Florida Department of Corrections
Michael D. Crews, Secretary

Florida correctional facilities are divided into major institutions, work camps, community correctional centers and road prisons. The classification of inmates into these different facilities takes into account the seriousness of their offenses, length of sentence, time remaining to serve, prior criminal record, escape history, prison adjustment, and other factors. The most serious offenders with the longest sentences and those least likely to adjust to institutional life are placed in more secure facilities. Major Institutions Work/Forestry Camps Community Correctional Centers Road Prisons

Correctional Institutions are prisons with fences, razor wire or ribbon, electronic detection systems, perimeter towers with armed correctional officers and/or officers in roving perimeter vehicles. Contrary to popular belief, most of these inmates do not reside in cells, but in open bay dormitories with bunk beds. Some exceptions include those confined for disciplinary or security reasons, and those on death row. These facilities are divided into seven levels of security ranging from minimum custody facilities to maximum custody facilities. About 83 percent of the Florida prison population is housed in a major institution.

Work/Forestry Camps are minimum to medium custody facilities surrounded by fences and razor ribbon. Inmates are usually transferred to a work camp after completing part of their sentences at a correctional institution and demonstrating satisfactory adjustment. Most of these work camps are located next to correctional institutions so that they can share facilities like laundry and health services. The inmates housed at these facilities are assigned to community and public work squads. Their jobs include cleaning up roadways and rights-of-way, performing grounds and building maintenance, painting, building construction projects, moving state offices and cleaning up forests. About 12.5. percent of the prison population resides in work camps.

Community Correctional Centers (CCCs) house two categories of minimum custody inmates: those who are participating in community work release and work at paid employment in the community and those who are participating in a center work assignment and work in a support capacity for the center. They must be within two or three years of their release date, depending on their job assignment. No sex offenders may participate in work release or work center assignments. Those working at the CCC perform such tasks as providing transportation, working in food service and maintenance of the center. There are no perimeter fences and they must remain at the CCC when they are not working or attending programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. Inmates participating in work release must save part of their earnings for when they are released and pay toward victim restitution, as well as room and board. Approximately 5,000 inmates participate in Florida's 29 work release programs annually, with about 2,500 or four percent of the prison population enrolled at any given time. Community correctional centers are supervised by the DC's Office of Community Corrections.

Road Prisons house minimum and medium custody inmates and have perimeter fences. Most of these inmates work on community work squads and the highways doing road work. Their jobs also include support services to state agencies such as collecting recycling materials and moving furniture. Less than one percent of the prison population is housed in road prisons.