Can You Voluntarily Go To Prison?

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There is a way you can experience prison life without being sentenced. Technically, it is not a real prison, as people might think. To some extent, it’s probably better than what inmates experience in a real prison. You can always call an end to it and get released whenever you are ready.

In the United States, there are purpose-built facilities available for volunteers that want to experience the prison environment and life. Some of these facilities were once prisons but closed down for different reasons. Some of these prisons operate exclusively on a pay-for-stay basis. These prisons are usually under management by people who also have an interest in prisons.

Can You Go to Prison by Choice?

An offender convicted of a crime is not in a position of choosing what correctional center they should get incarcerated in. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is who decide where to place you according to:

Your institutional level
The state you are receiving charges
Whether your charges are of federal or state level
If you have protection and security reasons to be transferred

However, those that volunteer can choose the facility they want to be in. They also decide how long they can stay or choose when to end.

Where Can You Find Such Facilities?

Regardless of your reasons, you might be seeking information about such facilities in your area, city, or state you intend to visit. We recommend you keep looking on the internet as some of these facilities have genuine websites. You can get these facilities’ locations through discreet-oriented social media platforms.

If social media and the internet is not your thing, you can find someone who’s been there and they can tell you how their experience was. Information is always out there, and you should know that you are not the only one who’s fascinated and desires to visit these areas.

It will be a dream come true for those of you with dire interest to get the thrilling experience. However, society might despise you for wanting that kind of experience.

Why Would Such Facilities Exist?

These facilities provide you with additional prison-like experiences. For instance, they use restraints like handcuffs to give those who desire the real-counterpart encounter.

Both males and females are housed under one roof. Since these individuals are just seeking a thrill of the real prison-like experience, they cannot pose any danger or security problem. You can relinquish your stay from the facility at any time you want. If you find it better there, you can also elongate the period of your stay.

Do These Facilities Have an Intake Procedure?

What happens during the intake process? The volunteers must typically follow the intake process that reflects those you encounter in a real prison. Here is the procedure you are likely to experience:

The facility will take you for physical and mental health screenings
They will take photos, fingerprints, and palm prints of you
You will get evaluated, classified, and stripped of all possessions you have
The facility will issue you with a uniform
The so-called prison will issue you a mattress and lock you in a cell you cannot voluntarily leave.

Most of these facilities will have someone who stays up to monitor you. The guard might sleep in the unit directly adjacent to the cell they assigned you. So if you call out for any help, they can immediately assist you.

What Is the Minimum Age to Volunteer?

In the United States, a person’s minimum age to volunteer to prison is 18 years of age. If the volunteer is under 18 years, they are considered minors. Suppose you are a minor, your guardian or parent must accompany you at this stage.

Prison time can adversely affect a minor’s psychological, social, and physical state. Instead, the minor can address their problems to a therapist and seek a better solution rather than taking themselves to isolation.

What Voluntary Programs Will You Partake in Prison?

The programs you might engage in during the day largely depend on the facility. However, they will consider your preferences again.

You may decide to stay locked in your cell the whole time, although you may be required to complete a work assignment. The facility will offer you yard time in a secure common area with or without others.

Can You Use Your Phone While in Prison?

Inmates aren’t allowed to have and use mobile phones while in prison. Depending on the state’s policies, they only have a chance a few days a week to communicate with their loved ones. The prison monitors their calls for safety and security purposes. All inmates convicted of a crime only use the prison landline number to communicate.

The same applies to someone who voluntarily wants to go to prison but is limited to several times a day. The facility does not monitor their calls because they have not committed any misdemeanor. They use their phones and computers, usually arranged upfront if they need to access any typical messages.

The duration of the call is usually pre-determined between the volunteer prisoner and the guard before it happens. Suppose you get booked in a cell and say no to any devices. You will probably get none. However, you will probably get the chance if you have to check on your work email and family messages.

Can You Use the Internet in Prison?

Prisoners have restricted access to the internet due to the limited supply of computers. Most correctional facilities have a few computers in the classrooms or libraries for inmates’ educational purposes.

Some states in the United States allow correctional facilities to introduce inmate tablets where they can purchase them from the kiosk. However, neither the tablets nor computers have direct access to the actual internet. Restrictions are imposed as inmates having access to the internet would probably create all kinds of internet problems.

If you volunteer to go to prison without committing a misdemeanor, your guard will probably allow you to access the internet for a limited time. You can access social media, work emails, and messages from loved ones for the agreed time set.

How Does One Prepare for Prison?

Before voluntarily going to prison, you should have enough time to prepare for it. Sometimes this might not work for you, and you will get kicked out. Here are tips you should pre-handle:

Pay up any bills for your family or loved ones who depend on you.
Stash enough cash in your commissary account at least $150 to $200 a month to get a decent meal, prison necessities, and a place to sleep during your stay at the prison.
Ensure to document your medical state as prescribed by the doctor to avoid delays when continuing your meds.
If you have a family, notify them of how long you will not be home at night.
Explore what your visitors need to do to get approval for visitation.
Subscribe to magazines, compile a list of books and other articles because prison time is incredibly dull.
Find out what race you would want to identify with.
You can also find out what programs you can take part in.

Is it Weird to Voluntarily Go to Prison?

Most of these volunteers are trying to escape the pressures of life and have no idea what they are getting into. You must be careful of what you ask for. You might get it! Going to prison sounds like mental torture as they must face dangers associated with frustrations, unbearable boredom, and loneliness.

Suppose you develop any guilt complex and desire punishment. You should visit a counselor first. If you volunteer to go to prison thinking it is an imaginary paradise where you can recover your pressures and stress, that would be a lame move from you. You may want everything to be taken care of for you physically, but mentally, you are having a meltdown. Recovering from that is a mystery.

Under What Circumstances Would People Voluntarily Go to Prison?

People have many reasons why they would decide to go to prison voluntarily. The Stanford Prison Experiment studied individuals’ psychological, mental, and physical states persona. Here are some of the reasons the students who participated in the experiment got:

Homeless

Homeless people have no safe place to sleep at night, no steady supply of meals, yet in prison, they offer up to three meals a day. They feel like committing minor crimes to be put in prison voluntarily is worth it because, honestly speaking, sometimes it’s safer behind bars than in the streets.

Safety and Security

Some people might have security reasons or feel insecure in the real world. So going to prison for temporary protection is the only option left until all things settle up.

Pay For Stay

You can have complete physical screenings and mental tests if you can afford it. Be prepared to spend a lot to get settled if you want a TV, extra clothes, better meals, and other necessities you would think of. Things might be more challenging for you if you can’t afford to pay them.

Wrapping Up

These types of jails work contrary to the real ones, although they strictly follow the book. In this scenario, if you break the rules, you will get kicked out of prison. These prisons offer different experiences to give people aspects they desire to see in prison but with limits.

However, you should probably ask yourself why you want to go to prison. Do you have guilty feelings about something you did or didn’t do? If so, you may want to discuss it with an educational therapist, counselor, or life coach to help you decide. If counseling is not your thing, do some online research yourself on trusted search engines. Do not let your guilt instincts prey on you.

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