What Can You Bring To Taft Federal Prison Camp?

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2009

What Can You Bring To Taft Federal Prison Camp?

Without exception, the most frequently asked question I receive is, "What can I bring with me when I self-surrender to Taft Camp?" This blog will address my experience, while providing a few suggestions.

A few days prior to self-surrendering to Taft Camp, I called the prison to inquire into what items I could bring. After my phone call, I was under the impression that I could bring running shoes, toiletries and a pair of sweat pants. I was wrong.

Within minutes of arriving at the camp, a correctional officer escorted me to the processing center, known as R&D or Receiving and Discharge. Once inside R&D, the friendly officer asked if I wanted to send my personal items home at my own expense or donate them to the institution. I explained that I had called and was told that I could bring those items. Just as quickly, the officer politely asked again if I would like to mail my items home at my own expense or donate them to the institution. Like most inmates, I chose the later.Those who expect to self-surrender to prison ought to take my personal experience under advisement. The anecdotal lesson suggests that when a man self-surrenders to prison, he should not bring anything that he doesn't absolutely need. If he requires medicine, he should bring the medicine with a letter from a physician. Other items I've heard prisoners can carry inside are religious medals and wedding rings. Inmates may also bring currency or a U.S. postal money order to be placed into their commissary account. From what I've been told, along with my personal experience, nothing else gets in.

Justin Paperny