Low security prisons or federal correctional facilities, unlike minimum security prisons, have double fenced areas to enclose their inmates. They have dorm style dormitories. Inmates are free to participate in work programs by leaving the facility under supervision. The staff to inmate ratio is not very high, but higher than that of a minimum security facility.
The Federal Penitentiary System
The institutions of the federal penitentiary system are divided into five categories: minimal, low, medium, high (safest), and administrative. Minimum security facilities, commonly referred to as “federal prison camps,” are designed for offenders who do not present a risk of violence or escape. According to Bureau statistics, approximately 15 percent of all inmates are housed in minimum-security facilities, ie detention camps, and community facilities. Most people want to be sent to a federal prison camp because of the lack of violence and what they believe to be better prison conditions.
Minimum-security facilities have dormitories and rooms, relatively low staff-to-inmate ratios, and limited or no fencing. These institutions are career and program oriented, and many are located adjacent to larger institutions or on military bases where inmates help meet the labor needs of the larger institution or base.
Although inmates are theoretically free to leave these facilities, few do so because inmates who escape prison camps and are recaptured face dire consequences. Not only are these inmates prosecuted for escaping, but they spend the rest of their time in safer (and therefore tougher) facilities.
Although the designation as a detention center is the most common type of minimum security detention, the BOP also operates minimum security working cadres in administrative facilities, the mission of which is the detention of suspects on remand.