FCI Sheridan (medium-security)

FCI Sheridan is a medium-security federal correctional institution for men in Sheridan, Oregon, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It held about 1,229 people as of November 2025. It does not offer the Residential Drug Abuse Program. The institution's main number is 503-843-4442.

MALE

Gender

MEDIUM

Security Level

1229

Population (Nov. 2025)

No RDAP

Location

Physical location: SHERIDAN, OR 97378

Mailing address: 27072 BALLSTON ROAD, SHERIDAN, OR 97378

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.

Daily life and programs

Operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons within the agency's Western Region, FCI Sheridan is a medium-security U.S. federal prison for men. Located in Sheridan, Yamhill County, Oregon, it sits roughly 60 miles southwest of Portland and serves as the only federal prison located in the state of Oregon. The facility opened in May 1989 at a construction cost of about $52 million. It was deliberately designed to resemble a college campus, featuring low white concrete buildings and red roofs intended to foster rehabilitation. The complex consists of three distinct parts: the medium-security main institution, an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp, and a Federal Detention Center that was added in December 1994 to hold pretrial and holdover detainees. While the total rated capacity is about 2,000, recent counts put the population near 1,460 to 1,530 inmates. Of those individuals, roughly 210 to 215 are housed in the minimum-security camp.

Daily life follows the standard BOP structure of scheduled counts, meals, work assignments, and programming, providing an environment with more supervision than a camp but greater internal movement than a high-security penitentiary. Most medically able inmates are obligated to work or attend education. Common employment in food service, facilities maintenance, landscaping, and the library pays roughly $0.12 to $0.40 per hour, whereas higher-paying assignments for UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) have historically been more sought after. The on-site UNICOR wood-furniture manufacturing shop was closed in 2006, and later industrial work has been reported as electronics and plastics. Recreation features outdoor basketball courts, a track, and softball fields, in addition to indoor cardio machines and hobby workshops. Free weights were removed system-wide years ago, which is a recurring question in inmate forums about Sheridan's weight pile. Furthermore, medical, dental, and mental-health services align with established BOP norms, requiring a $2 co-pay for inmate-initiated visits.

Substance-abuse programming at Sheridan has experienced significant difficulties. The Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), which can reduce a federal sentence by up to a year, was the subject of a 2024 DOJ Office of the Inspector General inspection. This assessment found only 5 of 16 drug-treatment staff positions filled, leaving inmates who had been transferred in specifically for RDAP unable to enroll. Just three days after the inspection concluded, BOP Director Colette Peters suspended RDAP at the minimum-security camp. The same inspection and related reporting documented chronic correctional-officer shortages. These widespread vacancies forced routine daytime cell confinement and led to 101 outside medical appointments being canceled between January and November 2023. Because some third-party directory sites still list RDAP as available, its true status should be confirmed directly with the facility.

Over its history, the institution has experienced periodic unrest and outside scrutiny. During a 1993 disturbance, inmates set fire to and destroyed a building, and a 2003 lockdown followed fights involving homemade weapons. In a 2007 to 2008 case, a correctional officer was among more than a dozen people indicted for smuggling heroin and marijuana. In 2018, roughly 120 immigration detainees, who were asylum seekers, were transferred to Sheridan under the federal zero-tolerance policy. They were held with limited legal access until an ACLU lawsuit secured relief. During 2020 and 2021, the facility drew attention for severe COVID-19 outbreaks and complaints about food quality, shower access, and prolonged lockdown conditions.

First-hand accounts

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

• Fci Sheridan - Reddit (inmate/family community). A poster asks whether anyone has been to the FCI or the camp at Sheridan, whether it is a decent spot, and whether it has a weight pile or any weights; the thread draws first-hand impressions of conditions at the facility.
• FCI Sheridan (Oregon) BOP - Reddit (corrections-staff perspective). A prospective correctional officer starting soon at Sheridan asks about take-home pay after taxes and the best places to live nearby; a staff-side first-hand thread about working at the institution.
• For anyone at FCI Sheridan. - Reddit (corrections-staff perspective). A corrections-staff subreddit thread soliciting first-hand experiences from people at FCI Sheridan; the post body is empty, with discussion in the comments.

Notable inmates

Name	Sentence	Offense	Dates
Leslie Isben Rogge	65 years	Serial bank robbery (about 30 banks, roughly $2 million, 1990 to 1995); FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive, widely cited as the first fugitive captured after being identified via the internet (1996)	Incarcerated; projected release circa 2034 per Wikipedia (register 13915-004)
Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory	30 years	Co-founder and leader of the Black Mafia Family (BMF); cocaine trafficking and money laundering	Held at FCI Sheridan, later transferred to FCC Lompoc (register 13037-078)
Tre Arrow (Michael James Scarpitti)	78 months	Earth Liberation Front eco-activist; arson (firebombing logging and cement trucks)	Released 2009 (register 70936-065)