When Does the Day Start for Federal Prisoners by Wayne T. Dowdy?
On February 4, 2019, Quora.com published the following answer from me: “When Does the Day Start for Inmates in Federal Prisons.” (Read it free on here but if you go to Quora, you may or may not be able to read the complete answer for free.) On this date, October 3, 2025, the answer became my most profitable content on Quora ($34.66), with 48.8K-Views, 87-Upvotes, 16-Comments, and 1-Share.
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https://www.quora.com/When-does-the-day-start-for-inmates-in-federal-prison/answer/Wayne-T-Dowdy
“From my experience, when the day starts for federal inmates varies according to the prison and the employment position held by the prisoner. For most of the prisons I was in, which included four United States Penitentiaries and one Federal Correctional Institution, the doors opened by 6:00 am under normal circumstances.
In the lower-security prisons, certain prisoners assigned to food service (chow hall) may leave the unit for work as early as 4:00 am, whereas the majority who work in the chow hall won’t leave until approximately 6:30-7:00 am.
Those schedules and processes vary according to the security rating of the prisoner and institution. For instance, high-security institutions that house inmates assigned as Max. Custody, may not allow those inmates to work in certain positions where more readily-available weapons or tools may be used to aid in an escape plan, or during high-risk periods (when visibility is reduced, such as when foggy or before sunrise or after sunset).
For thirteen of the thirty years, I was a maximum custody prisoner which required that I stay in a high-security institution; however, the only consistency in management techniques to control me was inconsistency. The way I was managed because of my custody/security rating varied according to the Captain of the institution.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons’ program statement for Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification (P.5100.08), approved 09/12/2006, and other referenced documentation, establishes security protocols for management of its prisoners.
In the Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (UNICOR), where I worked for most of the thirty years I served, we reported to work at 7:30 am. The cell house doors opened at 6:00 am for the general population to begin their day.”