You were accused of a crime and either after a trial or a plea bargain, you were found guilty and sentenced to do time in prison. You will spend most of your time in a locked building with people who have done despicable things, some worse than you can imagine. If you behave, it might go easier on you. Nonetheless, you will have to make the best of it if you are going to survive.

STEP 1

Think about why you were sent to prison. Is it a serious crime? If so, say that you will never do crime again. The saying, 'If you can't do the time, don't do the crime,' is very true.

STEP 2

Do not cry, show your fear, or vulnerability publicly. Doing so will quickly make you a target for other prisoners

STEP 3

Learn to play spades, pinochle, chess, or basketball as it makes the time go by faster

STEP 4

Get a prison job which will keep you occupied as the days pass by.

STEP 5

Read a lot. They have a library there, so use it. Catch up on your reading. Take correspondence courses and continue your education. Consider writing as well. Letters to friends and family, fictional short-stories, and poetry can make time pass a bit faster.

STEP 6

Work out. It will make the time go by faster, and is an outlet for stress. In addition, physically fit people are less likely to be targeted as victims for strong-arm tactics.

STEP 7

Brace yourself for the social dynamics of prison. There are certain ways to behave towards others if you want to get by:

• Do not become a 'punk' (girlfriend), ever! While becoming a punk might give you some fleeting, temporary protection from other inmates, you will be a slave to one. Punks are used and abused. They are traded away in card games and sold for cigarettes. It is not a path to long term survival in prison. If confronted to become a punk, fight and continue to fight. You will gain at least some measure of respect for fighting back. NEVER GIVE IN.
• Do not snitch. If you see something illegal or violent, walk away and do not divulge any information if questioned later. Being known as a snitch will make bad things happen to you. (Of course, you have to decide whether your fellow inmates or the authorities are more dangerous. If you're questioned and lie to the jailkeepers, you can get in serious legal trouble. You are probably better off saying that you saw nothing, or that your head was turned.)
• Stick up for yourself or you WILL be turned into a punk. It's better to get into a fight and lose than to be seen cowering or placating (even better to win). Your reputation is more important than your desire to avoid pain, so guard it with your life. Ultimately you should avoid any confrontation if you can, but if you can't avoid one, react quickly and with aggression. So swing first. If you happen to get beat down, NEVER call for the correctional officers--NEVER. Doing so will get you labeled a punk, and you will have more fights coming as a result.

STEP 8

Beware of rape. You are more likely to be raped if you have been confined for sexual offenses, especially against juveniles, show any weakness or are even shy, have any feminine characteristics or are younger. Keep quiet about your offense, and if you were convicted of a sex crime you will need to go into protective custody,grow a beard and cut that long hair.

STEP 9

Keep to yourself, keep your mouth shut and do not tell anyone about your personal life, family, or criminal history--keep them wondering, but don't overdo it. By all means, do not lie and say you are in for something more serious than the crime you got convicted of: you can get into a lot of trouble with other inmates for faking.

STEP 10

Do not discuss politics or personal feelings about anyone. In other words, don't put your business out on the street. At the same time, don't get involved in other inmates' business.

STEP 11

Recognize that nights are the worst. You will miss your family, and freedom. You will probably cry, but you had better stifle it into your pillow so no one will hear.

STEP 12

Use good behavior. You will leave early (if lucky.)

TIPS

Stay in contact with friends and family. Letters, cards and the occasional phone call will really help you maintain your sanity and an active role with your family. You may be out of sight for a while, but there is no reason to stay out of mind.

• Tear up the return address from your incoming mail and cover the dial pad when calling home. Other inmates will write or call your friends and family if given a chance.
• Don't get caught up in a jailhouse romance (DON'T BECOME A PUNK!). The last thing you need is to be getting involved in a relationship, for any number of reasons. The first of which is that it is the biggest sign of weakness. A punk is simply meat for the dogs (your fellow inmates).
• Respect the prison staff. While they are not there to help you, disrespecting them can make your time there worse. But don't get too friendly: they will turn on you too (there is an economic system in prison, and it involves staff, too; they have reasons to use you as well).
• Take pleasure in the feel of the sunlight on your face, the sound of the birds chirping and the wind in your hair. Find joy in things. Do not show high or low emotions or feelings. Count blessings and work on inner strengths and weaknesses. Keep your spirit and self worth intact. Plan for today and tomorrow. Keep tomorrows and liberty in sight. In limited and constrictive surroundings where one is compromised, our senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell filtered by our emotions and feelings tempered by mind and body and must be controlled and thought through for some balance of normalcy to situations. Use that mind and keep it alert and active. Do not react; learn how to act. Know the playing field. Know your options and what you have to work with. Listen. Share carefully. Ask carefully. Learn. Build on self and learn how to lean on self and make yourself accountable to your efforts and aims. These are free and they can't take them away from you (unless you go to Seg - but that's a warning).
• Determine to change your life completely so that you never have to spend time in prison again.
• When walking, always look ahead. Don't stare at others, but don't wander around staring at your feet.
• If your time is getting short or if you are being transferred to a lesser facility, DON'T tell anyone. Out of spite some convicts will get a sick glee from getting you sent to the hole or lengthening your time.
• For the truly hardcore in states where it is allowed, you can avoid any parole time by doing your time in the hole up to your mandatory release date. This gets rid of any "good time" which you will serve on paper (which means, when you are done, you are done: no parole, and therefore no parole violations!). Not recommended, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.
• Prison is like a warzone, so it is better not to commit a crime in the first place

WARNINGS

• The information here mostly only applies to American prisons. If you are incarcerated in a non-American facility then you will have to learn different codes of behavior. For example, American prisons are notorious for male rape, a problem not so severe in Europe.
• Do not admit or discuss any crime against a minor. Child molesters, abusers, and murderers are considered the lowest forms of life in prison and subject to frequent attacks. If you are convicted of a crime against a child, insist on being placed in Protective Custody immediately. You will not be able to hide the nature of your crime in a general population prison for long. You risk your life when (not if) other prisoners find out.
• Do not gamble, unless you can pay your debts. They will use violence and stop at almost nothing to get what is due to them.
• Remember, you are in a house of thieves, rapists, murderers, and liars, and you should not believe very much of anything you hear. Do not trust other inmates except in cases where there would not be serious consequences for doing so: i.e., make careful choices regarding your "friends" and your location at any given moment of the day.
• Avoid drug use in prison! Drug use, while providing a temporary escape, will lead to many, many other problems (i.e., addiction, becoming a punk, more time if caught, death [as the drugs are not too clean]).
• Avoid tattoos. Prison tattoos can be unsanitary and lead to hepatitis or other diseases. Also, they are permanent and may be a signal to everyone that you were once an inmate.
• No matter how mad that person makes you, do not lose your line and time behind them. They are not going to get you home any quicker. And getting your line and time taken will keep you there longer.
• Do what you must do, but do not lose sight of the reason for surviving - getting out.
• Do not try to escape or you will be kept in jail a lot longer.

source: wikihow.com