On September 2, 2010,the Bureau of Prisons released the results of its audit to measure the success or failure of its furlough policy. Under BOP guidelines, inmates are released outside the prison walls for a variety of reasons. Furloughs are unescorted trips that fall into two categories: transfer or non- transfer. A transfer furlough is when an inmate leaves the prison to travel to another institution, goes to a medical facility for treatment, or is released to a Residential Reentry Center (RRC) or halfway house. A non-transfer furlough is when an inmate leaves a prison but returns to it. Some of the reasons for non-transfer furloughs are to strengthen family ties, to go to a medical facility, to participate in a job detail, or religious or educational programs. An inmate might also be given a non-transfer furlough to visit a dying immediate relative, or to attend the funeral of one.
Inmates who are eligible for non-escorted furloughs are usually carefully screened to provide public safety, and to ascertain that they are not a flight risk. The purpose of the audit was “..to determine if the BOP has implemented effective internal controls related to its furlough program, including adequate safeguards to ensure furloughed inmates are sufficiently monitored, and whether the BOP adequately coordinates with other agencies regarding inmate furloughs and escapes.”
The auditors met with over 30 Officials from the BOP including Community Corrections Managers and staff from the Correctional Programs Division. United States Marshalls were also interviewed concerning coordination endeavors between the marshals and BOP if a furloughed inmate escapes.. The auditors focused on two institutions, Bryan Federal Prison Camp in Texas, and Victorville Federal Correctional Complex in California, analyzing data and furlough policies from FY2007 through FY2009.
The audit concluded that, for the most part, the BOP was compliant with policy, as written, but some “weaknesses” were found. The furlough policy has not been updated since 1998. In 2003, policy was drafted that would provide for victims to be notified when a inmate went on a medical furlough, but that policy has not been implemented. Other problems included poor record keeping and allowing some inmates to furlough, even though they were not eligible. Some of the recommendations to correct the problems include, closer monitoring, better record keeping, furlough policy revision, and more accurate statistics regarding furlough escapes.
|
