Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Monitoring of Contract Prisons, August, 2016

Very informative report. -Angela

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 Introduction  

The Federal  Bureau of Prisons ( BOP ), which is  the component of the  Department of Justice (Department) responsible for  incarcerating  all federal  defendants sentenced to prison,  was operating  at 20 percent over its rated capacity  as of December 2015.  To help alleviate overcrowding and respond to congressional  mandates , in 1997 the BOP had begun contracting with privately operated  institutions ( often referred to as “contract prisons ”) , at first on a smaller scale and  later more extensively,  to confine federal  inmates who are primarily low security,  criminal alien adult males with 90 months or less remaining to serve on their  sentences.  As of December  2015 , contract prisons house d roughly  22, 660  of these  federal inmates , or about  12 percent of the BOP’s total inmate population . These contract  prisons were  operated by  three  private corporations: Corrections  Corporation of America; GEO Group, Inc.; and Management and Training  Corporation.

The BOP’s  annual  expenditures on contract prisons increased from  approximately $562  million in  fiscal year (FY) 2011 to $639 million in FY 2014.  In  recent years, disturbances  in several federal  contract pri sons  resulted in extensive  property damage, bodily injury, and the death of a Correctional Officer.  

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG ) initiated this review to examine  how the BOP monitors  these facilities. We  also assessed whether contractor  performance meets certain inmate safety and security requirements  and  analyzed  how contract prisons and similar BOP institutions compare with regard to inmate  safety and security data.  We found that, in most key areas, contract prisons  incurred more safety and security incidents per capita than comparable BOP  institutions and that the BOP needs to improve how it  monitors contract prisons  in  several areas . Throughout this report, we note several important corrective actions the BOP has taken,  in response to findings and recommendations in our April 2015  audit of the Reeves County contract prison, to improve its monitoring of contract  prisons , including in the areas of health and correctional services.

The BOP’s administration, monitoring, and oversight of contract pri sons  is  conducted through  three branches at BOP headquarters and  on site . According to the BOP, at each contract prison, two BOP  onsite  monitors and a  BOP  Contracting  Officer , in cooperation with other  BOP subject matter experts , oversee each  contractor’s compliance with 29  vital  functions  within 8 operational areas , including  correctional programs , correctional services , and  health services .

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