Category: Prison vocabulary

In late 2022, TPI began hearing about people being placed in CDO, which stands for Constant and Direct Observation, when filing a request for investigating endangerment.

CDO is also called “suicide watch,” and it is basically a single cell that a person may be placed in if they threaten self-harm, and a guard is supposed to be stationed outside the cell to continuously watch them. On placement in the cell, all or almost all clothing is removed and they are usually given a paper gown (see image below). The temperature in the cell is kept low, a kind of “cold torture” that is meant to achieve what TDCJ calls “behavior modification.” CDO housing also requires the involvement of mental health staff.

But our reports were that people were being placed here that had no indication of self-harm, and simply had reported endangerment. In early 2023, we learned that this is a new excuse for cold cell torture and apparently some sort of “behavior modification” (generally trying to influence people not to report endangerment) called Security Observation Status (SOS). We were told that SOS is the same as CDO in that “property, clothing, and items are allowed to be possessed but it is a status applied by unit administration staff instead of mental health staff.” Meaning guards can now place someone they want to harass into SOS without having to go through mental health staff.

It is not known when this new form of punishment for pursuing safety was put in place, but it appears to have been initiated in late 2022.

We have basically covered ICS under another vocabulary item: “running a team.” In TDCJ, ICS stands for “Incident Command System”, and calling an ICS means calling for an ICS team. In the federal system, it’s a SORT, or Special Operations Response Team. In the Texas system, an ICS can be initiated in case of any crisis situation, including a suicide threat. As mentioned in “Running a team” is generally meant to indicate the ICS is called to intimidate, harass, or assault a prisoner.

GASS stands for Gender-Affirming Self Surgery.

We have only seen this acronym used by one person in a different state, so we are unsure how widespread or common the use is.

This word has a different meaning at least in Texas prisons from its usual reference to a close or tight group of people, although the prison use does refer to a group.

Uses might include something like “they cliqued on me” or “they are threatening to clique me.” This use of the term means to be jumped on or assaulted by a group of people, usually at least three.

Refers to taking a bath using one’s sink in the cell rather than going to the shower.

There can be several reasons for choosing to take a bird bath, but safety is the most common. Trans persons may choose to take a bird bath for both physical safety and to avoid harassment and embarrassment in the common showers.

We don’t see it too often, but occasionally TPI receives letters without stamps and the words “Frank Mail” written where the stamp would be.

Frank mail refers to a custom of providing free postage to members of congress and other elected officials. Many prisoners believe that they have “franking privileges” for various reasons, and we do sometimes receive these letters. However, there is no allowance by the postal system for such “Frank Mail” that prisoners or indigent persons sometimes use, and the letters likely have just slipped through the system unnoticed.

In the TDCJ system, CMI stands for “Chronic Mentally Ill” and is often used to refer to the CMI-TP, or the CMI Treatment Program. The program was started in early 2019 (the official policy can be found here), and is claimed to offer additional assistance for persons dealing with certain mental health conditions. However, actual practice indicates it is a means of continuing to assign persons with mental health issues to what is essentially solitary confinement, which TDCJ claims to have eliminated, but which in practice continues under different names. A 2019 Texas Tribune article provides some more discussion of the program.

We don’t see this acronym often, but it is good to know about because when we do see it, it is usually just the “CMI” with no explanation of that that means.

Lockdown usually refers to movement being restricted for everyone in a housing section, area, or an entire unit.

Most often, this refers to the twice-a-year search routine (in TDCJ—other agencies will have different practices) where nearly all movement is suspended. During the lockdown, all prisoner property is packed and searched for contraband.

SPD is an acronym we don’t see too often, but it’s good to be aware of this code. It stands for Security Precaution Designator, and you can see a little more about it here. Generally, an SPD indicates someone is a risk for escape or staff assault.

SPDs can impact eligibility for housing assignments and programs. We don’t know enough about these, and we are pretty certain there are other designators used in a less formal manner.