The Department of Justice has yet to name a new director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) since the departure of Colette Peters in January. The position is both challenging and critical for national security. However, the BOP has often been a target for criticism from Congress, the judicial branch, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General, and the press. While the issues facing the agency are well-documented, solving them remains complex.
During her Senate confirmation hearing, Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi identified full implementation of the First Step Act as a priority. Signed into law in December 2018, the First Step Act allows prisoners—primarily those in minimum and low security—to participate in meaningful programs to earn time credits that reduce their sentences and expand opportunities for pre-release custody, such as halfway house placements or home confinement.
Despite the law’s intent, delays in implementation persist due to bureaucratic inefficiencies and outdated computer systems. One major challenge is the insufficient capacity of halfway houses. While the First Step Act was designed to increase the number of prisoners eligible for community-based custody, the number of contracted halfway house beds has remained stagnant—10,408 in 2019 compared to just 10,553 in 2024. However, Hugh Hurwitz, former acting-Director at the BOP, wrote a piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution in December 2024 stating that there is plenty of space at halfway houses if only the BOP would use it.
The BOP’s reliance on Residential Reentry Managers (RRMs) to assign halfway house placements is another bottleneck. The opaque decision-making process leads to delays, keeping individuals incarcerated in costly, deteriorating institutions rather than transitioning them into community-based settings. A transparent, merit-based system would improve efficiency and allow the BOP to maximize the benefits of the First Step Act.
The BOP has been on a recruiting and retention drive since former Director Carvajal took over in early 2020 just as the pandemic began. Throughout COVID, the BOP and other state correctional divisions struggled to keep up with attrition. The BOP has never recovered despite making great strides in hiring over the past two years. It was during Trump’s first term that he froze government hiring which led to the BOP being in a permanent low level of staffing. According to Office of Inspector General reports, staffing, particular medical staffing at the BOP, continues to be a challenge.
What may worry the union representing workers is just how the Trump administration may handle shortages. Some have speculated that private prisons may step in and some BOP prisoners, particularly non-US citizens, could find themselves on an expedited path back to their home country. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated recently that he struck with the president of El Salvador to send some “dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentences in the United States even though they’re US citizens or legal residents.”
One way to reduce staffing shortages and costs of incarceration is to have fewer prisoners. Minimum security prisoners can possibly be sent for more time in community placement and higher security prisoners may find themselves in prisons in another country.
Historically, the BOP has been reluctant to support compassionate release, even for terminally ill prisoners. The process begins with a formal request through the BOP’s administrative remedy system, but approvals are rare. Even when the BOP supports a request, only a judge can authorize an early release.
The Equal Justice Initiative reported that in 2019, the BOP Director approved just 55 of 1,735 compassionate release requests. In the 13 months following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, only 36 of nearly 31,000 requests were granted.
Many individuals seeking compassionate release are elderly or medically vulnerable, making them expensive to house in prison. By increasing support for compassionate release and advocating for supervised community placements, the BOP could reduce healthcare costs and free up resources while ensuring public safety.
The BOP’s administrative remedy process is antiquated and ineffective. It is designed to allow prisoners to formally file complaints regarding policy violations, but in practice, it is slow, manual, and often leads to retaliation against those who use it.
Currently, prisoners must complete handwritten complaint forms on triplicate carbon copies provided by case managers. Many prisoners lack the literacy skills necessary to complete the forms independently, forcing them to rely on fellow inmates for assistance—an arrangement that compromises privacy and discourages participation.
A modernized, electronic grievance system would improve transparency, enable tracking of complaints, and help ensure compliance with BOP policies. Additionally, it would provide valuable data on systemic issues within facilities, allowing for more effective oversight and accountability.
The BOP has stated that it needs $3 billion to modernize their facilities just to bring them into current working condition. Prisons have had to bring in drinking water, temporary showers, air conditioning units and leased kitchen equipment just to meet everyday demands of prisons. With so much money needed during an administration bent of cutting costs, it does not seem plausible that funding will be approved for the needed improvements.
One solution may be close more prisons but that will come with a lot of controversy as many of the federal prisons are in small, rural towns that have few good paying jobs. Congressional representatives will fight hard to keep those prisons open for their constituents. The next director will have to work closely with Congress if additional prison closures become a reality.
The relationship between BOP management and labor, represented by the Council of Prison Locals C-33 within the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), is deeply strained. Frontline staff have been asked to do more with fewer resources for years. The recent closure of seven BOP facilities in December, without prior notification to the union or even members of Congress, further exacerbated tensions.
Many local union leaders have expressed frustration that former Director Peters did not engage sufficiently with union members. Joe Brookshire, a retired BOP Correctional Systems Officer and former union representative, emphasized the importance of frontline staff: "Our society reflects our prisons, and while people may seek simple answers, none exist. The men and women working the cell blocks perform the toughest jobs and maintain order." Moving forward, BOP leadership must prioritize collaboration with union representatives to restore trust and improve working conditions. This will be difficult with talks of privatization very much on the board.
The BOP has the legislative framework and policy tools necessary to enact meaningful reforms, but it requires strong leadership to drive change. Addressing staff shortages can be approached in two ways: hiring more personnel or reducing the prison population through expanded community custody options. Compassionate release and other community-based alternatives would allow the agency to allocate resources more effectively while maintaining public safety.
The incoming BOP director will face significant challenges but also opportunities to improve the agency’s operations. Restoring trust between management and labor, implementing the First Step Act more effectively, modernizing security classifications, and reforming internal processes should be key priorities. With strong leadership and a commitment to reform, the BOP can become a more efficient and humane agency that better serves both its employees and the individuals in its custody.
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