Brooklyn Federal Bureau of Prisons, September 2023: The BOP’s parent Justice Department agreed with recommendations to include information about a fuller range of potential misconduct in its notices. Image: Plat-Q / Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe GAO has called on the Bureau of Prisons to strengthen policies and procedures aimed at preventing and addressing misconduct by its employees, for example by better identifying trends to help it better focus its efforts.
Regarding prevention, a report noted that the agency last year updated its employee conduct standards but “is not sharing and using feedback from employees on the training, which is inconsistent with leading practices. Doing so would better position BOP to improve the training’s design, delivery, and overall effectiveness in preventing employee misconduct.”
And while the agency posts signs in facilities to inform incarcerated individuals how to report certain employee misconduct, those signs focus on sexual misconduct; broadening those notices to cover topics such as physical abuse “could increase awareness about the standards BOP is trying to uphold and help ensure facility safety and employee accountability.”
The agency also has increased staff and has taken other steps to address a backlog in investigating complaints against employees, but more than a third of the more than 12,000 cases open as of February had been pending for at least three years, it said.
“BOP’s approach to investigating and disciplining employee misconduct does not include establishing milestones or designating responsibilities to key officials. Implementing a comprehensive plan with these elements would help BOP allocate the resources necessary for investigating and disciplining employee misconduct cases, achieve desired results, and enhance safety and efficiency,” it said.
The BOP’s parent Justice Department agreed with recommendations to include information about a fuller range of potential misconduct in its notices, collect and analyze feedback regarding training, and assess long-term trends in misconduct complaints.
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