Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) – Herlong

Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) – Herlong's comprehensive information to help guide you through the federal prison process, specifically on how to remain connected to your inmate while they are incarcerated.

The FCI-Herlong is a federal prison located at 741-925 Access Rd A-25 in Herlong, CA. This federal medium security prison is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to hold inmates who have been convicted to and sentenced for a federal crime through the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

Locate all federal inmates here. If you would like to speak with a case manager or counselor, call 530-827-8000.

The Federal Correctional Institution, Herlong (FCI Herlong) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in California, opened in 2007. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the US Department of Justice. The facility also includes a satellite prison camp that houses minimum-security male offenders.

FCI Herlong is located in Lassen County, in northeastern California near the Nevada border, approximately 60 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada and 190 miles northeast of Sacramento, California, the state capital. It is one of three prisons in the county; the other two are state prisons located in the county seat of Susanville. In 2007 half the adults in Susanville worked in one of the three facilities; together the three prisons hold approximately 11,000 inmates. Prisons are the major employers in the area since the timber industry declined.

In 2009, a joint investigation conducted by the Bureau of Prisons, the FBI and the IRS uncovered a scheme in which three inmates at FCI Herlong: Scott Whitney, Diego Paucar and Erik Alexander, filled out false tax returns for other inmates seeking refunds. In order to portray the inmates as taxpayers, they made false W-2 forms using the names of real employers, but none of the inmates had worked for them. The IRS discovered the scheme and no refunds were paid. If the scheme had been successful, the three co-conspirators would have obtained $93,950 from the IRS. Whitney, Paucar, and Alexander subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the IRS and had seven, four, and three years added to their original sentences, respectively.

Housing: Inmates are housed in cells.

Health Services: FCI Herlong provides routine medical care for inmates. This care includes intake examinations, emergency care, and sick calls. While emergency care is available 24 hours a day, inmates must submit a triage form to be evaluated for non-emergency care.

Psychology Services: FCI Herlong offers crisis counseling, individual and group therapy, and medication treatment in conjunction with Health Services. Typical treatment groups include anger management and AIDS/HIV Awareness.

Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP): FCI Herlong houses a Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP). The Drug Education class, the Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP), and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are also available.

Education Services: FCI Herlong offers inmates GED and English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) programs. Adult Continuing Education (ACE) and parenting programs are available to the inmate population. High school diplomas and college correspondence courses are also available, but inmates must pay for them.

Vocational Training: The FCI Herlong camp has many vocational training programs which enable inmates to work outside the camp in the local community.

Apprenticeship: FCI Herlong does not offer any apprenticeship programs.

Library Services: Leisure and law libraries are available to the inmate population. In the leisure library, inmates can check out fiction and nonfiction books, newspapers, and magazines. The law library primarily consists of the TRULINCS Electronic Law Library. Inmates also have access to typewriters and a copy machine.

UNICOR: The FCI Herlong UNICOR facility handles fleet management and vehicular components.

Commissary: Inmates are allowed to spend up to $360.00 per month in the commissary. They can shop once a week on their designated shopping day. Copy cards, postage stamps, and over-the-counter medications do not count against this spending limit.

Recreation Services: FCI Herlong’s Recreation Department offers both indoor and outdoor activities. Indoors, inmates can engage in artwork and hobby craft projects. Outdoors, inmates can walk the track, engage in individual or group exercises, or play team sports.

Important links

Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) – Herlong Medium – Admission & Orientation Handbook
Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) – Herlong Medium – Inmate Legal Activities
Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) – Herlong Medium – Visitation

visitation Info

Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) – Herlong Medium – Visiting Hours

• Saturday 8:00am – 3:00pm
• Sunday 8:00am – 3:00pm
• Holidays 8:00am – 3:00pm