As mentioned on my previous blog post, in my view there is no way to achieve the BOP’s intended mission/goals without solving many of the list of issues limiting the BOP’s success today. And attacking any one of those issues alone won’t allow the BOP success without solving all the remaining issues as well. We need a comprehensive Transformation Plan that ALL constituencies get involved with and do their part.
To begin with, I’d propose we address non violent offenders, those primarily in low and minimum security. About 60% of the BOP population or 100,000 inmates. While much of what I blog about is federal level incarceration/pre custody release, I believe the same applies to state non violent offenders , easily another 1 million inmates. This entire series will be focused on non violent offenders in low and minimum security facilities to simplify the Transformation Plan for now.
Before we jump into it though, lets take a step back and understand the Director of the BOP’s mission and goals as Director of BOP, Ms. Peter’s herself defines them:
Mission- Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities
Vision: Proposed Future State for the BOP- Our highly skilled diverse and innovative workforce creates a strong foundation of safety and security; through the principles of humanity and normalcy we develop good neighbors
CORE Values:
– Accountability: We are responsible and transparent to the public, ourselves,and to those in our care and custody, by the standards we establish, the actions we take, and the duties we perform.
-Integrity: We are true to our ethical standards in all circumstances
– Respect: We foster an inclusive environment where the viewpoint of employees,the public,and those in our care are considered and valued
– Compassion: We will strive to understand one another’s circumstances and act with empathy and by we, we mean each other as colleagues and corrections professionals and compassion for those in our care and custody
– Correctional Excellence: We demonstrate leadership in our corrections field through our practices and values
I admire Ms. Peter’s intent here, and understand that these type of statements should be aspirational, and I’ll refer to them from time to time during this series as I recommend certain actions consistent with them that are needed in my view.
My thesis for the BOP’s transformation plan to be successful is that WE, as in all elements of society, including the Judiciary in its broadest sense, Homeland Security/ICE, and Congress, our representatives , need to realign and align(if possible) our views on:
* sentencing length and consistency
* rehabilitation/programming vs. serving time with appropriate security levels
* enabling successful reentry of inmates post release and what that entails
* role models and mentoring on a large scale
* Using BOP resources for its mission, not other agencies needs
My bias is toward rehabilitation and enabling long term success upon release for all kinds of reasons, but also respecting victim’s rights and firm incarceration without perks for those who won’t rehabilitate or become repeat offenders. You will see these issues woven into my recommendations as we roll out this blog series.
If successful release/reentry and and low recidivism are the main criteria to measure BOP success, lets’ transition our focus on the HOW to achieve them. First, to brand this transformation, I’ve chosen “START” as its name, standing for:
* Staff- recruiting, training, culture, incentive compensation, career path planning, organization structure/responsibility etc.
* Technology- hand held devices, new IT information system, online learning, ongoing hardware revitalization program, etc.
* Accountability- Congress, BOP Leadership, DOJ, Homeland Security. Warden & Location Team,
* Resources- new facilities, technology investment, staff recruiting/compensation/training,
* Treatment of Inmates- rehabilitation, education, guards with greater than 15 years experience, updated policies and disciplinary procedures etc.
Practically speaking, first time offenders are the “pipeline” for becoming repeat offenders. Second time offenders are the pipeline for becoming perennial repeat offenders. So it stands the reason that the more resources we can allocate to first time offenders and then second time thereafter, the better, if improving outcomes is the goal. Unfortunately our sentencing, rehabilitation/programming, mentoring approaches lump everyone one into the same bucket- violent and non offenders, first,second, and repeat offenders. The devil is in the detail as you will see.
Secondly, lets define what prison facilities really are, not what we wish them to be. In my current experience at a low security facility, they are a form of public housing, but with very old buildings, and with many more amenities than what we normally see as public housing on on the outside. Living costs are paid for(electricity, laundry, food, medical, clothing, etc.) here, all wrapped with a restrictive level of security/guards, small room/cells, and a lot of community space to i) view TV, ii) shower,iii) eat meals, and iv) exercise. Prisons have a lot of amenities as compared to regular public housing including a library, gym/weights, softball and soccer field. Free education and classes, healthcare and dental services are provided as well. Except for the obvious security restrictions and lack of family in the housing unit, comparatively inmates have a much better public housing experience in terms of amenities and cost of living than non inmates on the outside. Why would that be?
So taking a generally financially unsuccessful inmate, likely undereducated, many very lazy or never trained to be goal or activity focused, and providing them a low end ” Club Med type prison public housing/amenities ” at no cost for 10-20 years is not a path to successful inmate reentry nor BOP success. Neither is then dumping them back on the street without any financial means or new skills, its a recipe for disaster in creating more repeat offenders. Until we as a society come to understand and agree this is a problem, the BOP has no chance of achieving its mission/goals.
Another issue limiting BOP’s success today is the category of sexual offender criminals. Treating and housing them the same as other non violent offenders, like drug or white collar offenders, is ineffective as well. And they are surprisingly to me a significant percentage of the population. For the most part, the ones I see are intelligent, socially awkward, different appearance and unlikely to fit into society without significant programming/psychological treatment, oversight and assistance. Again they are treated the same, expected to be successful upon release and not return without the benefit of any unique treatment etc. Regardless of your views, my sense is there is more awareness of transgender rights and peer groups(minimal population I’ve seen) here in BOP than mental/psychological programs for sexual offenders. By far.
Lastly, and ironically, in every other aspect of society, we grade and test to attain a level of proficiency to advance to another stage or level. Grade school thru college, licenses for realtors or CPA’s and lawyers etc.Literally everywhere. But not in the BOP. Time served & behavior is the main driver for release, and that’s after receiving free room and board for many years! As a result there is no accountability or measurement for inmates to contribute, advance, succeed in prison, so what makes us think they will succeed once they’re out? Again I’m only speaking about non violent first and second time offenders, can you imagine the others?
I lay these observations out as a foundation to assist in addressing the solutions to issues I raised on Part I of this series. BOP does some things today, that if improved in their sophistication or implementation, would address some of this. A lot of solutions require Congress’s approval via changes in the law, inclusion by medical and academic professionals, and ultimately our public education system. While I don’t profess to have all the answers by a long shot, I certainly hope to trigger additional solutions and momentum for us to do something more than we’re doing today. In summary, The DOJ and Congress and BOP’s reputation is at stake, and much more, if they don’t get this right. Another hearing, press conference, public shellacking, reduction in budget of BOP isn’t going to do it.
Time for some bold ideas and taking action in my view. That’s what the rest of this series will be about. It doesn’t mean the BOP can’t take some immediate steps to transform itself, so I will start with three of those in the next few blogs, and then launch into what Congress and DOJ should consider.
