Difference Between Wyoming Prison and Federal Prison

What is the Difference Between Federal Prison and Wyoming State Prison?

In Wyoming, people who violate state laws are sent to state prisons, while prisoners who violate federal laws are imprisoned in federal facilities. Murder, rape, and gun-related offenses are examples of crimes that lead to incarceration in state prisons. Inmates in state prisons are often more violent than inmates in federal prisons. Federal offenses include crimes committed against elected officials, organizations, agents by state borders, and government officials. Federal prisons also hold individuals convicted of white-collar crimes such as money laundering, racketeering, and bribery.

Federal prisons have comparatively higher levels of security than state prisons. However, both are segregated from the nearby cities with high walls, electrified barriers, barbed wires, and heavily armed guards. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, a section of the Department of Justice, heads the federal prisons. At the same time, the Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC) oversees state prisons and county jails in Wyoming. The number of persons locked up in federal prisons is small compared to state prisons. Though the BOP may transfer persons imprisoned in federal incarceration facilities to any other federal facility in the country, persons incarcerated in state prisons remain in the state until the sentence is complete.

The federal government finances federal prisons; hence, the significant corrections budgets. Consequently, there are better resources, infrastructures, food, and educational systems in federal prisons. In comparison, state prisons are typically funded by state-generated tax revenue.

The Wyoming Prison System

The Wyoming Department of Corrections is charged with managing the Wyoming prison system. Wyoming's incarceration rate is about 842 per 100,000 people. This includes people in state prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile facilities. About 5,400 prisoners are housed in different prisons in Wyoming, with the five state prisons holding roughly 2,500 inmates. Wyoming State Penitentiary is the largest state prison facility in the state, having a bed capacity of 780 inmates. The Wyoming Women's Center is the only female prison facility in the state, with a total bed space of 293. To donate towards a state prisoner's welfare, an interested individual may view the Money Transfer for Inmates page for inmate funding information.

How to Lookup an Inmate in Wyoming

The BOP provides an inmate locator that interested persons can use to locate an inmate in federal prison. The inquirer must complete search fields with the details of the inmate of interest. Wyoming residents may also find Wyoming inmate records or inmate information using the offender locator by inputting specific information such as an inmate's WDOC Inmate Number, last name, first name, age, and gender.

To look up any inmate in Wyoming, anyone can search the WDOC's online database with the offender's last name or WDOC inmate number. It is also possible to send mail or visit the office of the Department of Corrections to obtain this information:

Wyoming Department of Corrections
1934 Wyott Drive, Suite 100
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Main: (307) 777-7208
Fax: (307) 777-7846

Wyoming County Jails

Wyoming county jails are short-term detention centers where prisoners awaiting trial are housed. County jails are also reserved for minor offenders or suspects who have not met bond requirements. There are 25 county jails in Wyoming and 43 police jails, one regional jail, one town jail, and about five other juvenile detention facilities, totaling 75. About 1900 inmates are currently housed in jails across the state. Nearly 8000 different people are booked in jails throughout the state each year. County jails in Wyoming also house inmates on behalf of state prisons because of the lack of bed space in the state prisons.

To search for a prisoner in the local jails, an interested person must visit or mail the jail where the inmate is being housed. The searcher may also query the county sheriff's office. Inmates in Wyoming county jails can be located through the WDOC offender search as some of them are also state prison inmates.

How Does the Federal Prison System Work?

Offenders are confined in federal prison facilities for drug peddling, child pornography tax evasion, money laundering, etc. The federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The agency controls the 122 prison facilities across the country and provides federal prisoners protection, preparation, recovery, and transition services. There are roughly 152,174 prisoners housed in federal prisons under different degrees of security, depending on the crime perpetrated. The five security levels of the federal prison facilities can be differentiated by their accommodations, towers, security fences, tracking systems, employee ratio to prisoners, etc. These levels are as follows:

1. Minimum security facilities also referred to as FPCs (Federal Prison Camps)
2. Low-security institutions, also referred to as Federal Correctional Institution (FCI)
3. Medium security institutions
4. High-security facilities, or sometimes referred to as the United States Penitentiaries (USPs)
5. Administrative facilities have special duties such as housing pre-trial prisoners and handling detainees with urgent medical issues. These facilities also house dangerous criminals and runaway captives. The following are federal level administrative facilities:

• Federal Detention Centers (FDC)
• Federal Transfer Center (FTC)
• Federal Medical Centers (FMC)
• Metropolitan Detention Centers (MDC)
• The Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP)
• Metropolitan Correctional Centers (MCC)
• Administrative- Maximum Security Penitentiary (ADX)