DannyBoyinExile

Years ago, after a group of idiots (who became known as the Texas Seven) pulled off a mass escape, TDCJ redesigned its entire classification guidelines. Under the new system, inmates are designated from G1 to G5 status.
G5 offenders (wait – we’re called inmates again now!) are labelled as High Security now, though it used to be called “close custody” under the old system. They are confined to their cells for 22 hours a day, and only leave it for 2 hours of outside rec and a shower each day. Theoretically. In reality, due to staff shortage issues they are lucky to make it to rec a few times a week. Because of its history of violence, there are no dayrooms on G5, and G5 inmates are in handcuffs when they leave their cells. There are no telephone privileges, and they are vastly restricted on what they can buy from commissary. From the Administration’s point of view, G5 inmates are the worst of the worst, and only the most serious disciplinary offenses result in your being sent there. I happen to know, because I’ve been there once or twice…
G4 inmates are a step up from there. With the exception of the guys who have been promoted from G5, they are basically troublemakers, as evidenced by the repeated disciplinary cases that landed them on G4 (which used to be known as medium custody) in the first place. So many of them decide to act like it, and it tends to be much more rowdy than general population – though not quite as volatile as G5. They are given 3 hours of dayroom each day, in addition to their 2 hours of outside rec (staff permitting, of course). G4 inmates don’t have to wear handcuffs – unless they earn them! – and they are allowed to walk to the chow hall like everyone else, though they do feed them separately from the rest of us.
G3 is what is known as minimum custody. They are allowed to freely move around the unit, for work, school, chow, or recreation. In fact, they only HAVE to be in their cells at “rack time”, which is from 10:30pm until around 6am. Unless, of course, those pesky shortage of staff issues intervene. G3 inmates are different from G2 because by definition, G3 inmates are serving at least a 50 year sentence. The only difference between them and their G2 counterparts is that they are restricted from having certain jobs that give them too much freedom of movement, as inmates with a 50 year sentence are deemed to be a higher escape risk. However, once a G3 inmate has served 10 years of his sentence, he will automatically be promoted to G2 status – unless, of course, he’s been in enough trouble to be DEmoted to one of the more restrictive custodies.
G2 status, therefore, is for minimum custody inmates who have less than a 50 year sentence – or they’ve been locked up for longer than 10 years, if they do. This is the least restrictive custody that many inmates can have, and where we have the most privileges. It’s also where you can find yours truly – though it’s no guarantee that I’ll always be a G2.
G1 inmates are what is known as ” outside trustees “. They live in a separate area from everyone else (always in a dorm, rather than a cell block), and many of them live and work outside the regular security perimeter. They literally have one foot in the free world! Some of them work with the ever-present horses and dogs, drive tractors, work in the community squads in whatever city they are near, and some even drive the 18-wheelers that travel from unit to unit, throughout the Texas prison system. They have it as good as it gets in TDCJ – and many of them forget that they’re inmates at all! Sadly, many of them get caught up in various shenanigans, and end up right back with the rest of us.If you know anyone in TDCJ, ask him what custody level he’s on (better yet, just look it up for yourself!), so you can nudge him back in the right direction if he’s not doing as well as he could be. We can all use some encouragement from time to time – or maybe even a swift kick in the butt, as needed. (Attitude Adjustment, in other words!) Sometimes it helps just to know that people are interested in us, and how we’re doing, and whether we’ve been in trouble or not. The fact that you now KNOW about custody levels may just motivate us to stay out of trouble – lest we have to explain why to the angry mothers, children, wives, or friends we’ve disappointed. So says DannyBoy.