Opened: 1997

Supervised by: Jack Fox

Total inmates: 598

Security: Administrative

Prison System: Federal Bureau of Prisons; Western Region

Status: Active, opened in 1997

Employees: 200

Offender Gender: Male and Female

Security Level: Administrative, which means it is capable of holding prisoners of all security levels

Distinguishing Feature: SeaTac FDC is an administrative holding facility, which holds inmates who are awaiting trial, currently in trial, being held so that they can testify at trial, are being held on immigration charges, or who have been sentenced to short sentences at SeaTac FDC.  Therefore, SeaTac FDC is similar to a jail, but on the federal level. 

As an administrative or holding facility, SeaTac FDC must be capable of housing inmates at all security levels.  It houses male and female prisoners and has a capacity of 1000 inmates, though it has housed around 600 inmates for the last several years.  These inmates may be non-violent offenders who are not escape risks and pose no risk to other inmates or staff.  The inmates may also be violent offenders who are identified as escape risks and considered dangerous to others.  Furthermore, the inmate population is in constant flux because inmates are being moved in an out as additional inmates are arrested, trials are scheduled, and inmate are sentenced to the facility.  Many of these inmates have not been observed in a correctional environment, which can create difficulties when attempting to assign them to an appropriate unit.  Furthermore, the constantly changing population means that SeaTac FDC some of the population stability of other units, which can potentially make it more dangerous.

Like the other administrative security detention centers in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, SeaTac FDC has living conditions that are harsher than the ones that medium and lower security inmates might find in prisons that are geared towards their security designations.  While the entire facility is not run as a maximum security institution, the administrative security designation means elevated security standards throughout the prison.  A common complaint at Bureau of Prison facilities, SeaTac FDC has some documented problems with providing appropriate healthcare for inmates.  At least one inmate, Roxanna Brown, has died while in custody at the facility because of lack of access to appropriate and timely healthcare.  

As an administrative facility, SeaTac does not expect to have the same type of long-term prisoners as one might find at other federal facilities, though some inmates are sentenced to and serve their entire sentences at the SeaTac FDC.  The inmate admission and orientation handbook provides an in-depth overview of prison programming.  One of the primary goals of prison programming is to provide prisoners with an education.  Before being eligible for education programming, prisoners will undergo an education assessment to identify appropriate placements.  Inmates who cannot prove that they have a high school diploma or a GED are required to participate in GED programming in order to earn Good Conduct Time.  Inmates who complete their GED also receive a $25 incentive award.  Non-English speaking inmates at SeaTac FDC must participate in an ESL program until they can successfully complete the Casas Examination.  They will receive a $25 incentive award upon completion and then be transferred into the appropriate GED program.   Other prison programs include: aerobics, ping-pong, hobby craft classes, chess club, wellness and nutrition programs, screen writing class, movies, and Abs class. 

The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not maintain a prison industries program.  Inmates at SeaTac FDC will be assigned to work details that relate to the daily operations of the prison. 

SeaTac FDC is a relatively new institution that does not have any historically noteworthy events in its past. 

One of the best-known inmates from SeaTac FDC is not known for his history as a drug dealer but for his selfless actions once he was incarcerated at SeaTac FDC.  James Flowers, a drug dealer, was held at SeaTac while awaiting trial.  When he was there, fellow inmates attacked a corrections officer with a pipe.  Flowers intervened, saving the guard’s life.