There are, as you may or may not know. three levels of custody here at Perryville, minimum, medium and maximum. To be classified as minimum, you have to be considered not dangerous and have 5 years or less to serve. Medium and maximum depend on your crimes, but the amount of time doesn’t matter. There is a point system which I’ll discuss in more detail in another post, but I will just say that you get tickets for certain infractions which carry a penalty, a ‘point’ as it’s called.
There are also three ‘phases’ which was someone’s idea of an incentive program I suppose. When you arrive, everyone starts out as a Phase One. Phase One allows you one 15-minute phone call a day and one 4-hour weekend visit. There is a $60 limit when you shop the store. Keep in mind that before you can make phone calls or receive visits, someone on the outside has to fill out an application, pay a $25 fee for visitation privileges and wait about 60 days to be approved. Phone calls are also not free and have to be paid for by the person calling from the outside or the inmate can pay for them as well if they are fortunate enough to have any money. Which phase you are on also affects how much you are paid for various jobs on the yard.
After six months, if you have no tickets and have passed your mandatory test (more on that later) you can move up to Phase Two which allows food visits! A food visit is the most anticipated event in here. That means that your families who are approved to visit can bring a big cooler full of all your favorite dishes. Food visits are usually scheduled around Mother’s Day, Father’s Day. On Phase Two you are allowed one 4-hour visit and one 8 hour visit each weekend, two phone calls a day and your spending limit at the store and rate of pay goes up.
Then after a year, it’s Phase Three- 5 phone calls a day, 4 food visits a year and your base pay goes up to a staggering 35 cents an hour. Try not to spend all that in one place!