What is a reception prisoner?
Hello Kim. When a person is sentenced as a felon and goes to prison, the first prison he will go is called a reception center. This is a Close/Max rated full service prison. He will stay there anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks while he is “classified”. Classification is grouping him according to level of security, which is determined by the crime he is currently incarcerated on, any priors he may have, any prior history of violence or gang related activity, physical size and age. Once he is classified, he gets what is called an Administrative Transfer to his parent institution. This is a prison within the same state at the security level is now assigned to. While serving his time, he will be reassessed for his security level at a minimum of annually. A point system is used and as he increases his points, his security level is lightened. Murderers serving 30 years will start in a Max prison and if they behave during incarceration, will eventually be transferred to a Medium Minimum prison (alt
