Point System | Tattoos | Close Custody | Inmate Pay Scale |
POINTS AND INMATE CLASSIFICATION
There are four levels of
institutions in California. Level 1 housing being minimum security up to Level
4 the highest security prisons. The Inmates Classification Score is used as a
primary factor to determine the level of institutional placement. Inmates can
get points for commitment offense, unfavorable behavior, background factors,
prior incarceration behavior and special case factors.
The inmate can also have points
taken off for favorable behavior.
|
POINTS |
LEVEL |
|
0 –
18 |
1 |
|
19 –
27 |
2 |
|
28 –
51 |
3 |
|
52 + |
4 |
LEVEL 1 Institutions
and camps consist primarily of open dormitories with a relatively low security
perimeter.
LEVEL 2 Institutions
consist primarily of open dormitories with a secure perimeter and armed
coverage.
LEVEL 3 Institutions
primarily have outside cell construction with a secure perimeter and armed
external coverage.
LEVEL 4 Institutions
have inside or outside cell construction with a secure perimeter and both
internal and perimeter armed coverage.
TATTOOS
Recognition
and Interpretation
by Sergeant Ken Whitley
A
convict’s ink will tell you three pieces of info about him. Who he is, what
he’s done and where he’s been. Lets first talk about joint tats in general.
Joint
ink starts out as one color. Blue. It may turn black or purple according to the
sun and the skin pigment but it usually starts out blue. If you see other
colors besides blue, or it’s variations, the tat probably is not a true joint
tat. There are two ways of giving a tat. Free hand, which most are, or
machine. A homemade tat machine
consists of a slot car motor, a hollowed out ballpoint pin, some guitar string
and a 9-volt battery. The hollowed out pen is wired or taped to the motor
facing away from it. The guitar string is wrapped around the arm of the motor
and run through the pen so it sticks out about a 16th of an inch out the end.
Hook up a flashlight battery and its tat time. When the battery is hooked up,
the motor arm vibrates which moves the guitar string back and forth rapidly in
and out of the end of the pen and as long as you keep dipping the end in the
ink, you can create a tattoo. Machine ink jobs are more detailed because of the
method but also because they are usually done with stencils. Getting caught
giving a tat or getting one in the joint is a serious crono, a 115, because
tattoos spread deceases inside prisons.
OK,
lets talk about the three things the ink tells you. First of all, who he is.
Many times the convict will have his name or street name on him. I have even
heard of having one’s CDC # put on. Also a loved ones name may be on him. What
he’s done often relates to his crimes. For example if he carries a gun, a
picture of the weapon may be on him. If the gun is pictured from the side this means
he carries a gun. If the weapon is pointed outward, it means he’s a shooter.
Where he’s been has to do with the joints he has called home. The ink in
relation to the joints he’s been in will be a landmark. Landmarks such as
walls, gun towers, cell doors or windows and bob wire.
Lets
talk a bit about some common ink you may see and what it means.
|
Tattoos and their Meaning: |
|
|
Clock faces
without hands |
Doing time |
|
Tombstones with
numbers on them |
The years they
were inside |
|
Tombstones with
numbers and RIP |
Mourning the
death of a friend |
|
Spider or cob
webs on elbows or shoulders |
Doing time |
|
Eight balls |
Behind the eight
ball or bad luck |
|
One laughing
face, one crying face |
Play now, pay later
or my happy life, my sad life |
|
SWP |
Supreme white
power |
|
Peckerwood |
White pride
(males) |
|
Featherwood |
White pride
(females) |
|
Viking themes |
Common Caucasian
tat |
|
Granite block
walls |
Time in Old
Folsom Prison |
|
100 % pure |
Pure white or
Anglo |
|
Cell window with
sun or bird showing |
Waiting to get
out |
|
Face of female
crying |
Has someone on
the outside waiting |
|
SUR |
Southerner |
|
Norteano |
Northerner |
|
Prison block
wall with bricks falling outward |
Inside wanting to
get out |
PRISON GANG TATTOOS
Mexican Mafia:
Eagle with snake in its mouth sitting on the
letters EME.
A
black hand.
Black
hand with the letters EME in the palm.
“ EME
“
"
Mafia Mexicana "
“ MM
“
Nuestra Familia:
“ NF
“
“ NS “
A sombrero covering a machete dripping blood
Aryan Brotherhood:
Swastika
covered with a three-leaf clover.
In
the leaves of the clover are “ AB “, “ 666 “, and “ SWP “.
100 %
pure
“ AB
“
“
Peckerwood “
Picture
of a bluebird
Black Guerrilla Family:
Dragon
attacking a prison gun tower
Two
hands chained over a rifle
Swords
crossed
“ BGF
“
The
new trend with prison gang tats is not to get them because it ID’s them as a
gang member.
Tattoos
read like a book. From left to right and downward.
Close Custody
Inmates
have to go through a "Classification Committee" when first
incarcerated, and again each year thereafter. This committee will use the
guidelines established by the local "Departmental Operational Manual"
or DOM, to determine if an inmate will be close custody A, B, etc., or not fall
under the close custody guidelines.
Wardens
are responsible for determining degrees of custody most appropriate for use at
their institution.
CSP
Corcoran’s Close Custody criteria can be seen here.
There
are a number of restrictions for close custody inmates:
No family visits
No job assignment to a position
requiring dusk to dawn hours.
No job assignment outside the
inmate’s housing unit.
No movement after dusk.
Extra counts during the day and
night.
Other restrictions may apply
depending on the location.
Custody
Designations
Taken from the DOM
#62010.7.3
The following are the degrees of custody approved for use
in the Department.
Maximum A
Housing. Single cells (when possible) or other areas designated as
security or approved specialized housing units.
Assignments/Activities. Confined to the security or approved
specialized housing unit.
Supervision. Direct and constant.
Maximum B
Housing. Single cells (where possible) or other areas designated as
security or approved specialized housing units.
Assignments/Activities. Confined to the security or approved
specialized housing unit except for movement to and from external activities
authorized for the unit.
Supervision. Direct and constant.
Every inmate confined in a SHU shall be assigned Maximum A
or B custody. Inmates who are not
housed in a specialized unit shall not be assigned maximum custody.
Close A
Housing. Celled housing in areas designated and maintained for higher
security needs within the general population.
This custody designation shall be used only at institutions with a
secure perimeter.
Assignments/Activities. Permitted during daylight hours only and
limited to designated close security areas at non-walled institutions and to
the main security areas in walled institutions.
Supervision. Direct and constant.
Close B
Housing. Celled housing in secure areas designated for Close B custody.
Assignments/Activities. Within the security perimeter during
daylight hours only, except for limited evening activities such as bathing and
haircuts within the assigned housing unit.
Supervision. Constant and direct.
Medium A
Housing. Cells or dormitories within the security perimeter.
Assignments/Activities. Within the security perimeter.
Supervision. Frequent and direct.
Medium B
Housing. Cells or dormitories within the security perimeter.
Assignments/Activities. Within the security perimeter. Eligible for daytime assignments outside the
security perimeter, but on prison grounds.
Supervision. Frequent and direct inside the security perimeter. Direct and constant outside the security
perimeter.
Minimum A
Housing. Cells or dormitories within the security perimeter.
Assignments/Activities. Eligible for designated assignments inside
or outside the security perimeter.
Supervision. Must be observed no less than hourly if assigned outside the
security perimeter. Adequate
supervision of the inmate's location to ensure their presence if assigned
inside the security area.
Minimum B
Housing. Cells or dormitories on prison grounds and/or in a camp setting.
Assignments/Activities. Eligible for off-reservation work
detail/community betterment and camp assignments.
Supervision. Adequate supervision of the inmate's location to ensure their
presence. Shall be counted no less than
four times each 24 hours.
Inmate Pay
DOM #51120.7 Pay
Schedule
The following are approved job classifications and pay
rates which shall be used in facility and parole inmate pay plans.
Monthly rates shall apply to full time employment in job
classifications paid from the support budget or IWFs.
Support and IWFs
|
Skill
Levels and Pay Rates |
||||||||
|
Skill
Level |
Minimum |
Maximum |
||||||
|
|
Hourly |
Monthly |
Hourly |
Monthly |
||||
|
Leadperson |
$ |
.32 |
$ |
48. |
$ |
.37 |
$ |
56. |
|
Special
Skill |
|
.19 |
|
29. |
|
.32 |
|
48. |
|
Technician |
|
.15 |
|
23. |
|
.24 |
|
36. |
|
Semi-Skill |
|
.11 |
|
17. |
|
.18 |
|
27. |
|
Laborer |
|
.08 |
|
12. |
|
.13 |
|
20. |
PIA Inmate
Pay Schedules
|
Hourly Pay Schedule |
|||
|
Title |
Step I |
Step II |
Step III |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leadperson (AA) |
$.75 |
$.85 |
$.95 |
|
Special Skills (A) |
.65 |
.70 |
.75 |
|
Technician (B) |
.55 |
.60 |
.65 |
|
Semi-Skill (C) |
.45 |
.50 |
.55 |
|
Laborer (D) |
.30 |
.35 |
.40 |
Sunday, November 02, 2003
