visiting Room Religious Headwear 

No phones, cameras, or electronic devices of any kind are allowed in the institution. Any items not authorized must be kept in the visitor’s vehicle.

Visitors’ clothing should be within the bounds of good taste and should not possibly offend others who may be present in the Visiting Room.

The following items WILL NOT be allowed : hats, open toed sandals or shoes, transparent or sheer clothing, bib overalls, halter tops, sleeveless tops or dresses, shorts, miniskirts, culottes, capri pants, or spandex .

Dresses will not be shorter than the top of the knee. Blouses or other apparel of a suggestive nature i.e. , low-cut , v-neck, tank tops, any garment which reveals the mid- section, or skirts with slits above the knee , will not be allowed.

No clothing with derogatory, sexually suggestive , camouflage patterns in any color, or gang-related logos are allowed. Because inmates wear similar clothing in the institution, jogging and/ or sweat suits will not be permitted to be worn into the institution.

Sweatshirts/sweatpants and jogging outfit pants, jeans with holes, or jackets are not allowed to be worn in conjunction with regular civilian style clothing, if similar to inmate clothing.

All visitors will wear underclothing garments . All female visitors are required to wear a bra .

Any other clothing that, at the discretion of the Operations Lieutenant or Institution Duty Officer, resembles the style or color of inmate clothing will not be allowed to be worn into the institution.

At the discretion of the Operations Lieutenant or Institution Duty Officer, children under the age of twelve (12) will be allowed to wear shorts.

No bare feet will be permitted, excluding babies.

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

You can only send cards or letters to these addresses. Paperback books, newspapers, 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.

Inmates will use TRULINCS to 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.

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.The process for sending money is the same for prisoners at every facility at FCC Pollock.

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:

Wait until an inmate has physically arrived at FCC Pollock.Gather the information you'll need. Which includes the inmate’s name and number.Visit moneygram.com to complete your payment.

Information needed to complete MoneyGram payment:

Account Number: Inmate's eight-digit register number with no spaces or dashes, followed immediately by the inmate's last name (example: 12345678DOE).
Company Name: Federal Bureau of Prisons
City & State: Washington, DC
Receive Code is always: 7932
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, and commissary.  The commissary is the prison store, where inmates can buy things like beverages, meals and snacks, OTC medications, stationary, personal hygiene items, electronics, 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.

​Programs For ​Inmates

FCI Pollock:

• Criminal thinking
• Anger Management
• HIV/AIDS awareness
• Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP)
• Drug education class
• GED
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• Parenting Program
• Literacy
• Adult Continuing Education (ACE)
• High School Diplomas and Post-Secondary Programs via paid correspondence
• Advanced occupational education in Building Trades, Business Management, Culinary Arts, Outdoor Motors, and Sewing
• UNICOR facility that produces clothing and textiles
• Intramural sports
• Art program

USP Pollock:

• Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP)
• Drug Abuse Education
• GED
• Literacy
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• Parenting Program
• Adult Continuing Education (Conversational Spanish, Prison to Paycheck, National Geographic Classes, US History, and World History)
• High School Diplomas and Post-Secondary Programs via paid correspondence
• Advanced Occupational Education in Building Trades and Culinary Arts at the USP. Both the USP and camp offer Business Management, Custodial Maintenance, and Microcomputer Applications
• Arts and crafts
• Intramural sports
• Music program

Pictures of Federal Correctional Complex - Pollock

Careers at Federal Correctional Complex - Pollock

Reviews from employees report that FCC Pollock is a decent place to work, has an okay work/life balance, and the salary and benefits are above average.