Managing a Growing Prison and Detainee Population

DOJ's Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for protecting society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community-based facilities that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and appropriately secure. As of October 1, 2009, BOP was responsible for overseeing a total federal inmate population of about 209,000—a population which has grown by 44 percent since 2000 and is expected to increase by an average of about 4,500 inmates a year over the next decade. As the prison population grows, so do concerns about prison capacity. According to BOP, an increase of approximately 5,800 inmates per year is currently expected for fiscal year 2011 and fiscal year 2012. Both BOP and the department's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) are responsible for providing services—through programs directed at inmates and grant solicitations to fund demonstration projects—that help inmates successfully re-enter society, increase public safety, and reduce the rate at which they return to prison (recidivism). In addition, DOJ’s Office of the Federal Detention Trustee (OFDT) has responsibility for managing the funds to detain individuals charged with federal crimes as they await adjudication. From 2001 through 2009, the number of detainees under federal custody increased from 37,124 to 58,746 per day. About 45 percent of this increase occurred because of a rise in immigration-related arrests along the Southwest border of the United States, and one-third of the remaining increase resulted from a rise in drug-related charges. Nevertheless, DOJ has, and will continue to face, the kinds of challenges highlighted in dealing with the growing prison and detainee populations:

• According to BOP, its facilities were operating at 35 percent over capacity, and as of January 2011, 94 percent of high security inmates were double bunked. With an increasing inmate population in BOP institutions, officer safety is continuously at risk. To protect officers from a range of threats, BOP has taken steps, such as providing additional equipment to officers to access in an emergency and routinely conducting officer training to enhance on-the-job responsiveness. However, it is difficult for BOP to determine the impact on officer safety of the equipment it provides because it has not used existing information systems to evaluate data for this purpose.

  Highlights of GAO-11-410 (PDF)

• BOP's costs for key operations to maintain basic services, such as those for inmate medical care and utilities, exceeded the funding levels requested in the President's budget from fiscal years 2004 through 2008, limiting BOP's ability to manage its growing population. Given BOP’s unique responsibility for managing this population, and its limited discretion when costs for key operations exceed funding levels, it is especially important for BOP to develop accurate cost estimates and clearly convey to decision makers the potential risk of costs exceeding funding levels.

  Highlights of GAO-10-94 (PDF)

• Approximately one-third of BOP’s 116 institutions were built 50 or more years ago, and with the continued and future projected inmate growth, BOP has acknowledged that its building and facilitates funds have been stretched very thin for ongoing maintenance and repair. Without additional funding to enhance or even expand its infrastructure, BOP will have to look to alternatives to safely confine a growing inmate population. Due to projections of future growth of inmate populations, BOP will need to continue to acquire additional capacity. However, deciding what to do in response to this need will be difficult because BOP does not have the data necessary to do a methodologically sound cost comparison of its various alternatives for confining inmates, such as contracting with private companies, building new facilities, buying existing facilities, or expanding facilities.

  Highlights of GAO-08-6 (PDF)

• OFDT has limited ability to cut services, reduce costs, or draw on other accounts in response to such unforeseen increases in detention housing and subsistence costs because it is required to cover costs associated with housing and transporting all USMS detainees, and housing and subsistence expenses comprise approximately 90 percent of OFDT’s costs. Thus, while OFDT’s methods for estimating costs follow many of GAO’s best practices and substantially meet the characteristics of accurate and comprehensive cost estimates, even if OFDT underestimates costs by a small percentage, this could mean program costs exceed OFDT’s appropriations by tens of millions of dollars.

  Highlights of GAO-10-1037R (PDF)

• DOJ is not positioned to demonstrate which criminal justice programs are effective alternatives for stabilizing or reducing the growth of prison populations. For example, although empirical research on drug court programs—which are funded by federal grants—had historically been limited, our review of various evaluation studies demonstrated that drug court programs can be an effective means to help some individuals reduce substance abuse problems and lessen recidivism compared to criminal justice alternatives, such as probation. Nonetheless, over the last several years, DOJ's Inspector General has reported that DOJ has yet to develop consistent mechanisms to measure grant effectiveness and assess how effectively funds are being spent. In response to P.L. 111-220, we are currently examining what is known about the costs and benefits of adult drug courts, particularly with regard to their effectiveness in reducing defendants' recidivism and substance use relapse rates, among other drug court issues. We expect to report to Congress on our findings by August 2011.

  Highlights of GAO-05-219 (PDF)
  Top Management and Performance Challenges in the Department of Justice - 2010

• BOP uses inmate re-entry programs to help reduce recidivism. Re-entry programs assist inmates in acquiring skills needed for re-entering their communities through various services, including educational and vocational training, work programs, and drug rehabilitation. GAO found that BOP has not fully applied leading program management practices to its efforts to implement an initiative to address inmate skills gaps, which could strengthen BOP’s ability to facilitate the successful re-entry of inmates into their communities. Specifically, BOP has not fully developed an implementation plan, including a comprehensive cost estimate for its inmate skills development initiative. Until BOP implements these sound management controls, it may be difficult to assess the cost and impact of BOP’s efforts to facilitate the successful reentry of inmates into their communities.

  Full Report of of GAO-10-854 (PDF)

^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done

• To address the challenges associated with managing the growing prison population, DOJ and BOP need to take a number of actions. First, DOJ and BOP need to carefully assess and balance several competing resource needs including maintaining existing, aging facilities and enhancing programs to reduce recidivism. DOJ and BOP will also need to conduct methodologically sound analyses that compare the cost of privately contracted facilities, building new facilities, buying existing facilities, or expanding facilities. Finally, it will remain important for BOP to develop accurate cost estimates when preparing its annual budget submissions and clearly convey to decision makers the potential risk of costs exceeding funding levels.

  Highlights of GAO-10-94 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-08-6 (PDF)

• To assess the impact of the equipment BOP has provided or could provide to its officers, BOP will need to leverage its existing data systems, as well as the institutional expertise available throughout DOJ components, as appropriate to conduct evidence-based evaluative research. By assessing which equipment has the greatest impact on officer safety in a range of scenarios and settings, BOP could be better positioned to dedicate its resources more effectively.

  Highlights of GAO-11-410 (PDF)

• To ensure that BOP determines the optimal allocation of resources for re-entry programs, BOP needs to develop a comprehensive plan and cost estimate for its inmates skills development initiative, including delineating costs associated with program development, implementation, training, and evaluation. Therefore, it is critical that BOP has sound management controls to guide the effort.

  Highlights of GAO-10-854R (PDF)

^ Back to topKey Reports

Department Of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, FY 2010 Performance and Accountability Report, Office of the Inspector General Top Management and Performance Challenges in the Department of Justice; 2010

(Washington D.C.: Nov. 9, 2010).

Top Management and Performance Challenges in the Department of Justice - 2010

Bureau of Prisons

Bureau of Prisons

Cost of Prisons

Adult Drug Courts

Congressional Research Service, Offender Reentry: Correctional Statistics, Reintegration into the Community, and Recidivism,

(Washington, D.C.: Dec. 17, 2007).

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