Former singer and now convicted sex offender R. Kelly had tens of thousands of dollars in his federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) commissary account when a federal court stepped in and ordered the money seized to repay court costs and victims. The same happened for Larry Nassar, the disgraced doctor who assaulted young women athletes under his care. Both men are serving the equivalent of life in prison but the money in their commissary account was going to buy them some creature comforts to make their time in prison a bit better. However, for many in prison, commissary represents more than comfort, it is a necessity to maintain contact with their family, pay for personal hygiene items and buy food to supplement their diets.
A convicted offender may be ordered by the court to pay: (1) special assessments, (2) restitution, and (3) fines and court costs. In addition, the inmate may be responsible for repaying other obligations such as: (4) state or local court obligations such as child support or alimony; and (5) other federal government obligations such as student loans and tax liens. Through the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (IFRP), an inmate can work with BOP staff to develop a payment plan to satisfy their financial obligations. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report about IFRP noting that “because the program is voluntary and the controlling federal regulations contain ambiguity, BOP’s ability to mandate payments and payment amounts from inmates commensurate with available inmate resources is limited.” That could be about to change.
For most prisoners, they use commissary funds to call home, email family, purchase clothing, shoes and some food. In the BOP, they get a bit over $350/month to spend and their accounts are monitored for IFRP participation. Those with a lot of money in their accounts are expected to pay more. Those like Nassar and Kelly represent a few prisoners who have large sums on their account. However, the accounts can be misused to hid money from spouses expecting child support and other obligations. The BOP posted on the Federal Register a request for comment on IFRP and the final rule is still pending. The purpose of the comments will be to strike a balance between those who are purposely skirting their obligations and those who are just trying to get through the prison experience. Changes to IFRP are expected as a result.
According to OIG, under the current regulations some inmates who participate in the IFRP are only required to pay the minimum payment amount of $25 every 3 months, despite some having the financial means to pay more. This, OIG concluded, is due to ambiguity in the regulations related to funds received by inmates in excess of earnings within the BOP system.
According to data provided by the BOP, as of November 2023, there were 156,979 inmates in BOP custody. Of this population, 133,139 (85 percent) had court-ordered financial obligations. Of those inmates who had such obligations, 55,158 (35 percent of the total population) had positive outstanding obligation balances as of that date. 4 The amount owed by these inmates ranged from as little as one cent (court assessments) to as much as $2.4 billion (restitution for federal victims).
According to the BOP, as of November 27, 2023, there were 7,326 inmates (or 4.7 percent of the BOP’s inmate population) who had at least $2,500 in their account and the cumulative account balances for these inmates totaled about $69 million. Prisoners do not earn interest on the money in their accounts.
The BOP is making efforts to address some of the limitations of the IFRP contained within the current regulations through proposed rule changes. The outcome of the BOP’s Federal Register request for comment could be out at any time and no doubt will cause a stir. Many people in prison are indigent, having few funds at all. While the changes in the IFRP will bring those egregious violators who hold tens of thousands of dollars in their account, many prisoners go month to month receiving a few hundred dollars to get by in prison. The rules will have to balance those who need commissary money and those who are abusing the privileges.
Prisoners earn pennies per hour doing labor in prison, hardly enough to support the money needed in prison. Prisoners must buy personal hygiene items, clothing and phone minutes to call home. Many of their accounts are supplemented by family members and friends who are trying to help them get along in prison. For many prisoners, they have little control over the money flowing into their accounts and excesses, as determined by the BOP, may only reflect a temporary surge in funds and not a trend for increases in funds.
Changes are coming and the OIG report foretells of the power the BOP is going to have over all prisoner commissary accounts.
