Phillips State Prison

Phillips State Prison is a medium-security facility for adult male inmates located in Buford, Georgia. It can house up to 918 inmates, and the facility specializes in housing inmates who have had management problems at other prisons, as well as those who could pose a risk if housed elsewhere.

Phillips State Prison provides all levels of Mental Health service to include Level IV, Crisis Stabilization.  It is the host facility for Atlanta Medical Center and the Phillips Transitional Center.

Inmate housing consists of 10 living units, each with two dormitories. The number of units with two-man cells is seven and a half while the remainder is a combination of two, single-man cells. 

The combination two, single-man cells houses MH/SM inmates. There are a total of 100 isolation/segregation cells. The Phillips State Prison Transitional Center has 310 beds, and this facility also houses a Special Management Unit (SMU), a C.E.R.T. Team, Tactical Squad, and a Canine Unit.

Phillips State Prison was one of nine Georgia state prisons implicated in an FBI sting operation announced in February 2016. The sting found that 47 correction officers had agreed to deliver illegal drugs while in uniform. These charges were "part of a larger public corruption investigation into Georgia Correctional Facilities.”

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

The visiting hours at Phillips State Prison are on Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. 

Before you can visit an inmate at Phillips State Prison, you must fill out an application and be approved by the Georgia Department of Corrections. For complete details about the visiting process, click here.

The only items you can bring to a visit are:

• an identification card (All visitors, age 16 and over, must have a photo ID)
• car keys
• a maximum of twenty dollars ($20.00) in coins to be used for the vending machines

Food and beverages from the outside aren’t allowed in the visiting room at Phillips State Prisonㄧother than bottled formula or store-bought products for babies. Electronic devices are not allowed in the visiting area. 

All visitors are searched by electronic surveillance instruments (metal detectors, etc.) when they arrive. Anything you bring into the facility will be searched by officers assigned to the visitation area.

Visitors must wear appropriate clothing, and shoes are required at all timesㄧincluding children if they are able to walk or stand. 

Male visitors are required to wear shirts and full-length trousers. Females may wear trousers, or if a female visitor wears a dress, skirt, or other similar garment, it may NOT be more than two (2) inches above the knees. Furthermore, all female visitors must wear undergarments such as bras, panties, and slips. 

Inappropriate clothing includes, but is not limited to:  

• Dresses or tops with thin straps which expose shoulders or chest area in any manner
• Tube tops or halters of any type
• Any type of clothing which reveals the stomach or midriff area
• Any type of clothing that is made of sheer or transparent material
• Shorts of any kind or any kind of slacks that are above the knee (twelve years old and under may wear shorts)
• Male visitors are not permitted to wear tank tops or short tops of any kind, nor see-through tops made of net or mesh webbing. 
• Shorts are not permitted (children twelve 12 years old and under may wear shorts)
• Any other type of clothing that is suggestive or revealing in any way is prohibited.

Video Visits

Phillips State Prison does offer video visits through JPay. You must have a JPay account, and the video visit can last up to 30 minutes. The fee for a 30-minute video visit is $3.95.

Prison staff monitors all inmate mail, so keep things simple with regular paper, a regular envelope, and pics of family and friends. They won’t allow any mail with stickers or glitter, greeting cards with music, or inappropriate pics.

In addition to regular mail, you can send a package to an inmate through the Georgia Inmate Package Program. However, your own homemade packages are not allowed.

You can also send and receive videograms and emails through JPay, which cost between one and three stamps each.

How to Call an Inmate

Inmates at Phillips State Prison can’t receive calls, but they do have access to phones during approved hours. For complete details on how to call an inmate in Georgia, please click here. 

How to Send Money

To send money to an inmate at Phillips State Prison, you must use JPay or MoneyGram. The fees for this service vary based on which method you use and the amount of money you are sending.

JPay Options

• Online or Mobile App: To send an inmate money with your credit or debit card, visit JPay.com or download the JPay Mobile App that is available at the Apple App Store (for iPhones) and Google Play (for Android phones).
• By phone: Call (800) 574-5729 to talk with a live JPay call center agent and send money with a debit or credit card. 
• Mail a money orderㅡmade payable to JPayㅡwith a deposit slip to:

JPay
P.O. Box 260010
Hollywood, FL 33026

A money order deposit slip is available here.

Moneygram

If you would like to use cash, visit a MoneyGram location in person and use receive code 6857. MoneyGram locations include all Walmarts and CVS Pharmacies. 

Programs For Inmates

• Academic: General Education Diploma, Adult Basic Education, Special Education, Literacy Remedial
• Counseling: Motivation For Change, Thinking For A Change, Moral Reconation Therapy, Lifers, Family Violence, Re-Entry, Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous, Matrix Relapse Prevention, Matrix Early Recovery Skills, Thinking for a Change, In-Reach dorm, Mental Health Groups, Faith & Character Based program and reentry
• Recreation: General Recreation
• Religious Activities: Worship Services, Scriptural Studies, Confronting Self, Pastoral Care/Counseling, Inmate Hospice Care, NOBTS
• Vocational/OJT: Auto Body, Auto Mechanics, Welding, Small Engine, Barbering, Woodworking, Food Preparation, Printing, Building & Custodial Maintenance, Career Clerk, General Office Clerk (Library), and Laundry Operations

WORK DETAILS:

A total of 10 work details are provided to surrounding cities and counties. Additional details work on the outside grounds of Phillips and include Georgia Correctional Industries.

Pictures of Phillips State Prison

Careers at Phillips State Prison

Phillips State Prison is a Special Mission facility located 25 miles North of the Atlanta Perimeter. Their mission is to serve the Department of Corrections by housing inmates who have had management problems at other prisons or centers and those who could pose a risk if housed elsewhere. 

They provide the offender population with a variety of structured programs intended to minimize recidivism and initiate an effective re-entry program.  It is the host facility for Atlanta Medical Center and Phillips Transitional Center. 

If you are interested in a job at Phillips State Prison, click here.