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Difference Between West Virginia Prison and Federal Prison

What is the Difference Between Federal Prison and West Virginia State Prison?

In West Virginia, the state prison is a correctional and rehabilitation facility where state offenders are held for crimes like aggravated assault, arson, rape, and murder. On the other hand, federal prisons are institutions where offenders of the country are held for crimes like money laundering, mismanagement of public funds, fraud, and other offenses that constitute a violation of the federal crime.

Apart from one being a state prison and the other being a federal prison, there are several other differences between West Virginia prisons and federal prisons, including:

  1. The security level of a federal prison appears to be higher than that of West Virginia state prisons.
  2. In West Virginia, there are 39 state prisons, whereas there are three federal prisons and one national prison camp in the state. However, the number of federal penitentiaries in the country is 122.
  3. Offenders incarcerated in federal prisons tend to be less violent than those held in the state's correctional facilities.
  4. There is a possibility for parole in West Virginia, but there is no room for parole in the federal prison system.
  5. West Virginia inmates can be held only in the state, but federal offenders can be moved from one state to another.
  6. The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (WV DCR) supervises the state prisons and county jails. On the other hand, federal prisons are maintained by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  7. To search for an inmate who was incarcerated in state prison, an interested person must provide the name or the first four numbers of the offender's ID on the offender search, a tool provided on the DCR's website. To find a federal inmate, an interested person needs to complete the Federal inmate locator form to initiate a search.

The West Virginia Prison System

In West Virginia, the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) is responsible for the custody and care of roughly 7000 inmates housed in the 13 state correctional facilities, 4000 parolees, and 6,000 probationers. According to the WV DCR, Over 90% of the inmate population are male, while female offenders are less than 10%. The incarceration rate in the state is about 400 per 100,000 people, the probation rate is 500 per 100,000 people, and the parole rate is less than 300 per 100,000 people. Offenders in West Virginia prison are predominantly whites who make about 77% of the total prison population. About 12% of the prison population are African American, while the rest are Hispanics, Latinos, or multi-racial.

How to Lookup an Inmate in West Virginia

To find West Virginia inmate records or an inmate's location, requesters can search the WV DCR offender database online with the inmate's Offender Identification Number (OID) or full name. Interested persons can also obtain inmate information by mailing or visiting the office of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation:

West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation
1409 Greenbrier Street Charleston
West Virginia 25311
Phone: (304) 558-2036

To send money to an offender, the agency offers a few ways relatives or friends can provide financial relief to an inmate on its Offender Banking page.

West Virginia State County Jails

West Virginia county jails are correctional facilities that house offenders on a short-term basis. County jails hold offenders whose cases are pending trial, individuals who were convicted of minor crimes, or persons who have refused to meet their bail requirements. There are 55 counties in West Virginia, but only 11 county jails housing about 5000 offenders in the state. North Central county jail has the highest number of inmates, housing about 800 inmates, while Potomac Highlands has the lowest inmates, housing less than 300 offenders.

An interested person can mail or visit the correctional facility to lookup an offender or send money for an inmate's welfare in any county. It is also possible to check the county Sheriff's office for information concerning an individual that was jailed in the county. However, the WV DCR maintains a database of all offenders incarcerated in any facility within the state. Therefore, a requester can check the website of the agency.

How Does the Federal Prison System Work?

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) maintains all federal prisons. The agency is accountable for every inmate held in a federal institution. With 34,402 staff, the BOP confines and supervises roughly 152,174 inmates in the 122 federal prisons. The BOP also provides programs for the correction and rehabilitation of offenders.

Inmates that are confined in federal prisons are held at different levels of security. This is dependent on the severity of the crime or the offender's viciousness. There are five security levels:

  1. The minimum security facilities or Federal Prison Camps (FPCs)
  2. The low-security facilities or Federal Correctional Institutions (FCIs)
  3. The medium-security facilities are also FCIs and United States Penitentiaries (USPs) that have dormitories.
  4. The high-security facilities or standard USPs
  5. Administrative institutions are built for offenders who need special attention, inmates with high runaway tendencies, and those considered extremely dangerous. There are different administrative facilities across the country:
  • Administrative Maximum Security Penitentiary (ADX)
  • Federal Medical Center (FMC)
  • Federal Transfer Center (FTC)
  • The Medical Center For Federal Penitentiary (MCFP)
  • Metropolitan Correctional Centers (MCC)
  • Metropolitan Detention Centers (MDC)