BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – Following the several inmate homicides at the US Penitentiary Hazelton as well as federal inmate deaths across the country, the Department of Justice has released a new report evaluating the circumstances incarcerated persons are living under at Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) institutions in the nation.
The report focuses on 344 inmate deaths that the DOJ categorized as either suicide, homicide, accident, and ‘those resulting from unknown factors’.
Suicides comprised the majority of deaths, with homicides being the second-most prominent cause of death.
Furthermore, officials say the majority of accidental or unknown deaths involved overdose.
“We identified several operational and managerial deficiencies, which created unsafe conditions prior to and at the time of a number of these deaths, that the BOP must address,” The DOJ’s official report says. “We also identified recurring conditions following an inmate’s death that limited the BOP’s ability to identify measures that would help minimize future risks to inmates in its custody.”
The four main takeaways that the DOJ listed as the results of the study were as follows:
- Suicide represents a significant risk, which the BOP can mitigate through compliance with existing policies
- The BOP’s response to medical emergencies was often insufficient for various reasons
- A lack of available information about inmate deaths limits the BOP’s ability to prevent further deaths
- Long-standing operational challenges impair the BOP’s ability to reduce the risk of inmate death.
Finally, the DOJ listed 12 recommendations they made to address persistent operational deficiencies. These recommendations include, but are not limited to:
- Develop strategies to ensure that staff assign Mental Health Care Level designations to inmates.
- Ensure all staff are trained in automatic defibrillator use, and that all defibrillators are in working order.
- Develop procedures to ensure that all required death-related records are completed and collected consistently and in accordance with established deadlines.
- Evaluate existing electronic devices used for inmate screening to identify whether they are functioning as intended, and, if necessary, implement any needed adjustments or upgrades.
You can access and read the full report here.
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