Some of the prison slang terms used in my articles and what they mean in my corner of the world.

This is part of a series of articles.

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For a complete listing please go to the Table of Contents.

The Box, a.k.a. The Jail or The Hole

Disciplinary confinement. 8 X 10 cells occupied by two men, 24 hour/day lock down broken only by three showers per week.

Bunkie

In any upper and lower bunk situation, this is a person you share a bunk bed with. In a 2-man cell a bunkie is called a “roommate”.

The Bubble

Another name for the officers station in any prison dorm. It gets its name from the continuous set of windows on all sides which allow the officers to see what’s going on anywhere in the dorm.

Butt Naked Cell

A cell in which the prisoner is put on “property restriction”, that is, deprived of all belongings including clothing and bedding.

Camp

Another name for any prison, since prisons are often referred to as work camps even though, at least in my state, only a handful of inmates are assigned work such as cleaning trash off highways or mowing rights-of-way.

Types of camps:

Check-in Camp

A prison with a high proportion of inmates who were transferred after checking in (see below) at another prison, usually a Fucked-up Camp. In this story, SSRC East Unit was check-in camp, and Hayes CI was a check-in camp until it was converted into a psych camp.

Fucked-up Camp

A prison with a high level of violence and gang activity. Such prisons generally offer very few educational, job training, or recreational programs. The term can also refer to any prison that the speaker dislikes. In this story, River CI was a fucked-up camp. Opinions were divided on whether Swift Annex was fucked-up.

Psych Camp

A prison designated by the state as a place suitable for psych inmates. As a result there will be a higher proportion of inmates with mental disturbances and problems. In this story, River CI (Main Unit and Annex) was a psych camp. Hayes CI became a psych camp.

Sweet Camp

A prison with a low level of violence and gang activity, offering greater access to educational, job training, and recreational programs. The term can also refer to any prison that the speaker likes. In this story, Hayes CI was always considered a sweet camp even after it became a psych camp. SSRC East Unit was super-sweet.

Checking In

Requesting to be transferred to The Box for protective custody.

Chico

Any Hispanic or Latino inmate.

Chomo

An acronym for “Child Molester”. Whether in prison or on the street, the average American blithely assumes that every sex offender is automatically a chomo, making absolutely no distinction between a person who may have viewed a single online photo vs. a serial rapist.

Classification Team

A prison committee responsible for inmate job assignments. Also responsible for recommending transfers for inmates who have checked in to The Box.

Confinement orderly

See “run-around”

Dog

A very good friend, as in “a man’s best friend is his dog.”

Getting on the Door

While in a locked down cell (such as in The Box), standing against the door for an extended period and yelling in order to have a conversation or argument with an inmate in a different cell.

Going Psych

When a prisoner exhibits psychotic behavior such that he needs to be transferred to a psych wing or even a separate psych prison. Sometimes inmates do this on purpose.

Gooked Out

Overdosing on toochie (See below).

Gunning

Masturbating in front of someone. In prison it specifically means in front of a (presumably female) correctional officer. On the outside it could be in front of your girlfriend or anyone.

Hustle

An inmate’s way of making money in prison, whether by operation a business (like radio repair, tailoring or tattooing), selling drugs, or slipping things from his job assignment back to the dorm for sale (like kitchen workers bringing back choice food items).

Inmate.com

The name prison inmates have given to the rumor mill and conspiracy theories that swirl around every prison in America.

Inmate Package (a.k.a. “care package”)

A package of items which an inmate’s family and/or friends are allowed to purchase for delivery to the inmate. This can include items (such as radios and MP3/MP4 players) that inmates can’t ordinarily purchase at the prison canteen. In my state these Inmate Packages can be purchased twice per year either from an internet website or using an 800 number.

Jit or Jitterbug

A young, loud, high-strung inmate, often a gangster who spends a lot of time causing trouble around the prison dorm. More generally, any young punk, in or out of prison.

Kite (definition #1)

The word “kite” can mean one of three very different things. As used here [see Chapter 10, subheading “My efforts to get moved to Trayvon’s dorm backfire”] it means an anonymous note turned in by an inmate which usually either snitches on criminal activity by another inmate (sometimes truthfully, sometimes falsely) or complains about a prison staff member. In the later case the affected staff member will often refer to it as “fan mail.”

Kite (definition #2)

The word “kite” can mean one of three very different things. As used here [see Chapter 11, subheading “Reading, writing, radio …”] it means a letter to another inmate in which you put his name & prison address as the return address, then put a fictitious address as the mailing address. Thus the post office can’t deliver it and sends it back to its return address where it (hopefully) arrives safe & sound at the fellow inmate’s dorm. You would do this because inmates are not allowed to write letters to each other. Pretty slick, huh? Never underestimate the ingenuity of prison inmates!

Kite (definition #3)

The word “kite” can mean one of three very different things. As used here [see Chapter 15] it means any note passed between an inmate in one cell to an inmate in another cell while in the Box either by “fishing” (see definition above) or via a “run-around” (see definition below), or between an inmate in the Box and an inmate out on the compound.

On the Door

See above, Getting on the Door

Pay to Stay

An extortion scheme whereby an inmate is threatened by another inmate or inmates with a recurring beat down unless recurring payments are made.

Put Down On

Being systematically extorted and threatened with bodily harm by another inmate or inmates. See “Pay to Stay”. This can also happen to inmates with large unpaid toochie bills or gambling debts.

Put On Camera

Prior to taking disciplinary action, guards often create a video record of the behavior they are getting ready to act on.

Run-around (a.k.a. confinement orderly)

An inmate whose job assignment is to assist the correctional officers at the Jail with whatever needs to be done — sweeping & clean-up, distribution of food trays & shower towels, etc. Inmates also depend on run-arounds to pass kites, sneak in toochie and other contraband and get messages to their gang brothers on the compound. As a result, run-arounds have a lot of power in the Box. The hustles available to run-arounds are seemingly endless — from charging to pass a kite or give you an extra food tray to stealing things out of your property-in-storage and calling it a “tax” for their services.

Sleep on Steel

Being deprived of bedding. Typical of, but not limited to, a Butt Naked Cell.

Telephone Receiver Inverted

Not slang exactly, but a sign to be obeyed. It the telephone has been hung up with the receiver upside-down, and if you are not the badass who put it that way, use it at your extreme peril.

Toochie, sometimes called K-2 or Spice

The main drug available to inmates in prisons today. Also very prevalent on the street. In TV news reports you will often hear it referred to as “synthetic marijuana” but the only similarity to reefer is that it is smokable. What it really consists of is any chemical reputed to have psychoactive properties — including, but not limited to, rat poison, cleaning products or herbicides — sprayed onto the closest dead weeds in your back yard, then shipped into prisons by the ton all over the U.S.

Turtle Suit

A dark green padded gown with a hexagonal pattern reminiscent of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, hence the name. Worn by psych inmates if they have to leave their Butt Naked Cell (e.g. to go to medical).

Violate(d)

Being cited by one’s parole office for a parole violation. As a result the parolee is in danger of being sent back to prison.

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