some acronyms for your viewing pleasure

MSP - Metro State Prison

DOC - Department of Corrections -- sounds so much better than prison, doesn't it? Actually, it is a more correct term since there are many programs for the women to learn to live better lives once they get released back into society.

CERT - Correctional Emergency Response Team -- these are special officers who respond to emergencies at the prison and also help with inspection and intake. They are often redundantly referred to as the CERT team, which, like ATM machine and PIN number, bothers me quite a lot.

UDS - Under the Death Sentence -- Metro holds the only woman in Georgia currently under the death sentence, and while I'm not assigned to her range in D Building, I have seen her from time to time.

GP - General Population -- these are the women at Metro who have completed the diagnostics process and have mental health statuses that are low enough to not have to live in E or D Buildings. My main building, F, is a GP building.

IBTU - Intensive Behavioral Therapy Unit -- these are the ranges that house the women with extreme mental health cases. C Range in D Building is primarily IBTU.

DR - Disciplinary Report -- DRs can be issued to the women by officers and other staff for misbehaving or getting into some sort of trouble. If given a DR, a woman has to go to "DR court" where her case is heard and some sort of judge or panel of judges at the prison decides whether or not the DR was worthy of being issued or should be dropped. If the DR remains issued, the woman usually is sent to D Building for an amount of time depending on how severe the incident was. Before going to DR court, a woman must pack up all her belongings from her room just in case she has to move -- I find this stupid since many of the cases resolve in the DR being dropped. I guess I don't know why they can't just pack up after the DR is finalized.

TPM - Tentative Parole Month -- This is the earliest time that a woman can begin to be considered for parole. Often a woman who is sentenced to prison for ten years really does five in prison and five on parole, so it's a way to shorten the prison time. A lot of the women do get out at their scheduled TPM, but some have to wait longer because they don't have a suitable place to live or a job set up. Also, getting DRs can push back a person's TPM.

MRD -- Maximum Release Date -- More commonly referred to as "max out date," this is the last legal day a person can be held in prison. Even women who get DRs can't be held past their max out date, and since they aren't getting out on parole or probation, many don't have homes or jobs set up. Because there are no requirements, for many women maxing out, it could result in getting sent right back to prison. Not every prisoner is assigned a max out date, however; those with life or death sentences are an example.