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

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It 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 ...

. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp housing minimum-security male offenders. FCI Mendota is located in central California, 36 miles west of

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

History

FCI Mendota opened in January 2012 after years of funding delays. The final cost of construction was $235 million. Mendota Mayor Robert Silva was pleased about the new jobs and revenue for local businesses that the prison would provide and encouraged the Bureau of Prisons to hire as many local residents as it could.

Facility and inmate life

FCI Mendota is located on 960 acres and is enclosed with a 12-foot-high razor wire fence. Inside the facility, inmates have access to educational programs where they may work toward their

GED The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

certificate and gain vocational training. Prisoners are required to work on a number of duties, ranging from food preparation in the dining hall to maintenance work. A recreation yard has basketball courts, a soccer field and a track. Inmates sleep in seven- by twelve-foot cells, complete with toilet and sink. They have access to a common area where they can exercise, shower, and watch basic cable television. Official counts are conducted at 12:05 a.m., 3 a.m., 5 a.m., 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. The 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. counts are known as "standing counts," during which inmates must stop what they are doing and stand up even if they are in bed. An additional standing count is held at 10 a.m. on holidays and weekends.

Notable inmates

References

{{Federal Bureau of Prisons 2012 establishments in California Buildings and structures in Fresno County, California Prisons in California Mendota

History

Facility and inmate life

Notable inmates

See also

References