US government to close women’s prison known for abuse, 6 other facilities

The U.S. government is set to close down a woman’s prison known for abuse issues and will idle six other facilities.

The Closure

The Bureau of Prisons announced Thursday plans to close the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, and deactivate minimum-security prison camps in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. According to the agency, staff and inmates are being relocated to other facilities.

In a document reviewed by The Associated Press, the Bureau of Prisons described its actions as “decisive and strategic,” aimed at tackling “significant challenges, including a critical staffing shortage, deteriorating infrastructure and limited budgetary resources.” The agency emphasized that it is not downsizing and pledged to secure new positions for all affected employees.

The closures mark a significant shift in the Biden administration’s approach to overseeing the Justice Department’s largest agency. Despite pledges to reform FCI Dublin and other struggling facilities, Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters has turned to closures and consolidation, pointing to severe staffing shortages and the overwhelming costs of repairing outdated infrastructure.

The Prison

The decision to permanently close FCI Dublin, following its temporary shutdown seven months ago amid a staff-on-inmate abuse scandal that earned it the nickname “rape club,” underscores the Bureau of Prisons’ apparent inability—or unwillingness—to overhaul its most troubled facilities.

The agency, which oversees more than 30,000 employees, 158,000 inmates, and operates on an $8 billion annual budget, faces mounting scrutiny over its handling of such institutions.

The decision follows the agency’s closure of its Manhattan jail three years ago, a facility plagued by severe issues revealed after financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein‘s suicide. Problems included inadequate security, chronic staffing shortages and hazardous conditions such as crumbling concrete and broken cell doors.

The agency has also announced plans to construct a new medium-security prison and minimum-security camp in Roxana, Kentucky, designed to house approximately 1,400 inmates. Backed by $500 million in congressional funding, the project aims to address the need for “modern facilities and infrastructure.”

The Bureau of Prisons, alongside the correctional workers union, has consistently called for increased federal funding, citing insufficient resources to cover pay raises, improve staff retention and address a multibillion-dollar backlog in facility repairs. With over half of federal prisons constructed before 1991, many are now considered outdated or obsolete, according to the agency.

The agency stated that reassigning employees to remaining facilities is expected to improve staff retention and reduce both mandatory overtime and augmentation—a controversial practice where non-security personnel, such as cooks, teachers and nurses, are tasked with guarding inmates.

The permanent closure of FCI Dublin signals a rare admission by the Bureau of Prisons of its inability to reform the facility’s toxic culture and environment following widespread reports of sexual abuse exposed by The Associated Press. The agency now faces lawsuits from hundreds of former inmates, demanding systemic reforms and financial compensation for the mistreatment they endured.

Other Facilities

Alongside the closure of FCI Dublin, the Bureau of Prisons is shutting down minimum-security prison camps in Pensacola, Florida; Duluth, Minnesota; and Morgantown, West Virginia. Operations are also being suspended at satellite minimum-security camps connected to federal prisons in Oxford, Wisconsin; Littleton, Colorado; and Loretto, Pennsylvania.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

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