[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 28, Volume 2]
[Revised as of July 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 28CFR553.11]

[Page 667]
 
                    TITLE 28--JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION
 
           CHAPTER V--BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
 
PART 553_INMATE PROPERTY--Table of Contents
 
                   Subpart B_Inmate Personal Property
 
Sec. 553.11  Limitations on inmate personal property.

    (a) Numerical limitations. Authorized personal property may be 
subject to numerical limitations. The institution's Admission and 
Orientation program shall include notification to the inmate of any 
numerical limitations in effect at the institution and a current list of 
any numerical limitations shall be posted on inmate unit bulletin 
boards.
    (b) Storage space. Staff shall set aside space within each housing 
area for use by an inmate. The designated area shall include a locker or 
other securable area in which the inmate is to store authorized personal 
property. The inmate shall be allowed to purchase an approved locking 
device for personal property storage in regular living units. Staff may 
not allow an inmate to accumulate materials to the point where the 
materials become a fire, sanitation, security, or housekeeping hazard.
    (c) Clothing. Civilian clothing (i.e., clothing not issued to the 
inmate by the Bureau or purchased by the inmate from the commissary) 
ordinarily is not authorized for retention by the inmate. Civilian 
clothing which previously had been approved for retention may not be 
retained after August 6, 1999. Prerelease civilian clothing for an 
inmate may be retained by staff in the Receiving and Discharge area 
during the last 30 days of the inmate's confinement.
    (d) Legal materials. Staff may allow an inmate to possess legal 
materials in accordance with the provisions on inmate legal activities 
(see Sec. 543.11 of this chapter).
    (e) Hobbycraft materials. Staff shall limit an inmate's hobby shop 
projects within the cell or living area to those projects which the 
inmate may store in designated personal property containers. Staff may 
make an exception for an item (for example, a painting) where size would 
prohibit placing the item in a locker. This exception is made with the 
understanding that the placement of the item is at the inmate's own 
risk. Staff shall require that hobby shop items be removed from the 
living area when completed, and be disposed of in accordance with the 
provisions of part 544, subpart D, of this chapter.
    (f) Radios and Watches. An inmate may possess only one approved 
radio and one approved watch at a time. The inmate must be able to 
demonstrate proof of ownership. An inmate who purchases a radio or watch 
through a Bureau of Prisons commissary is ordinarily permitted the use 
of that radio or watch at any Bureau institution if the inmate is later 
transferred. If the inmate is not allowed to use the radio or watch at 
the new institution, the inmate shall be permitted to mail, at the 
receiving institution's expense, the radio or watch to a destination of 
the inmate's choice. Where the inmate refuses to provide a mailing 
address, the radio and/or watch may be disposed of through approved 
methods, including destruction of the property.
    (g) Education Program Materials. Education program materials or 
current correspondence courses may be retained even if not stored as 
provided in paragraph (b) of this section.
    (h) Personal Photos. An inmate may possess photographs, subject to 
the limitations of paragraph (b) of this section, so long as they are 
not detrimental to personal safety or security, or to the good order of 
the institution.

[64 FR 36753, July 7, 1999]