Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary

General Prison Information

Official Prison Name: Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary
Prison Code: BSY
Prison Type: U.S. Penitentiary
Region: Mid-Atlantic Region
State: Kentucky
Security Level: High

Contact Information

Here you have the street address and mailing address for Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary. Use the mailing address if you are sending a letter or package to a prisoner there, and be sure to use the physical address if you need to know the actual location of the facility.

Mailing Address

Make sure to read the Inmate Mail and Package Procedures information on this page if you are going to send a package or letter to a prisoner to make sure that you correctly address the letter or package, and do the right procedure for sending a package or letter. If you do not use the correct directions, the package or letter could not get delivered.

INMATE NAME & REGISTER NUMBER
USP Big Sandy
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 2068
Inez KY, 41224

Street Address / Prison Location

Use the street address if you plan to visit a prisoner. Be sure to read the Inmate Visitation Procedures and Inmate Visitation Schedule sections on this page if you are going to visit an inmate at Big Sandy Federal Prison.

Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary
1197 Airport Road
Inez KY, 41224

Phone Number

Inmates don’t have telephones, so you can’t call an inmate, however, there are times when it might be necessary to know the telephone number to Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary.

(606) 433-2400

Fax Number

Prisoners don’t have faxes, so you won’t be able to fax inmates, but there are times when it might be necessary to know the fax number to Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary.

(606) 433-2577 

Email Address

The email address below is the main email for the prison. You can’t email inmates at this email. If you want to email a prisoner, read the Inmate Email section on this page.

BSY/PUBLICINFORMATION@BOP.GOV

Inmate and Staff Statistics

Total Inmates:   1,372 

Inmate Email

To send email to an inmate at Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary you must follow an exact process to ensure that the letter gets to the inmate.

TRULINCS – Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System

Federal prisoners are allowed to receive emails only to people that are on their approved contact list. An federal inmate has to make a request to send and recieve emails with someone by placing them in their contact list.

All email is monitored. prisoners must consent to email monitoring when they agree to participate in the email program. Inmate contacts must consent to being monitored when they agree to correspondence with the prisoner and are notified every time that they get an email letter from the inmate.

When a contact is approved you will get an email message which sends them to the CorrLink system at www.corrlink.com.
CorrLink Inmate Email System

Emails must not jeopardize the public or the security, safety, or operation of the prison facility. Also, emails cannot exceed 13,000 characters. Email messages that don’t follow these rules are not allowed.

Inmate Internet Access

Prisoners are not allowed to access the internet.

Inmate Mail and Package Procedures

There are certain procedures that you have to follow when sending mail to a prisoner. If you don’t then the letters and packages might not get delivered.

Before you send a package or letter, you should read the sections below:

Mail Monitoring

Big Sandy Federal Prison staff do open and read all received general correspondence. Received general correspondence is read as frequently as deemed necessary to ensure safety and security or watch problems regarding any inmates.

How to Address a Letter to an Inmate

This is the proper format for how you need to address a letter or package to a federal prisoner at Big Sandy Federal Prison:

INMATE NAME & REGISTER NUMBER
USP Big Sandy
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 2068
Inez KY, 41224

To read the full Bureau of Prisons Policy on Correspondence, go to: Bureau of Prisons – Correspondence Policy

Inmate Money

Every prison has a Commissary which was started to provide an account for inmate funds and for purchasing things not provided by the prison.

How to Send an Inmate Money

Family, friends, or other sources can add money into these Commissary accounts using the U.S. Postal Service and Western Union.

Via U.S. Postal Service: An inmate’s family and friends can to send prisoners money in the mail and have to send the money to this address and follow the policies written below:

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Insert Valid Committed Inmate Name
Insert Inmate Eight-Digit Register Number
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

The money has to be in a money order that is made out to the prisoner’s full committed name and complete eight-digit register number. It is best if you use a postal money order, since all non-postal money orders processed through the National Lockbox will be kept for a 15-day hold period, during which the prisoner will not get the funds. The Bureau of Prisons will return funds that don’t have correct prisoner info if the envelope has a return address. Checks and cash can’t be deposited to the inmate’s account so do not send cash or checks.

Via Western Union Quick Collect Program: Prisoner’s friends and family are also able to send prisoners money with Western Union’s Quick Collect Program. Money sent to a prisoner using the Western Union Quick Collect Program can be sent via one of these methods:

1. At a physical location using cash. In order to locate the closest agent, you can call 1-800-325-6000 or visit www.westernunion.com.
2. By phone with a credit or debit card: Call 1-800-634-3422 and select menu option 2.
3. Online with a credit/debit card: Go to www.westernunion.com and choose “Quick Collect.”

For the Western Union Quick Collect transaction, all of this info has to be included:

1. Correct and valid Inmate Eight-Digit Register Number (entered with no spaces or dashes) followed immediately by Inmate’s Last Name
2. Committed Inmate Full Name entered on Attention Line
3. Code City: FBOP, DC

If the wrong register number and/or name are used and accepted and sent to the wrong inmate, the funds might not get returned to you.

For additional info about how to send money to an inmate, go to the official Bureau of Prisons website:
Bureau of Prisons – Inmate Money

Inmate Locator

Prisoners are frequently moved to different prisons around the nation, so you might need to locate the location of an inmate using the inmate locator. Follow the link here to locate an federal inmate.
Inmate Search

Inmate Visitation Schedule

Visiting hours are from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as every federally recognized holiday.

Inmate Visitor Procedures

Every prison has its own procedures for prison visitation and these rules get changed frequently. The information listed here could be out of date when you are reading this, so make sure to also go to the prison’s official website to get the most recent rules for visitation.

Visitation Sign-In and Check-In

The visitation guard ensures each visitor signs the prison visitors log when entering the facility and also when they leave.

Identification Required

Photo id of all visitors is required. Appropriate forms of ID are Driver’s License and Social Security Card; but, a state issued photo id is OK.

For all of the points shown below, check out the actual prison website as this info is changed frequently:

• Visitation Rules
• Visitation Dress Code
• Things You Can and Cannot Take to Visitation
• Special Rules For Children, Special Visits, Pastoral or Attorney Visits

To read the entire Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary Visitation Guide go to: Visitation Procedures

Prison Jobs & Hiring

Are you looking for a job at a prison? Have experience? Have you worked at a prison before?

If so, click here: Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary Jobs

Website

The official website: Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary Website

Tell Your Story – Write a Review of Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary

Have you ever been incarcerated in Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary? Do you have a friend or family member that spent time there? Have you ever been to visit an inmate at Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary?

If yes, then you should tell us about it. Tell us about what you experienced so that other people can find out what to expect.

Things you might want to write in your comment:

• Prison conditions
• Prison layout and facility
• Staff and guards
• Commissary and food
• Visitation
• Inmates
• Inmate safety
• Gang activity
• Inmate activities and programs

If you are a prisoner here, include your address if you would like people to be able to send you a letter.