“Death by a thousand cuts” seems to be the federal Bureau of Prisons’ SOP these days. From the creeping frequency of “modified” (partial) lockdowns, to ineffective policy implementation that is causing many prisoners to pay for phone calls that should be free, to reduced visiting hours, the BOP seems intent on fraying already fragile family bonds.
Here’s a snapshot of how this behavior is manifesting itself across the network of 122 federal prisons. (To explore what other issues are being reported at the various prisons, visit the Prison Pulse Report.)
Phone calls to family
The BOP announced last fall that beginning this year, its incarcerated residents would no longer be able to make 510 minutes of free phone calls each month. Instead, only individuals who have an identified programming need and are at least on a waiting list for a matching program can make calls for free – and only up to 300 minutes per month. At least, that’s what the policy says. Five months after the change, we are still hearing that many eligible people are having to pay for their minutes—a charge many cannot afford. Combined, the reduced minutes and the cost are making it difficult for many incarcerated individuals to maintain consistent family ties.
PERA partnered with More Than Our Crimes to provide a list of individuals and who were being forced to pay for minutes that should be free to the BOP’s regional “family support coordinators.” The response we received suggested, in part, that the individuals contact the executive assistants for the facilities involved, as well as file administrative remedies. “The Administrative Remedy Program provides an inmate with a detailed response in writing after review is completed, along with any further documentation for their inquiries.” What that response doesn’t say is that relief is rarely granted via the remedy process, and retaliation for filing them is common. What is also not acknowledged in the response is our report that every channel possible had already been tried by the individuals we cited. Said one person at FCI Sheridan in Oregon:
“Five people had the free phone time taken from them. Then we finally got it, but we’re not sure how. We talked to everyone up the ladder: the Unit Manager, Case Manager, Counselor, Psychology Staff and the CMC. But now what’s happening is that if you complete all of your FSA programming needs then your phone time is taken from you.”
Another individual at Forrest City Low in Arkansas wrote,
I should get them [the free minutes] and do not. My case manager said it’s the trust fund, the trust fund said it’s the region and it goes on without an answer.”
Perhaps this is why some people call the BOP “Backwards on Purpose.”
Lockdowns
If you’re locked down while incarcerated, that means you’re confined to your cell. It can last for a couple of hours, several days or even weeks. In the latter case, you’re only allowed out for a shower a couple of times a week. That means no phone calls, no visits. Reports received recently from members of the More Than Our Crimes network indicate that lockdowns of all forms are increasing, and increasingly rather kneejerk. Consider these examples:
We just came off a two-week lockdown, supposedly to save on overtime costs. Now we are being told we will be locked down one week each month (FCI Waseca, Minnesota)
They are locking us in every Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday at 6 p.m. for the rest of the evening, supposedly because they are short of staff. (FCI Thomson, Illinois)
We are just now coming out this week after a month behind the door. Some guy checked in and told the captain that a weapon was in one of the units. So, they tore the whole compound up, with no success. They didn’t find anything. (FCI McDowell, West Virginia)
The prison has been on lockdown since February 19 [written March 31]. Every time I call the facility, there is no answer at all, or when I make a selection from the automated menu, there is a silent pause and then it hangs up. All visitation has been cancelled, and we have no contact with our loved one! (FCI Allenwood, Pennsylvania)
William Marshall, the new BOP director, said on Fox News that he wants to add programming to the tablets incarcerated people can buy, so that education won’t be interrupted during lockdowns. While that is a great idea, we also want to see lockdowns become rare, not routine like they are now.
Visits
At the same time that calls are more expensive and people are locked in more, we are hearing stories about greater barriers to in-person visits. Consider:
- At both USP Coleman 1 in Florida and FCI Sheridan in Oregon, visitors have recently been turned away after traveling long distances when an ion scanner erroneously detected the presence of heroin. Ion scanners are so sensitive they can detect minuscule amounts of substances – which can be good but also leads to false positives. In addition, even accidental or incidental contact with drugs (such as touching currency containing trace drug residue) can trigger a false positive.
- FCI Sheridan has further discouraged visits by allowing them on only one weekend a month, and never on holidays.
- At FCI Allenwood in Pennsylvania, families recently reported that physical contact is no longer allowed during visits. Family members are separated from loved ones by a plastic barrier. They must talk through holes drilled in the plastic! Supposedly this COVID-like practice is due to short staffing and it will stay in place until at least November.
- At the Hazelton complex in West Virginia, the visiting area contains no vending machines – making it very difficult for young children to stay for more than a couple of hours. And at USP Lee in Virginia, if the incarcerated person must use the toilet, the visit is terminated.
We receive many reports of letters not received at all, or that arrive weeks after they were sent. Family members tell us they have resorted to numbering their letters so that they have some way to tell what has gone missing. Mail tampering is illegal, but is very hard to prove.
Connections to the outside world, especially with family members, is extremely important to prisoners’ mental health and social skills. They should be prioritized and protected, not sacrificed due to inconvenience or the little extra work they require to maintain.
