A recent Bureau of Prisons Inspector General report found USP Atlanta had the most deaths of any Federal prison nationwide between 2014-2021
Inspector General report also found that nationwide, contraband contributed to at least 1/3 of deaths in Federal prisons
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff today pressed the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director to crack down on contraband in Atlanta’s Federal prison.
Today in a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, Sen. Ossoff pressed BOP Director Colette Peters on the steps she’s taking to crack down on the contraband flowing through BOP facilities that threaten public safety, including at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta.
A recent Bureau of Prisons Inspector General report found USP Atlanta had the most deaths of any Federal prison nationwide between 2014-2021. The same report also found that nationwide, contraband contributed to at least 1/3 of deaths in Federal prisons.
“As you know, a PSI investigation that I led several years ago found a very substantial flow of contraband into the facility, including weapons and narcotics,” Sen. Ossoff said. “IG’s recent report found that contraband, drugs, or weapons contributed to nearly 1/3 of deaths in custody at BOP. What steps, Director, have you taken to address the flow of contraband and the threat that poses to public safety at BOP facilities, and in particular at USP Atlanta?”
Sen. Ossoff also pressed the BOP director to address chronic understaffing in Federal prisons, including in Atlanta.
In 2022, Sen. Ossoff unveiled the results of his 10-month bipartisan investigation into corruption, abuse, and misconduct at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta and within the BOP. His bipartisan investigation uncovered a lack of oversight of the Federal prison system that led to long-term failures that likely contributed to loss of life; jeopardized the health and safety of incarcerated people and staff; and undermined public safety and civil rights.
Last July, Sen. Ossoff and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced the bipartisan Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2023, which would make the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director a U.S. Senate-confirmed position.
Last April, Sens. Ossoff, Mike Braun (R-IN) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act to establish new, independent oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
Click here to watch Sen. Ossoff’s line of questioning.
Please find transcripts of Sen. Ossoff’s questioning below:
SEN. OSSOFF: “With my remaining time Dr. Peters, I want to follow up on an issue at USP Atlanta.
“As you know, a PSI investigation that I led several years ago found very substantial flow of contraband into the facility, including weapons and narcotics.
“The IG’s recent report found that contraband, drugs, or weapons contributed to nearly 1/3 of deaths in custody at BOP. What steps, Director, have you taken to address the flow of contraband and the threat that poses to public safety at BOP facilities and in particular at USP Atlanta, please?”
DIRECTOR PETERS: “At USP Atlanta, the issues that were uncovered still fall into these two categories — lack of staffing, and our maintenance and repair backlog. As we were able to show you during your visit at USP Atlanta, that facility’s structure was crumbling, and it allowed for hiding contraband inside our institution.
“So, we’re working to maintain our facilities in a way where they are safe and secure. But we’re also working every day to interdict contraband in our institutions through the use of detecting and stopping drone activity, looking at the mail, and looking at ways to stop drugs from coming in via the mail.
“We work diligently to ensure that anyone entering our institution has a background check and is physically screened before they come inside. So, this is something that is absolutely top of mind, as you well know and pointed out, contraband is a significant issue and can lead to lost lives, or even impact the safety and security of our employees.”
IG HOROWITZ: “Can I just speak to the contraband issue because it’s such a significant issue. It’s connected to, we found, 1/3 of the deaths in our review, and in the report. We’ve been on inspections, and we were at FCI Tallahassee for example, an inspection, and our team went and what you saw there in terms of challenges on contraband with inmate potentially smuggling contraband.
“Inmates who were working near the fence lines could easily have something thrown over a fence to them. Inmates who went out to collect garbage were not being checked as they brought bags back into the facility, some basic stuff that you would think it’s not sophisticated to figure out how to try and interdict that kind of contraband.
“And not surprisingly, by the way, the prison with the highest of number of deaths in our report was USP Atlanta, which had been closed in 2021, precisely because of the hundreds of, the dozens of cell phones and drugs found in the prison.
“And so, this is a major problem. We’ve had a staff search policy recommendation open for years, that has not been implemented — a basic search policy for staff coming in to the facility that hasn’t happened either.
“So there are a lot of challenges on the contraband issue that are very significant that we’re concerned is contributing to inmate deaths, both from homemade weapons and from drugs being brought into the facility.”
SEN. OSSOFF: “Thank you both.”
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