FCI Fort Dix (minimum-security camp)

FCI Fort Dix. Public domain photograph, via Wikimedia Commons.

FCI Fort Dix is a minimum-security satellite camp for men in Joint Base Mdl, New Jersey, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It held about 208 people as of November 2025. The institution's main number is 609-723-1100.

MALE

Gender

MINIMUM

Security Level

208

Population (Nov. 2025)

RDAP

Location

Physical location: JOINT BASE MDL, NJ 8640

Mailing address: 5756 HARTFORD &, JOINT BASE MDL, NJ 08640

Visitation

There are many specific rules and procedures to be aware of when you're considering visiting the institution. Read more on our Visitation Guide.

For full, current visiting rules and scheduling, always check the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: Official BOP Page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does FCI Fort Dix allow conjugal visits?

No. FCI Fort Dix does not allow conjugal visits. The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not permit conjugal visits at any facility regardless of security level. This includes all minimum-security federal prison camps, low-security FCIs, medium-security facilities, and high-security USPs. Only four state prison systems (California, Connecticut, New York, and Washington) allow conjugal visits for state prisoners. Federal inmates have no access to conjugal or extended family visits anywhere in the BOP system.

Q: What types of visitation are allowed at FCI Fort Dix?

FCI Fort Dix allows contact visits during designated visiting hours, typically on weekends and holidays. Contact visits permit brief embraces at the start and end of visits, but prolonged physical contact is not allowed. All visits occur in supervised visiting rooms. Visitors must be pre-approved through a background check process and must follow dress code requirements. For full details, see the Visiting Policies and Procedures page.

Daily life and programs

Situated roughly 40 miles from Philadelphia, FCI Fort Dix operates as a low-security federal prison for men in Burlington County, New Jersey, located on the Army side of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The Bureau of Prisons activated the institution in 1992 on the grounds of the former U.S. Army training post at Fort Dix by converting Cold War era military barracks into inmate housing. Holding approximately 4,000 men, the facility ranks as the largest federal prison in the United States by population. Structurally, the complex is organized into three parts: separate East and West low-security compounds, each functioning effectively as its own independent prison, alongside a minimum-security satellite camp situated directly between them. This page specifically covers the satellite camp, acting as a guide to a distinct, lower-security unit completely separate from the two low compounds that otherwise dominate most news coverage of Fort Dix.

The satellite camp accommodates a few hundred minimum-security men. Published counts vary by year and source from about 224 up to roughly 330, with Wikipedia listing 328 inmates within a total complex population near 4,070. In contrast to the fenced low compounds, the camp functions as an open facility without a perimeter fence, bars, or locked doors. Observers report that camp inmates move freely around the grounds, an arrangement one visiting attorney characterized as more freedom than he had seen at any federal prison. Housing is configured in a dormitory style across two units, distinguishing it from the twelve-man converted-barracks rooms used on the low side. Furthermore, camp labor is structured to support the surrounding military base and complex, with men assigned to janitorial work, grounds maintenance, and landscaping.

Both the main institution and the camp provide educational and vocational programming. Educational offerings include GED and HiSET preparation, English as a Second Language, Adult Continuing Education, and parenting classes. Available vocational tracks feature Turf Science and Floor Covering and Installation, alongside apprenticeships in horticulture and landscaping. The camp does not host the Bureau's Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP). Because drug programming at the camp is limited to the non-residential track (NR-DAP), drug-abuse education, and AA and NA groups, inmates seeking RDAP's sentence-reduction benefit generally must be housed at a facility that runs the residential program. Fort Dix operates a UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) operation that produces clothing and textiles and handles recycling. This industrial program is centered at the main institution, meaning that camp inmates' work is primarily base-support labor, although sources differ on how much UNICOR work reaches the camp. Camp visitation is limited to Mondays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Although first-hand accounts of the broader Fort Dix complex describe crowded converted-barracks housing, communal bathrooms shared by hundreds of men, rationed meals, and frequent complaints about medical and dental access, these descriptions originate from the low-security compounds. The minimum-security camp is consistently characterized as quieter and less restrictive than the low side, though verified camp-specific first-hand testimony is thin. Widely reported Fort Dix inmates such as Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Martin Shkreli, Kwame Kilpatrick, Buddy Cianci, George Jung, and Joe Giudice were housed in the low-security compounds rather than the camp, so none of them are counted here as camp residents. Additionally, Shkreli was expressly denied camp placement, and Giudice's own attorney's camp visit was to a unit separate from where Giudice was held.

First-hand accounts

First-person accounts and reporting about life at this facility. Experiences are individual and may not reflect current conditions.

• A Long-Term Prisoner's View: What Awaits Sean Combs at Fort Dix (Michael Santos) - White Collar Advice / Michael Santos. First-hand account by Michael G. Santos, who was incarcerated at Fort Dix Low (East compound) beginning in 1996, describing converted-barracks twelve-man rooms, ~350 men per building, communal bathrooms, rationed meals, medical-access complaints, and prison work details. IMPORTANT: this describes the LOW-security compounds, not the minimum-security camp; Santos states the camp is the one level he had not experienced and that it is 'much more tranquil.'
• Diddy eyes easy time at Fort Dix, but former inmate Joe Giudice warns of violence and gangs - Fox News. Former Fort Dix inmate Joe Giudice (incarcerated 2016-2019) recounts violence, gangs, and conditions he experienced. NOTE: Giudice served on the LOW-security side, not the minimum-security camp, so his account reflects the low compounds rather than the camp.