The vast majority of inmates within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will eventually find themselves the focus of a disciplinary proceeding. This is because BOP disciplinary policy includes everything from the seemingly inconsequential to the criminal. In fact, federal inmates are known to receive incident reports for actions that they weren’t even aware were
In the first week of January 2013, at the federal prison in which I live, a couple of dozen guards and other staff members — teachers, mostly — stomped into my housing unit and appeared intent on doing a vigorous “shakedown” of our cells and the common areas. There were no guns or drug-sniffing dogs,
In an innovative move by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), federal inmates are now allowed to purchase MP3 players from their institution’s commissary and individual MP3 files through their housing unit’s Trust Fund Limited Inmate Communication System (TRULINCS) computers. This system is offered via a federal contract with Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) and has
The Equal Protection Clause set forth in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits denying any person “the equal protection of the laws.” Id. This constitutional protection does not stop at the prison gates, but its utility to the incarcerated is circumscribed, and efforts to violate rights under the clause can be fraught with difficulties related to the
By George Hook
I did not want to blow the whistle. I just wanted to search for available post-secondary prison programs. I thought the best place to start was with any statement in that regard made by the Bureau of Prisons’ overseer, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). What I found was this statement from Bridges to Opportunity–Federal Adult Education Programs For the 21st Century Report to the President on Executive Order 13445, U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education, dated July 2008 at p.18:
“Federal Prison Inmate Scholarship U.S. Department of Justice, Inmate Paid Postsecondary U.S. Department of Justice Education Program—Ray Brook, N.Y. The purpose of the Inmate Paid Postsecondary Education Program is to provide inmates incarcerated at the Ray Brook Federal Correctional Institution opportunities to enroll in postsecondary education programs and receive college credits from the North Country Community College in Saranac Lake, N.Y [3 miles away]. The program serves approximately, 50–60 federal inmates housed at the federal correctional institution. Federal inmates are not eligible to receive Pell Grants to fund postsecondary studies. The Education Department at the Ray Brook Federal Correctional Institution has established a partnership with the local community college to offer an on-site college program. Professors provide instruction to the inmate in the prison setting. Inmate students receive community college credits that are transferable to the State University of New York. Inmates pay for the costs of tuition and books from personal funds. The program enhances educational program options for inmates, allowing them to pursue a college degree without using federally appropriated funds.”
By George Hook
The BOP Central Office Division of Industries, Education, and Vocational Training has published an Occupational Training Programs Directory which sets forth its program offerings to federal prisoners in the Advanced Occupational Training category. The stated purpose of these programs is to afford prisoners interested in furthering their employability upon release the opportunity to do so by enrolling in the various vocational courses offered. Included are exploratory, marketable skill, and apprenticeship level courses. According to that Directory, 81 more or less distinct courses in the Advanced Occupational Training category are offered. These Advanced Occupational Training courses range in duration from two days to 48 months. The typical duration is 12 months.
The courses offered in the Advanced Occupational Training category are Accounting Operations, Administrative Assistant, Advanced Computer Applications, Advanced Diesel Engine Repair, Alcohol Substance Abuse Studies, Animal Husbandry, Aquaculture, Automotive Diagnostics Repair, AutoCAD, Automated Computer Aided Design and Drafting, Basic Baking, Basic Computer Applications, Basic Computer Repair and Refurbishing, Basic Computer Skills, Basic Custodial Maintenance, Basic Diesel Engine Repair, Bookkeeping and Clerical Studies, Business Foundations, Building Maintenance—Electrical, Business Management and Law, Business Supervision and Management, Building Trades, Business Accounting, Automotive Service, Bookbinding, Business Administration, Business and Information Processing, Business Leadership, Business Technology, Canine Trainer, Computer Applications, Computer Business Education, Commercial Drivers License, Computerized Engraving, Computer Refurbishing—Hardware, Computer Refurbishing—Software, Construction Technology, Consumer Electronic Repair, Copy Repair, Cosmetology,
By Richard Foster
Ninety-five percent of American prisoners will be released back into society, based on information from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. One of the most important goals of the criminal justice system is to reduce the likelihood they will recidivate upon release. Research shows that completion of a GED during incarceration reduces the rate of recidivism by approximately five percent. The Bureau also reports that, “As of June 30, 2009, state and federal correctional authorities had jurisdiction over 1,617,478 prisoners.” Five percent would therefore be equivalent to around 80,000 fewer returnees.
According to the U. S. Department of Justice: FY 2011 Budget Request, “As a result of successful law enforcement policies, the number of criminal suspects appearing in federal court continues to grow, as does the number of individuals ordered detained and ultimately incarcerated.” It goes on to explain that the number of FY 2010 prisoners was 215,000 which is expected to rise approximately 3.2% in FY 2011, up 7,000 to 222,000 inmates.
The notion that an increase in the inmate population represents success could be viewed differently. These 7,000 suspects, detainees, and convicts are representative of two categories of offenders. Some are new to the federal system, yet many are returning after previous incarceration. Whether due for parole violations or due to new charges being filed, recidivism rates account for an unnecessarily large proportion of those within our prison system. The Pew Center on the States’ report, State of Recidivism: The Revolving Door of America’s Prisons, April 13, 2011, reports that based on the data received by 41 states on prisoners released in 2004, after three years, the normal time period for these studies, there was a recidivism rate of 43.3%. This represents almost half the inmates released. It is no wonder that the U.S. has the largest percentage of its population incarcerated, as many of those who recidivate end up back in prison. Again, according to the Pew study, “…, incarceration levels had risen to a point where one in 100 American adults was behind bars. A second Pew study the following year added another disturbing dimension to the picture, revealing that one in 31 adults in the United States was either incarcerated or on probation or parole.”
By George Hook
Congress has legislated that the Bureau of Prisons, under the direction of the Attorney General, provide for the instruction of all persons charged with or convicted of offenses against the United States, to include establishing prerelease planning procedures that help prisoners apply for Federal and State benefits upon release and reentry planning procedures that include providing Federal prisoners with information in health and nutrition, employment, literacy and education, personal finance and consumer skills, community resources, personal growth and development, and release requirements and procedures.
Pursuant to this mandate, the Bureau of Prisons has provided that all its institutions must provide General Educational Development (“GED”), English as a Second Language (“ESL”), adult continuing education (“ACE”), library services, parenting, and recreational programs. Additionally, all institutions except satellite prison camps, detention centers, and metropolitan correctional centers are mandated to have a Full Educational Program (“FEP”).
A satellite prison camp is a minimum security camp adjacent to, and servicing, a larger federal institution. It may also provide Inmate workers for other off-site locations. Currently, satellite camps are adjacent to 63 institutions, being: Aliceville, Ashland, Atlanta, Atwater, Bastrop, Beaumont, Beckley, Bennettsville, Berlin, Big Sandy, Big Spring, Butner, Canaan, Carswell, Coleman Cumberland, Danbury, Devens, Dublin, Edgefield, El Reno, Englewood, Estill, Fairton, Florence, Forrest City, Fort Dix, Gilmer, Greenville, Hazelton, Herlong, Jesup, La Tuna, Leavenworth, Lee, Lewisburg, Lexington, Lompoc, Loretto, Manchester, Marianna, Marion, McCreary, McDowell, McKean, Mendota, Miami, Oakdale, Otisville, Oxford, Pekin, Petersburg, Phoenix, Pollock, Schuylkill, Seagoville, Sheridan, Talladega, Terre Haute, Texarkana, Three Rivers, Tucson, Victorville, Williamsburg, and Yazoo.