Understanding Scotland CI's Three Custody Levels: Close, Medium, and Minimum

Scotland Correctional Institution (Scotland CI) houses close, medium, and minimum custody inmates. This matters because custody level determines where someone lives inside the facility - and what restrictions or privileges come with that placement. Scotland CI is one of North Carolina's largest prisons, holding more than 1,700 adult male offenders across all three custody levels.

Scotland CI is a male-only facility. The address is 22385 McGirts Bridge Road, Laurinburg, NC 28353. The main phone number is 910-390-4700.

The facility's official page lists an offender capacity of 1,652 and describes Scotland CI as a 1,756-bed, high-security prison. These numbers can be confusing - treat them as general scale indicators. When planning a visit or trying to understand someone's placement, focus on current, case-specific details like housing unit and status.

A bit of history: Scotland CI opened in September 2003 as a 1,000-bed close custody facility. A 504-bed medium security addition followed in March 2011, and a 252-bed minimum security unit opened in July 2011.

Custody level is one of the first things to figure out when supporting someone at Scotland CI. It drives housing placement, supervision intensity, movement within the facility, and access to programs. The bottom line for families: rules differ by custody level. Verify the person's current status, then confirm procedures for their specific housing area.

Start with the North Carolina DOC's online offender search. You can filter by Offender Status, Last Name, First Name, Offender Number, Gender, Race, Birth Date, or Age Range. Combining fields - like last name plus birth date, or the offender number if you have it - helps pull up the right record faster.

1. Use the NC DOC offender search - Enter what you know (Offender Status, name, offender number, birth date, or other fields) to locate the correct person.
2. Read the results carefully - Look for the person’s current status details shown in the record so you’re working from up-to-date information.
3. Call Scotland CI if you need custody- or unit-specific clarification - Use the main line at 910-390-4700 and ask the specific question you’re trying to answer (for example, which unit they’re housed in right now).
4. Write down what you’re told - Note the date/time of the call and the name or title of the staff member you spoke with, so you can reference it later if something changes.