![]() ![]() The BOP has deployed new technologies to detect contraband, but more operational guidance and training are needed to maximize security.As a result, more than 13 years after our 2003 report, the BOP still has no comprehensive and effective staff search policy. The 2013 policy, with minor changes not relevant to this review, is in place today. For example, it did not prescribe any required frequency for conducting random pat searches it allowed staff to possess and use within institutions items that are prohibited for inmates, such as tobacco and it contained no restrictions on the size or content of personal property that staff may bring into institutions. However, we found that the policy contained significant deficiencies. ![]() That policy provided that when BOP staff entered a BOP prison, their belongings could be searched randomly or based on reasonable suspicion. After more than 10 years of negotiation with its union, the BOP implemented a new staff search policy in 2013. In a January 2003 report, the OIG recommended that the BOP revise its staff search policy to require searches of staff and their property when entering institutions. The BOP has not implemented an effective staff search policy to deter the introduction of contraband by prison staff.As a result, the BOP’s data about contraband recoveries in its prisons are confusing and incomplete, and this impedes the BOP’s ability to effectively track and analyze contraband trends that might help it improve its interdiction efforts. The BOP has made progress in automating its data collection on contraband recoveries, but it still uses multiple systems for different kinds of contraband, and the policies and guidance that govern its data collection efforts are insufficient. The BOP does not comprehensively and reliably track all contraband recovered within its institutions.Today’s report identifies several deficiencies that affect the BOP’s ability to more effectively deter contraband introductions, including: Using a cell phone, inmates can carry out criminal activities undetected, including threatening and intimidating witnesses, victims, and public officials, and coordinate escape attempts. According to BOP data, the most common type of contraband recovered from fiscal years 2012 through 2014 was cell phones, with at least 8,700 recovered in federal prisons during this period. Items classified as contraband by the BOP include weapons, drugs, currency, tobacco, telephones, and electronic devices. The OIG found that while the BOP has taken steps to improve its contraband detection and interdiction efforts, it can take additional steps to further deter contraband introduction and make its institutions safer for inmates, staff, and the public. The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) announced today the release of a report examining the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) efforts to prevent the introduction of contraband into federal prisons. ![]()
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