The Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc (FCI Lompoc) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in

Lompoc, California Lompoc ( ; Chumash: ''Lum Poc'') is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast, Lompoc has a population of 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who calle ...

. It is part of the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Lompoc) and is operated by the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

, a division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

. FCC Lompoc is located within the city of

Lompoc Lompoc ( ; Chumash: ''Lum Poc'') is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast, Lompoc has a population of 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called ...

, northwest of Los Angeles, adjacent to

Vandenberg Space Force Base Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from ...

. The complex also includes a U.S. Penitentiary and a minimum-security prison camp.

Facility

The average offender at FCI Lompoc is serving between one and fifteen years for federal drug and or other non-violent offenses. It has four general housing units, two of which offer dormitory and room-type housing. The institution offers a full range of inmate employment, vocational training, education, counseling (both mental health and drug abuse), medical, dental, pre-release preparation, and other self-improvement opportunities.

Notable incidents

1980 escape

In the late evening hours of January 21, 1980, Christopher Boyce, who was serving a forty-year sentence for spying for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, escaped from FCI Lompoc. With the assistance of fellow inmates, he hid in a drainage hole, used a makeshift ladder and small tin scissors to cut through a barbed wire perimeter. Boyce was on the run for nineteen months, until U.S. Marshals and

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

Agents captured him on the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and th ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

at Port Angeles on August 21, 1981, ending one of the most extensive and complex manhunts in the history of the U.S. Marshals Service.

COVID-19 pandemic

A deadly

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

outbreak swept through the federal correctional complex in 2020. It included several dozen staff members, including guards.

Notable inmates (current)

Notable inmates (former)

†Inmates who were released from custody prior to 1982 are not listed on the Bureau of Prisons website.

References

External links

Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex
{{Federal Bureau of Prisons

Buildings and structures in Santa Barbara County, California Lompoc, California