What a low actually is
A low sits between a camp and a medium: a real fence, a compound behind it, and a population nobody expects.
Between a camp and a medium
A low security federal correctional institution sits between a camp and a medium. It has a secured perimeter — double fencing, razor wire, electronic detection — and you are inside it. This is the first and largest difference from a camp, where there is no fence and the whole arrangement runs on the understanding that walking away costs you more than staying.
Inside the fence, a low is a
Who is there
This is the part that surprises people most.
Lows house an enormous mix. Drug conspiracy cases make up a large share — frequently people who carried something across a border for money and received the same sentence as someone who organized it. Firearms cases. Immigration. A substantial population of sex offenses, which is covered in its own part of this guide because it governs a real part of daily conduct.
White collar is rare. Less than one percent, in practice. Most people with a financial case and clean history score into a camp, so if you are reading this because you got a low, you are probably here on points that had nothing to do with your offense — age, a
You will spend your time with people whose lives bear no resemblance to yours. That turns out to be one of the more valuable things about it.
How you got scored into a low in the first place is a designation question, covered in the before-you-go guide.
The day
The schedule is the architecture of your life here, and it is not negotiable.
Hand the rest of this site to your family
You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: everything written for the one waiting — a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a guide to every facility with email alerts when visiting stops, the support group directory, calculators for your release math, and free answers when they have questions.
Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you.
These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. Answers are free, and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer.
I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.
Somebody else just found out they got a low. Pass it on.