Prison Glossary - Custody Status

Custody status is a status applied to a prisoner which determines how and where the prisoner is to be housed, what is to be made available and what restrictions will be placed on them.

Initial classification (Mississippi) 

When a prisoner is sentenced in Mississippi, they are transported to Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF) in Rankin County and turned over to MDOC, or picked up by bus from the county jail by MDOC. CMCF is where they are processed into the prison system and where they are initially classified.  There are custody statuses that the prisoner is classified into depending on how many points they score, determined by the Inmate Classification Score Sheet. 

List of custody statuses (from least restricted to most restricted):
A - minimum and medium out (0-4 points)
B - minimum and medium out (5-10 points)
C - open (11-18 points)
C - closed ((long term status) 18+ points)
Security Threat Group (special status)
High Risk Status (special status)
 

Classification Criteria:  

Classification criteria determine how many points a prisoner scores.

1) History of institutional violence (jail or prison, score most serious RVR within last 10 years)
2) Severity of current offence (score most serious offence if there are multiple convictions)
3) Severity of prior felony convictions (score most serious prior felony conviction within last 10 years)
4) Escape history (last 10 years)
5) Current age
6) Institutional disciplinary report (last 12 months)
7) Severity of most serious report
8) Performance in recommended work/treatment programs (during last 6 months)

Identification:

The prisoner's custody status is visibly identified by the pants they are issued to wear. 

A-custody wears pants with green and white horizontal stripes; 

B-custody wears pants with black and white horizontal stripes; 

open C-custody wears pants with red and white horizontal stripes; 

closed C-custody wears a yellow jumpsuit or yellow pants and shirt.

 



Print Page