By Rena Abdusalam
WASHINGTON, D.C – The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed the Federal Prison Oversight Act (FPOA), which the authors claim will increase transparency and accountability within the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
FAMM (Families Against Mandatory Minimums), an advocacy organization that promotes policy for people affected by incarceration, recently recognized this monumental progress toward improving the agency.
“After all the headlines, scandals, and controversy that have plagued the Bureau of Prisons for decades, we’re very happy to see this Congress take action to bring transparency and accountability to an agency that has gone so long without it,” said Vice President of Policy at FAMM, Daniel Landsman, adding, “We look forward to seeing this bill move on to the president’s desk and become law.”
“Thank you to Sens. Ossoff, Braun, and Durbin for championing this bill and for prioritizing the health and safety of the more than 150,000 people incarcerated in federal prisons, as well as of the tens of thousands of people who work in the same facilities,” declared Landsman.
“We also would like again to thank Reps. Armstrong and McBath for their corresponding efforts on this bill in the U.S. House. We hear daily from our members with loved ones incarcerated in federal prisons about the harsh conditions and too frequent disregard for incarcerated people’s humanity. Their perspectives inform our strong support for this bill,” continued Landsman.
“The FPOA will provide long overdue independent prison oversight of BOP. Under this legislation, the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General will be charged with conducting inspections of every federal correctional facility, with frequency determined by each facility’s combined risk score,” stated FAMM.
FAMM also described that the FPOA establishes more frequent inspections for high-risk facilities and a Correctional Ombudsman position.
“That person will be charged with carrying out targeted investigations of complaints lodged by an incarcerated individual, a family advocate, a representative of the incarcerated individual, BOP staff, a representative of BOP staff, a Member of Congress, or a member of the federal judiciary,” reported FAMM.
According to FAMM, the introduction of the FPOA is due to recent scandals at federal institutions. Such scandals include California’s FCI Dublin, Kansas’ USP Leavenworth, and West Virginia’s FCC Hazelton.
“Environments like the one at FCI Dublin — a federal women’s prison so rife with sexual abuse that it came to be known as ‘the rape club’ by people who were living and working there —persisted with no independent accountability of BOP,” said Deputy General Counsel at FAMM, Shanna Rifkin.
“Closing the facility at Dublin does not change the underlying culture that contributed to rampant sexual abuse in prison, but legislation like the FPOA will help address the underlying issues and prevent toxic situations like this from happening again,” said Rifkin.
“It is time for a new chapter of change, where every prison is held to the highest standards through oversight, and every decision is guided by a commitment to rehabilitation and humanity,” said formerly incarcerated in the federal BOP system for four years, advocate for prison reform, and FAMM member, Vanessa Rojas.
“Only through transparency and accountability can we truly build a more just, safer, and equitable society,” added Rojas.
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