FCI Big Spring (minimum-security camp): Difference between revisions
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< | {{PrisonInfobox | ||
< | |security_level = Low (FCI) / Minimum (camp) | ||
< | |gender = Male | ||
|population = ~1,000 (FCI) + ~114 (camp) | |||
< | |rdap = No | ||
|address = 1900 Simler Avenue, Big Spring, TX 79720 | |||
< | }} | ||
< | The '''Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring''' is a low-security federal prison for male inmates in Big Spring, Texas. It sits in Howard County, in the western part of the state, roughly midway between Dallas and El Paso. The [[Index of Federal Prison Facilities|Federal Bureau of Prisons]] runs it. Next to the main institution is an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp that holds about 114 men.<ref name="bop">{{cite web |title=FCI Big Spring |url=https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/big/ |publisher=Federal Bureau of Prisons |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref><ref name="wiki">{{cite web |title=Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Correctional_Institution,_Big_Spring |publisher=Wikipedia |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref> | ||
< | |||
The prison opened in 1979. It occupies buildings that once belonged to Webb Air Force Base, a pilot-training installation the Air Force closed in 1977. The main institution holds about 1,000 inmates. The camp holds about 114 more.<ref name="wiki"/><ref name="zoukis">{{cite web |title=FCI Big Spring |url=https://federalcriminaldefenseattorney.com/federal-bureau-prisons/fci-big-spring/ |publisher=Zoukis Consulting Group |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref> | |||
< | Big Spring is sometimes confused with the privately run prison next door. A separate facility, the Big Spring Correctional Center, also sat on the old Webb Air Force Base grounds and was operated under federal contract by a private company. That is a different institution. FCI Big Spring and its camp are run by the Bureau of Prisons directly.<ref name="wiki"/><ref name="ci">{{cite web |title=Big Spring Correctional Center |url=https://federalcriminaldefenseattorney.com/federal-bureau-prisons/big-spring-correctional-center/ |publisher=Zoukis Consulting Group |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref> | ||
</ | |||
< | == Overview == | ||
< | |||
FCI Big Spring is a low-security institution. The camp beside it is minimum-security. The two are distinct. The FCI has a secured perimeter. The camp is open, with no fence around the housing area, and the men there work jobs on the grounds.<ref name="bop"/><ref name="prisonpro">{{cite web |title=Big Spring Federal Correctional Institution |url=https://www.prisonpro.com/content/big-spring-federal-correctional-institution |publisher=PrisonPro |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref> | |||
</ | The complex includes more than the FCI and its camp. The Bureau of Prisons lists the location as a small cluster of units with separate mailing addresses for the main facility and the satellite camp.<ref name="bop"/> | ||
Low-security institutions like Big Spring hold inmates with longer sentences than a camp population but lower security needs than a medium. Housing is dormitory-style. The Bureau runs work assignments, education, and standard programming. The institution does not offer the Residential Drug Abuse Program, the 500-hour residential track that can shorten sentences. Inmates who need that program transfer to a facility that runs it.<ref name="bop"/><ref name="prisonpro"/> | |||
== History == | |||
Webb Air Force Base trained Air Force pilots outside Big Spring for three decades. The Air Force shut it down in 1977 as part of a wider round of base closures. The land and buildings passed to other uses.<ref name="webb">{{cite web |title=Webb Air Force Base |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webb_Air_Force_Base |publisher=Wikipedia |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref> | |||
The Bureau of Prisons took part of the former base and opened a federal facility there in 1979. Over the following years the institution settled into its current form: a low-security FCI with an adjacent minimum-security camp.<ref name="wiki"/><ref name="zoukis"/> | |||
A separate privately operated prison also used the old base grounds. The Big Spring Correctional Center housed federal contract inmates, many of them noncitizens facing deportation after their sentences. That contract facility operated apart from the Bureau-run FCI and is not the same prison.<ref name="ci"/> | |||
== Notable Inmates == | |||
'' | * '''Derek Chauvin''' was transferred to FCI Big Spring in August 2024. He is the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020. He is serving 22.5 years on the state murder count and a concurrent 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights. The Bureau moved him to Big Spring about nine months after he was stabbed at a federal prison in Arizona.<ref name="nbc">{{cite news |title=Derek Chauvin, ex-officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, moved to new prison after being stabbed |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/derek-chauvin-ex-officer-convicted-murdering-george-floyd-moved-new-pr-rcna167437 |work=NBC News |date=2024-08-20 |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref><ref name="kvue">{{cite news |title=Derek Chauvin moved to Texas federal prison in Big Spring |url=https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/derek-chauvin-moved-new-prison-in-big-spring-texas-after-stabbing/269-38ea3f49-1af2-4683-bff4-ff7d82263f84 |work=KVUE |date=2024-08-20 |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref> | ||
* '''David Duke''', the former Louisiana state representative and longtime white nationalist, served time at Big Spring after pleading guilty to tax and mail fraud. He was released in 2004.<ref name="wiki"/> | |||
= | * '''Leland Yee''', a former California state senator, served part of his sentence at Big Spring. He was convicted in a racketeering and corruption case that included a gun-trafficking count. He was released in 2020.<ref name="wiki"/> | ||
= | * '''Anthony Pellicano''', the Hollywood private investigator convicted of wiretapping and racketeering, served time at the facility before his release in 2019.<ref name="wiki"/> | ||
== Location and Visitation == | |||
FCI Big Spring is at 1900 Simler Avenue, Big Spring, Texas 79720. Mail to inmates at the camp uses the same city with the satellite camp designation. The institution sits inside the city of Big Spring, the Howard County seat.<ref name="bop"/> | |||
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</html> | </html> | ||
Visiting at Big Spring follows standard Bureau of Prisons procedure. Visitors must be approved in advance through a background check that can take several weeks. Visits are contact visits in a supervised room, held on designated days, usually weekends and federal holidays. Visitors present valid government identification and follow the facility dress code. The Bureau does not permit conjugal visits at any federal facility, the camp included. For current days and hours, check the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: [https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/big/ Official BOP Page]. See also our [[Visiting Policies and Procedures|Visitation Guide]]. | |||
== See also == | |||
* [[Index of Federal Prison Facilities]] | |||
* [[Bureau of Prisons Classification Methods]] | |||
* [[Residential Drug Abuse Program]] | |||
== References == | |||
<references /> | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:camp), FCI Big Spring (minimum-security}} | |||
[[Category:Federal Prisons]] | [[Category:Federal Prisons]] | ||
[[Category:Low-Security Facilities]] | |||
[[Category:Minimum-Security Facilities]] | |||
{{#seo: | |||
|title=FCI Big Spring (low-security) and Camp | Prisonpedia | |||
|title_mode=replace | |||
|description=FCI Big Spring is a low-security federal prison in Big Spring, Texas, with an adjacent minimum-security camp. Built on the former Webb Air Force Base, opened 1979. | |||
|keywords=FCI Big Spring, Big Spring federal prison, FCI Big Spring camp, low security federal prison Texas, Webb Air Force Base prison, Derek Chauvin Big Spring, BOP Big Spring | |||
|type=Article | |||
|site_name=Prisonpedia | |||
|locale=en_US | |||
|published_time=2026-06-03 | |||
|modified_time=2026-06-03 | |||
}} | |||
{{MetaDescription|FCI Big Spring is a low-security federal prison in Big Spring, Texas, with an adjacent minimum-security camp on the former Webb Air Force Base. Opened 1979. Notable inmates include Derek Chauvin.}} | |||
Latest revision as of 14:18, 3 June 2026
The Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring is a low-security federal prison for male inmates in Big Spring, Texas. It sits in Howard County, in the western part of the state, roughly midway between Dallas and El Paso. The Federal Bureau of Prisons runs it. Next to the main institution is an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp that holds about 114 men.[1][2]
The prison opened in 1979. It occupies buildings that once belonged to Webb Air Force Base, a pilot-training installation the Air Force closed in 1977. The main institution holds about 1,000 inmates. The camp holds about 114 more.[2][3]
Big Spring is sometimes confused with the privately run prison next door. A separate facility, the Big Spring Correctional Center, also sat on the old Webb Air Force Base grounds and was operated under federal contract by a private company. That is a different institution. FCI Big Spring and its camp are run by the Bureau of Prisons directly.[2][4]
Overview
FCI Big Spring is a low-security institution. The camp beside it is minimum-security. The two are distinct. The FCI has a secured perimeter. The camp is open, with no fence around the housing area, and the men there work jobs on the grounds.[1][5]
The complex includes more than the FCI and its camp. The Bureau of Prisons lists the location as a small cluster of units with separate mailing addresses for the main facility and the satellite camp.[1]
Low-security institutions like Big Spring hold inmates with longer sentences than a camp population but lower security needs than a medium. Housing is dormitory-style. The Bureau runs work assignments, education, and standard programming. The institution does not offer the Residential Drug Abuse Program, the 500-hour residential track that can shorten sentences. Inmates who need that program transfer to a facility that runs it.[1][5]
History
Webb Air Force Base trained Air Force pilots outside Big Spring for three decades. The Air Force shut it down in 1977 as part of a wider round of base closures. The land and buildings passed to other uses.[6]
The Bureau of Prisons took part of the former base and opened a federal facility there in 1979. Over the following years the institution settled into its current form: a low-security FCI with an adjacent minimum-security camp.[2][3]
A separate privately operated prison also used the old base grounds. The Big Spring Correctional Center housed federal contract inmates, many of them noncitizens facing deportation after their sentences. That contract facility operated apart from the Bureau-run FCI and is not the same prison.[4]
Notable Inmates
- Derek Chauvin was transferred to FCI Big Spring in August 2024. He is the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020. He is serving 22.5 years on the state murder count and a concurrent 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights. The Bureau moved him to Big Spring about nine months after he was stabbed at a federal prison in Arizona.[7][8]
- David Duke, the former Louisiana state representative and longtime white nationalist, served time at Big Spring after pleading guilty to tax and mail fraud. He was released in 2004.[2]
- Leland Yee, a former California state senator, served part of his sentence at Big Spring. He was convicted in a racketeering and corruption case that included a gun-trafficking count. He was released in 2020.[2]
- Anthony Pellicano, the Hollywood private investigator convicted of wiretapping and racketeering, served time at the facility before his release in 2019.[2]
Location and Visitation
FCI Big Spring is at 1900 Simler Avenue, Big Spring, Texas 79720. Mail to inmates at the camp uses the same city with the satellite camp designation. The institution sits inside the city of Big Spring, the Howard County seat.[1]
Visiting at Big Spring follows standard Bureau of Prisons procedure. Visitors must be approved in advance through a background check that can take several weeks. Visits are contact visits in a supervised room, held on designated days, usually weekends and federal holidays. Visitors present valid government identification and follow the facility dress code. The Bureau does not permit conjugal visits at any federal facility, the camp included. For current days and hours, check the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: Official BOP Page. See also our Visitation Guide.
See also
- Index of Federal Prison Facilities
- Bureau of Prisons Classification Methods
- Residential Drug Abuse Program
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "FCI Big Spring". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "FCI Big Spring". Zoukis Consulting Group. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Big Spring Correctional Center". Zoukis Consulting Group. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Big Spring Federal Correctional Institution". PrisonPro. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ "Webb Air Force Base". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ "Derek Chauvin, ex-officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, moved to new prison after being stabbed".NBC News.2024-08-20.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ "Derek Chauvin moved to Texas federal prison in Big Spring".KVUE.2024-08-20.Retrieved 2026-06-03.