8. Bureau Of Prisons
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 4002, 4082, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons may contract with state and local authorities for the imprisonment of persons held under authority of any enactment of Congress. Under 18 U.S.C. § 5003, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons may contract with state or territory authorities for the holding of convicted state offenders in federal institutions.
The Director of the Bureau of Prisons serves as Ex Officio Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries, Inc. This corporation, under the policy guidance of a Presidentially appointed board of directors, conducts industrial operations in federal penal and correctional institutions. See 18 U.S.C. Section 4121 et seq., Ch. 307; 28 C.F.R. Section 0.98.
Current law authorizes the sentencing court to reduce an inmate's sentence upon the motion of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons "if it finds that extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction ...[and] that such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission." 18 U.S.C. Section 3582(c)(1)(A).
The Bureau of Prisons places a large number of inmates serving sentences in a variety of non-federal contract facilities under Sections 4002 and 3624(c). There are inmates serving short sentences in Community Correction Centers and local jails, inmates serving the last few months of the confinement portion of their sentence in Community Treatment Centers, adults serving long portions of their sentences in state and local prisons and juveniles committed under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act in state juvenile correctional institutions and private and local facilities.
The Bureau of Prisons is now divided into six regions for administrative and management purposes. These six offices are Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; Annapolis Junction, Maryland; Kansas City, Kansas; Dallas, Texas; and Dublin, California. Information about Bureau of Prisons' policies and operations may be obtained from the appropriate regional office. Each regional office has a Regional Counsel, who should be the contact for questions concerning Bureau of Prisons' legal matters. These Regional Counsel and their legal staff have responsibility for litigation support for the United States Attorney's Office, which include: writs of habeas corpus, Bivens litigation, federal tort claims, release of prisoner records, sentence modification, juveniles, witness security, material witnesses, representation requests, general litigation reports, and challenges to conditions of confinement. Many Bureau of Prisons institutions have staff attorneys and/or paralegal specialists on site who can assist with legal matters on the local level. The Bureau of Prisons also publishes a Prosecutors Guide to the Bureau of Prisons and A Judicial Guide to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Copies are available by contacting the Regional Counsel's office in each region.
The Bureau of Prisons operates an Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (IFRP) in conjunction with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Financial Litigation Unit of the United States Attorney's Office. All inmates with obligations, including special assessments, restitution, fines and court costs, and other federal financial obligations, are encouraged to develop a financial repayment play with institution staff. See 28 CFR Section 545.10-11. The minimum IFRP payment required for inmates is $25 per quarter. Inmates working for Federal Prison Industries are required to apply fifty percent of their earnings to their obligations. Inmates who refuse to participate in the IFRP cannot work in Federal Prison Industries, are not allowed furloughs, are not placed in Community Treatment Centers, and are limited in the number of telephone calls they can place.
Another specialized area of concern of the Bureau of Prisons is the administration of Chapter 313, Title 18 U.S.C., Sections 4241 to 4247. These statutes deal with procedures for competency and sanity examinations, procedures for hospitalization and treatment of those individuals found to be either incompetent to stand trial or not guilty only by reason of insanity, and court commitment and discharge procedures for those inmates who are determined to be in need of psychiatric hospitalization. Since the requirements of these provisions stretch the Bureau of Prison's mental health resources to their limits, incompetency (Section 4241) and insanity (Section 4242) studies should, wherever possible, be done in the community by local psychologists/psychiatrists, with commitments to the custody of the Attorney General being reserved for those individuals who cannot safely be examined in the community.
Any questions regarding medical facilities and capabilities of the Bureau of Prisons to provide care for specific medical conditions, including pregnancy and HIV or other infectious diseases, should be directed to the Office of Managed Care in Washington, D.C., (202) 307-2867. The Bureau of Prisons is solely responsible to compute federal sentences pursuant to Title 18, U.S.C., Section 3585, and Title 28, CFR, Section 0.96. This includes any decision concerning the commencement of a federal sentence and the award of prior custody credit. Questions about federal sentences, their interpretation, computation, and implementation, should be addressed to Bureau of Prisons Regional Counsel. Questions about designation of inmates to specific facilities, as well as the programs and other attributes available at each facility, should be directed to the Regional Designator in the Correctional Programs Division of the Regional Office.
[cited in JM 1-2.301]