Federal Correctional Institution - Fort Dix

Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix, or FCI Fort Dix is a low-security federal correctional institution with an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp. Located in Burlington County, New Jersey, on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, this facility houses a total of 4,391 male offenders, making it the largest single federal prison in the United States based on number of inmates.

Inmates are housed in 12-person pods with no bars, towers, or locks on the rooms. The camp has dormitory-style housing with no locks on the cells.

Drug trafficker George Jung served 19 years at FCI Fort Dix after directing shipments of narcotics into the US in the 1970s and 1980s. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in 1995, and in 2001, Johnny Depp played Mr. Jung in the film Blow. He was released in 2014.

Martin Shkreli is currently serving his seven-year sentence for securities fraud at FCI Fort Dix. Shkreli made headlines in 2015 when his business, Turing Pharmaceuticals, acquired Daraprim, an FDA- approved AIDS medication, and then hiked the price of the drug from $13.50 per pill to $750 per pill overnight.

The move led the media to call Shkreli the “most hated man in America.”

In 2010, a joint FBI and Federal Bureau of Prisons investigation discovered that Dimorio McDowell, an inmate at FCI Fort Dix, was operating a major identity theft ring from the prison.

Eight co-conspirators, with whom McDowell communicated with via telephone, were also arrested. The ring targeted credit cards issued by major chain stores such as Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Staples, Home Depot, Lowes and others.

The companies that issued the cards, including Citigroup Financial, HSBC and GE Capital, lost between $500,000 to $1 million.

McDowell subsequently pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and was sentenced to 14 additional years in prison on January 18, 2011. He was later transferred to FCI Terre Haute in Indiana.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

FCI Fort Dix visiting hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, and Federal holidays.

The camp visiting hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, and Federal Holidays.

The East and West Compound will have visits from 8: 30 a. m. to 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of each week to include Federal holidays . Visits on Monday will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on the East and West Compound.

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.

No more than three adults and three children will be allowed to visit one inmate at one time.

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.

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must bring a valid photo ID with you to the visit, like a state or federal ID card, driver's license, or current passport. Birth certificates are not valid forms of ID.

All visitors are subject to a visual and pat search by an officer. You also must walk through a metal detector.

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.

All visitors must be dressed in an appropriate manner. Any visitor who arrives inappropriately dressed will be denied the privilege of visiting.

Visitors are expected to wear clothing which is neither provocative nor enticing to the extent that a disruption to the orderly running of the institution could ensue.

Clothing which is similar to and resembles the style or color of that issued to inmates (for example, khaki colored clothing with plain white or khaki shirt at the FCI or dark green trousers with plain white or dark green shirt at the FPC) is not allowed to be worn inside the Visiting Room.

Clothing which is sexually suggestive or revealing is prohibited.

No bare feet will be allowed, except for infants.

Prohibited attire includes:

• Shorts of any kind (except for small children under age of 10
• Transparent garments of any kind
• Sleeveless blouses (shirts must cover entire shoulder)
• Bathing suits
• Crop tops
• Sun dresses
• Halter tops
• Backless tops
• Hats or head coverings (other than those worn for religious purposes)
• Wrap around skirts, shirts or dresses
• Spandex pants, tights or Leotards
• Sweat pants/sweat shirts
• Shirts or jeans with holes
• Low cut blouses/dresses
• Hooded clothing of any kind , i.e. Coats, jackets, ,shirts, etc .
• Skirts/dresses more than 2 inches above knee level
• Open toe Shoes
• Flip- flop style beach shoes
• Camouflage clothing

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.

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.The process for sending money is the same for FCI Fort Dix and the Fort Dix Satellite Camp.

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 a FCI Fort Dix.
• 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

• Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP)
• Drug Abuse Education Course
• Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP)
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Narcotics Anonymous
• GED
• English as a Second Language
• High School Diploma (via paid correspondence)
• Post-Secondary Programs (via paid correspondence)
• Advanced Occupational Education in Commercial Driver’s License
• Vocational Training in Computers, Electrical, Horticulture, Hydroponic, Woodworking, and House Framing. The camp also offers Turf Science and Floor Covering and Installation
• Apprenticeships in Alteration Tailor, Building Maintenance and Repair, Cook, HVAC, Industrial Housekeeping, Office Manager, Quality Control, and Teacher’s Aide. The camp also offers Horticulture and Landscaping
• UNICOR facility that handles recycling and also produces clothing and textilesWellness Programs
• Intramural Sports

Pictures of Federal Correctional Institution - Fort Dix

Careers at Federal Correctional Institution - Fort Dix

If you are interested in pursuing a career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, you can find available positions at FCI Fort Dix by visiting USAJobs.gov. The salaries at the facility begin around $40,000 and can go up into the six-figure range, depending on the position.

Reviews from employees at FCI Fort Dix were mixed at best, saying that it wasn’t a good work environment, but they were never laid off. The work/life balance is average, and the salary and benefits were competitive.