The Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) is the oldest and largest facility in the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) for detention and rehabilitation of male adult felony offenders. Legislatively approved in 1861, LCF is built on 2,711 acres. Accredited most recently in 1996, the inmate population is capped at 2489 by Federal Court Order. The complex consists of the Central Unit, which includes an 11 acre maximum security facility, and a 46 acre medium security facility, and the East Unit which is an 85 acre minimum security facility. The Osawatomie Correctional Facility (OCF) is located on the grounds of the Osawatomie State Hospital and is administratively aligned with LCF.
The Central Unit may be recognized by older generations as the Kansas State Penitentiary. The magnificent landmark constructed with walls of stone seven feet thick and twenty feet high, was named the Kansas State Penitentiary when authorized by the Kansas Constitution in 1859. The name was legislatively changed to the Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) on June 18, 1990.
The Central Unit consists of the Maximum Security Facility, and the Medium Security Facility. The Maximum Security Facility is 11 acres enclosed by a stone wall built by inmate labor in the 1860's. Four cellhouses are the living units for the maximum custody inmates and have a capacity of 920 inmates.
The East Unit, the Kansas Correctional Institute - Lansing (KCIL) for Women was established in 1917 and operated as a satellite unit of KSP. In 1980, the facility became co-correctional and in 1983, the name was changed to Kansas Correctional Institution at Lansing. In 1988, the minimum and medium custody female inmates were transferred to the Topeka Correctional Facility (TCF). The maximum custody females were transferred in April, 1995 to TCF. The facility is currently designated as Lansing Correctional Facility - East Unit and is a minimum custody facility for male felons.
Within the LCF complex, there are 4 custody levels of inmates housed at the Lansing Correctional Facility, to include: special management, maximum, medium, and minimum custodies. The appropriate custody level of an inmate is determined by an inmate's length of sentence, crime, escape history, institutional adjustment, behavior record, and other factors designated by the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC).
Accreditation was awarded to LCF in 1991 by the American Correctional Association. In May 1993, LCF became the oldest adult correctional facility to receive 100% in an American Correctional Association accreditation audit. LCF duplicated this perfect score in May 1996.