Federal Correctional Complex - Petersburg

The Petersburg Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Petersburg) is a federal prison complex for male prisoners located in Virginia, and it contains both the Federal Correctional Institution, Petersburg Low (FCI Petersburg Low) and Federal Correctional Institution, Petersburg Medium (FCI Petersburg Medium).

FCI Petersburg Low is a low-security federal correctional institution for male offenders with an adjacent minimum-security camp. FCI Petersburg Medium is a medium-security facility.

FCI Petersburg Medium has a Sex Offender Management Program (SOMP) to manage the offenders who have a history of committing sex crimes. This means that approximately 40 percent of inmates are incarcerated for sexual offenses.

The facility has also started to house transgender male-to-female prisoners, and they keep them protected from the rest of the population.

Inmates at the FCI Low are housed in dormitories or two-person cells, and most of the housing units do not have air conditioning.

Inmates at the FCI Medium are housed in two, three, and four-person cells.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours at FCC Petersburg are as follows:

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

Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

At the FCI Medium only, Odd/Even weekend visitations will be implemented on a monthly rotating cycle based on the last number of the first five digits of the inmate register number. The weekend visiting days will reverse each month. All Federal holidays will be open to odd and even numbers for visits.

Medium Facility: Inmates will be allowed a maximum of six (6) visitors (includes adult and children of all ages).

Low / Camp Facilities: Inmates will be allowed a maximum of four (4) visitors (includes adult and children of all ages).

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.

The visiting room officer may not accept articles or gifts of any kind for an inmate, except packages which have had prior approval by the Warden.

All authorized items entering the visiting room must be carried in a clear plastic container/bag.

A maximum of $40.00 dollars is allowed per adult in the visiting room.

The only items authorized, outside personal clothing, allowed to enter the Visiting Room are as follows:

• A transparent change purse (no larger than 5" x 8" x 4", containing only money and identification) 
• Three baby diapers
• Two containers of processed baby food (commercially sealed)
• Three baby bottles (with milk, formula or juice)
• One baby blanket (crib size)
• One small (paper or plastic) diaper bag for baby items and/or female sanitary napkins will be allowed
• Authorized medications (asthma/inhaler pumps, insulin pumps, nitroglycerin and oxygen tanks) may be allowed in the visiting room and will be maintained at the Officer’s station for the visitor’s use as needed

Baby carriers/strollers will not be allowed in the Institution and/or Visiting Room.

All medications must be prescribed in the original form/container and properly labeled with the visitor’s first and last name. At no time will visitors be allowed to bring medications into the visiting room for use by inmates.

Unauthorized items will be returned to the visitor’s vehicle.

At no time will the personal belongings or items from visitors be held at the Front Entrance Officer’s desk or Visiting Room Desk. In the event that a visitor is dropped off, or arrives to the institution via taxi, then a locker key will be drawn from the Control Center, and their unauthorized item(s) ie., cellphone, keys, handbags etc., will be placed in the locker accordingly.

An inmate’s visitor may not leave money with any staff member for deposit in the inmate’s commissary account.

All visitors for inmates are expected to use good judgment and taste in their attire. The following guidelines will be used to determine proper attire for visitors age 16 years and older.

Those visitors age 15 and under, may wear suitable casual/play clothing (good judgment and taste should be exercised).

Adult visitors (male and female) 16 years and older may wear walking short or culottes no more than 3 inches above the knee.

No solid colored khaki/tan or orange colored clothing at the Medium. No solid green colored clothing for Camp visitors.

No see through clothing, military clothing, tank tops, spaghetti straps, halters, camisoles or other clothing that expose the midriff area.

No attire that exposes cleavage.

Footwear is required. Sandals are acceptable.

Male visitors must wear shirts with sleeves.

Skirts must be within 3 inches of the knee. No splits up high.

No spandex type clothing or other tight fitting apparel.

No sleeveless shirt tops/garments which underarms are not covered by a jacket.

Proper Undergarments must be worn by all visitors.

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 prisoners at every facility at FCC Petersburg.

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 Petersburg.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 Petersburg Low:

• Stress Management
• Anger Management
• Life Connections Program
• Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP)
• Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP)
• Drug education class
• Smart Recovery
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Narcotics Anonymous
• GED
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• Parenting Program
• Literacy
• Adult Continuing Education (ACE)
• High School Diplomas and Post-Secondary Programs via paid correspondence
• Vocational training in Carpentry, Machinist, and Masonry
• Apprenticeships in Binder, Cook, HVAC, Landscape, Machinist, Maintenance Electrician, and Plumbing
• UNICOR facility that houses a printing plant
• Intramural sports
• Band and music program
• Inmate photo program
• Movie program
• Arts and crafts

FCI Petersburg Medium:

• Mental health counseling and coping skills
• Non-Residential Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP-NR)
• Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP)
• Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP)
• Drug Abuse Education
• GED
• Literacy
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• Parenting Program
• Adult Continuing Education
• High School Diplomas and Post-Secondary Programs via paid correspondence
• Vocational training in AutoCAD and Carpentry
• Apprenticeship in HVAC, Landscape, and Plumbing
• UNICOR facility that receives, sorts, and repackages clothes hangers
• Arts and crafts
• Intramural sports

Pictures of Federal Correctional Complex - Petersburg

Careers at Federal Correctional Complex - Petersburg

If you are interested in pursuing a career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, you can find available positions at FCC Petersburg 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 FCC Petersburg report that it is not a good place to work because of the stressful environment. Jobs at FCC Petersburg offer a less than average salary and benefits package, according to former employees.