Long Unit Overview
Long Unit is operated by the Georgia Department of Corrections. The GDC facility directory identifies it as Long Unit, Smith SP Host Facility, with physical address 1434 US Highway 84 East, Ludowici, Georgia 31316, and mailing address P.O. Box 70, Ludowici, GA 31316. The directory lists phone (912) 545-3778 and fax (912) 545-3776. It is a state-prison unit for sentenced offenders, not the Long County Sheriff's Office jail and bonding function.
The distinction is essential in Long County because the county has an official roster but no active county-operated jail building. The Long County roster covers people booked by Long County and housed in surrounding county jails. Long Unit is separate. A person at Long Unit should be searched through GDC's statewide offender system, and family procedures should follow GDC visitation, mail, money, phone, and facility rules.
The GDC Find an Offender page is directly relevant to Long Unit searches because it is the official statewide route for current GDC custody. The manifest captured the GDC locator page shown below.
Use GDC for present state-prison custody. Use the Long County roster only for county-jail bookings, recent arrests, and Long County custody history.
Long Unit Capacity
The strongest sourced Long Unit population figures come from the 2016 PREA audit. That audit described Long Unit as a state facility and prison type, with 62 staff assigned in the prior twelve months, five general-population housing units, a designed capacity of 212, and a current population of 202 at the time of the facility visit and report. The report date was July 28, 2016, with the facility visit on June 27-28, 2016. These figures are older official audit figures, but they are the approved numbers in the research file.
| PREA audit item | Long Unit figure |
|---|---|
| Designed capacity | 212 |
| Current population at audit | 202 |
| Staff assigned in prior 12 months | 62 |
| Housing units | Five general-population housing units |
| Compliance result | Full compliance, with 2 standards exceeded and 36 met |
Do not combine these Long Unit prison figures with the Long County jail roster count. One is a GDC state-prison population. The other is a county custody roster for people booked by Long County and often housed in nearby county jails.
Lookup Long Unit Offenders
Use the GDC offender query service for Long Unit. Georgia.gov says GDC's search covers offenders currently serving in GDC facilities and can be searched by name, ID or case number, age, and other identifying information. The GDC page warns that offender photographs, if available, display automatically, and that information should be verified with GDC Inmate Records before making factual assumptions.
- Open the GDC Find an Offender page or the GDC offender query service.
- Search by name, GDC ID, case number, age, or other identifying information when known.
- Review the result for current GDC facility and status, looking for Long Unit if that is the expected facility.
- Use GDC's verification route if the result will be used for a formal purpose.
- Use the Long County roster only when the question concerns county jail booking before transfer to prison.
The offender query service is also directly relevant to Long Unit, and the successful manifest screenshot below shows that GDC query gateway.
The GDC search is for state-prison custody. It should not be used as a replacement for the Long County roster when the person is still a county detainee housed in Appling, Tattnall, Wayne, McIntosh, Ware, Pierce, or Screven.
Long Unit Contact
Contact Long Unit for facility-level state-prison questions after GDC confirms the offender is at that unit. For statewide records verification, GDC's offender-query disclaimer routes verification through Inmate Records and Information at P.O. Box 1529, Forsyth, GA 31029. For Long County court records after the original arrest, contact the Long County Clerk or court. For county jail custody before sentence, use the Long County roster and sheriff channels.
Long Unit
1434 US Highway 84 East
P.O. Box 70
Ludowici, GA 31316
(912) 545-3778
Fax listed by GDC directory: (912) 545-3776
Georgia Department of Corrections
Inmate Records and Information
P.O. Box 1529
Forsyth, GA 31029
Use for GDC verification by written correspondence.
Statewide offender records and locator verification.
Long Unit Visits
Long Unit visits follow GDC state-prison rules, not Long County jail rules. GDC's statewide visit an inmate resource is the appropriate starting point. State-prison visitation generally requires approval and scheduling through the prison system. Visitors should confirm the current process with GDC and Long Unit before travel, especially because facility status, holidays, lockdowns, and approval lists can change.
| Visit issue | Long Unit routing | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | Use GDC visitation resources and Long Unit instructions. | State prisons require approved visitor handling. |
| Schedule | Confirm with GDC and Long Unit. | The research did not publish a local day-by-day table. |
| County roster | Not the right visit source for Long Unit. | Long Unit is not a county jail. |
| Travel | Call before going to Ludowici. | Facility status can change. |
Long Unit Mail Money
Mail and money for Long Unit follow GDC rules. The GDC directory lists the mailing address as P.O. Box 70, Ludowici, GA 31316. Use the offender's full name and GDC identifier when GDC requires it, and confirm the current format before sending anything. For funds, use GDC's statewide send money to an offender resource rather than county jail deposit rules. Long County did not publish a county jail vendor for Long Unit because Long Unit is not a county jail.
| Service | Provider or detail |
|---|---|
| Mailing address | Long Unit, P.O. Box 70, Ludowici, GA 31316, with GDC-required offender information. |
| Money deposits | Use GDC statewide money-sending instructions. |
| Phone or communication | Confirm through GDC and Long Unit current offender-services rules. |
| County bond | Not applicable to current state-prison custody after sentence. |
County jail money rules for Appling, Tattnall, Wayne, McIntosh, Ware, Pierce, or Screven do not apply to Long Unit. A state offender needs GDC procedures and a GDC identifier route.
Long Unit Classification
Long Unit custody starts from state-prison placement, not street-arrest booking. The PREA audit describes a GDC prison setting with five general-population housing units, offender education, screening instruments, staff interviews, and program operations. That is different from a county jail intake process where a new arrestee is booked, bonded, and possibly released before trial. Long Unit offenders are in sentenced state custody or otherwise managed through GDC.
- GDC offender
- A person in Georgia Department of Corrections custody, searched through GDC.
- County detainee
- A person booked by Long County and usually housed in a surrounding county jail.
- PREA audit
- A prison compliance audit that provided Long Unit capacity, population, staff, and housing figures.
- Host facility
- The GDC directory note identifying Long Unit with Smith State Prison host facility context.
If a person began in the Long County jail roster and later moved to GDC, the search tool changes after transfer. The Long County roster may no longer be the current custody source.
Long Unit Programs
The Long Unit PREA audit gives program detail not available for Long County's non-active jail. It says the facility mission includes public protection, safe and secure operations, accountability, substance-abuse treatment, discipline, and programs for reentry. It also states that Long Unit had numerous academic and programmatic opportunities, on-campus jobs, and off-campus municipal work assignments.
Work locations named in the audit included Glynn County, Georgia Department of Transportation, City of Jesup, Wayne County, Wayne County Recreation, Long County, Liberty County, Bryan County, Smith State Prison, Smith State Prison Fire Department, Long Unit Fire Department, Long County Sheriff's Department, Ludowici Police Department, Georgia State Patrol Hinesville, Georgia State Patrol Brunswick, City of Jesup Police Department, Liberty Recreation Department, and Wayne County Courthouse. Those assignments are state-prison program facts, not county jail services.
Note: Confirm Long Unit custody through GDC before using state-prison visit, mail, money, or program information.