US government closes women’s prison and other facilities after years of abuse and disrepair

WASHINGTON- The Federal Bureau of Prisons is permanently closing its “rape club” women’s prison in California and will shutter six facilities as part of a sweeping realignment after years of abuse, disrepair and mismanagement, The Associated Press has learned .

The agency informed its employees and Congress on Thursday that it 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. Staff and inmates are being transferred to other facilities, the agency said.

In a document obtained by the AP, the Bureau of Prisons said it was taking “decisive and strategic steps” to address “significant challenges, including critical staffing shortages, crumbling infrastructure and limited budget resources.” . The agency said it is not making workforce reductions and is committed to finding positions for each affected employee.

The closures are a striking coda to the Biden administration’s handling of the Justice Department’s largest agency. After repeatedly promising to reform FCI Dublin and other struggling facilities, Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters is turning to closures and consolidation, citing inadequate staffing and sky-high costs to repair infrastructure aging.

The permanent closure of FCI Dublin seven months after a temporary closure following staff abuse of inmates is the clearest sign yet that the agency, which has more than 30,000 staff, 158,000 inmates and a annual budget of around $8 billion, is unable or unwilling to rehabilitate its most problematic institutions.

The move comes three years after the agency closed its New York prison in Manhattan after myriad problems came to light in the wake of Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide, including lax security, understaffing and squalid and dangerous conditions such as falling concrete and destroyed cells.

At the same time, the agency recently committed to building a new medium-security prison facility and minimum-security camp for about 1,400 inmates in Roxana, Ky., citing the need for “more facilities and modern infrastructure,” with $500 million allocated by Congress. for construction.

The Bureau of Prisons and the correctional workers union have repeatedly pushed for additional federal funding for prisons, pointing to what they view as an insufficient amount of money to meet wage increases, staff retention and a multibillion-dollar repair backlog. More than half of federal prison facilities were built before 1991, and many are becoming obsolete or obsolete, the agency said.

The agency said it expects that reassigning employees at remaining facilities will boost retention and reduce mandatory overtime and raises, a practice by which cooks, teachers, nurses and others Prison employees are assigned to guard inmates.

In a document summarizing the closures, the Bureau of Prisons said it had decided to close FCI Dublin following a security and infrastructure assessment following its temporary closure in April. At the time, it appeared the agency was determined to close the low-security prison, but officials suggested it could be repaired and reopened for other purposes, such as housing male inmates .

The assessment identified extensive repairs needed to reopen FCI Dublin, the agency said. Staff shortages, exacerbated by the Bay Area’s high cost of living, also contributed to the decision to close the facility, the agency said.

“As the agency faces a challenging budget and staffing environment, we must make incredibly difficult decisions. FCI Dublin will not reopen,” the agency said.

The permanent closure of FCI Dublin represents an extraordinary acknowledgment by the Bureau of Prisons of its failure to repair the culture and environment of the facility following AP reporting revealing rampant sexual abuse within its walls. Hundreds of people incarcerated at FCI Dublin are suing the agency, demanding reforms and monetary compensation for mistreatment at the facility.

The closures of FCI Dublin and the entire federal prison system come amid an AP investigation that exposed deep and previously unseen flaws within the Bureau of Prisons. AP reporting revealed widespread criminal activity by employees, dozens of escapes, chronic violence, deaths and severe staffing shortages that hampered responses to emergencies, including assaults and suicides of prisoners.

In July, President Biden signed legislation strengthening oversight of the agency after AP reporting highlighted its many flaws.

In addition to closing FCI Dublin, the Bureau of Prisons is closing its minimum-security prison camps in Pensacola, Florida; Duluth, Minn.; and Morgantown, West Virginia. It is also suspending operations at minimum-security satellite camps adjacent to federal prisons in Oxford, Wisconsin, Littleton, Colorado, and Loretto, Pennsylvania.

These facilities, built for the lowest-risk offenders, with dormitory-style housing and little or no fencing, have been the scene of frequent escapes and an influx of contraband.

The Bureau of Prisons said its Pensacola camp buildings, which are owned by the Navy, are in “very poor condition” and will be demolished after about 500 prisoners and 100 staff are transferred to other facilities .

The Duluth camp is also plagued by “aging and dilapidated infrastructure,” including several condemned buildings contaminated with asbestos and lead paint, the agency said. Approximately 736 inmates and 90 staff members will be transferred to other facilities.

The Morgantown camp is closing and about 400 inmates and 150 employees will be transferred to “maximize existing resources” to the federal prison complex in Hazelton, West Virginia, about 23 miles away.

Employees from the three inactive satellite camps have been or will be transferred to adjacent low-security prisons while minimum-security inmates from the camps are transferred elsewhere. The FCI camp in Oxford, Wisconsin, was emptied in June, the agency said.

The Bureau of Prisons again cited efficiency and infrastructure issues for the moves, including a $26 million estimate for repairs to the FCI Englewood camp in Littleton, Colorado.

Sisak and Balsamo write for the Associated Press. Sisak reported from New York.