BOP houses inmates  across six geographic regions in 117 federal institutions, 15 privately  managed prisons, 185 RRCs (also known as halfway houses), and home  detention. The authorities can be classified into two main categories:  (1) authorities that reduce the length of the inmate’s sentence, and (2)  authorities that allow BOP to transfer an inmate out of prison to serve the  remainder of his or her sentence in an RRC or home detention. BOP’s Use of Authorities That Can Reduce a Federal Prisoner’s Period of Incarceration Varies

		Eligible Prisoners Can Participate in RDAP in Time to Complete the Program; Few Receive the Maximum Sentence Reduction

BOP is required, subject to the availability of appropriations, to provide  residential substance abuse treatment and make arrangements for  appropriate aftercare for all eligible prisoners. The amount of sentence  reduction awarded upon completion is based on the length of an inmate’s  sentence.complete RDAP, and receive a sentence reduction if eligible. BOP Has Used Other Authorities Less Frequently to Reduce Federal Prisoners’ Periods of Incarceration

Modification of an imposed sentence: BOP has authority to motion the  court to reduce an inmate’s sentence in certain statutorily authorized  circumstances, but that authority is implemented infrequently, if at all. BOP provided inmates who  successfully completed the program and were serving sentences of 12 to  30 months with a sentence reduction of up to 6 months. Generally, the 2-year pilot program enabled BOP to transfer to home  detention inmates who were at least 65 years old, had served at least 10  years and 75 percent of their non-life sentences, had no history of  violence, sexual offenses, or escape or attempted escape from a BOP  institution, and who BOP determined would be of no substantial risk of  engaging in criminal conduct or endangering any person or the public if  released and with respect to whom BOP had determined that release to  home detention will result in a substantial net reduction of costs to the   During the program, 71 inmates were transferred to  federal government. For example, of the 538 cases BOP reviewed in fiscal year  2011, 99 requests to serve sentences concurrently were granted, for a  total of about 118,700 days of sentence credit, 386 were not granted, and  53 were still under review as of the end of fiscal year 2011.
Credit for criminal custody: BOP has the authority to grant credit for  time served in criminal custody (such as time spent awaiting trial), and  according to BOP policy, it considers detention by Immigration and  Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the purposes of deportation to be  administrative custody until criminal charges are brought against a  detainee. Inmate Eligibility and Lack of Capacity Impact BOP’s Use of Certain Flexibilities

		Certain Inmates’ Ineligibility for Community Corrections Impacts BOP’s Use of RRCs and RDAP

BOP officials cited inmate ineligibility for placement in community  corrections as the number one reason that all inmates do not get released  through RRCs and one of the chief reasons that some inmates are  precluded from participating in RDAP. This ineligibility for RRC placement also  disqualifies an inmate from placement in home detention. Based on the most recently available data, in fiscal year 2010, about  29,000 inmates spent time in an RRC prior to release from BOP custody. According to BOP officials, systemwide program capacity similarly  constrains BOP’s utilization of RDAP sentence reductions—specifically,  BOP’s ability to admit RDAP participants early enough to earn their  maximum allowable sentence reductions. This has enabled  inmates to enter the program sooner and resulted in an increase in the  percentage of eligible inmates who complete RDAP and receive the  maximum sentence reductions from 14 percent in fiscal year 2009 to 25  percent in fiscal year 2011. Conclusions

Federal inmate populations have been increasing and BOP is operating  at more than a third over capacity. Inmates, who earn their good  conduct time, as most do, end up serving about 87 percent of their  sentences. BOP’s housing of inmates in community-based facilities or  home detention is a key flexibility it uses to affect a prisoner’s period of  incarceration. However, BOP does not require its RRC contractors to  separate the price of home detention services from the price of RRC  beds. While BOP is working  to develop a process to require contractors to submit separate prices for  the price of RRC beds and home detention services, without establishing  a plan, including a time frame for development, BOP does not have a  road map for how it will achieve this goal. Recommendation for Executive Action

To determine the cost of home detention and potentially achieve cost  savings, we recommend that the Director of BOP establish a plan,  including time frames and milestones for completion, for requiring  contractors to submit separate prices of RRC beds and home detention  services. Prior to receiving BOP’s comment letter, on January 20, 2012,  BOP’s audit liaison requested that the wording of our recommendation be  changed from “requiring contractors to identify RRC costs and home  detention costs separately” to “requiring contractors to submit separate  prices of RRC beds and home detention services.” He stated that BOP  was requesting this change because contractors are not required to  disclose financial information, such as the actual costs to them of  providing services to inmates, to BOP.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Justices Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for the custody and care of federal offenders. BOPs population has increased from about 145,000 in 2000 to about 217,000 in 2011 and BOP is operating at 38 percent over capacity. There is no longer parole for federal offenders and BOP has limited authority to affect the length of an inmate's prison sentence. BOP has some statutory authorities and programs to reduce the amount of time an inmate remains in prison, which when balanced with BOPs mission to protect public safety and prepare inmates for reentry, can help reduce crowding and the costs of incarceration. GAO was asked to address: (1) the extent to which BOP utilizes its authorities to reduce a federal prisoners period of incarceration; and (2) what factors, if any, impact BOP's use of these authorities. GAO analyzed relevant laws and BOP policies; obtained nationwide data on inmate participation in relevant programs and sentence reductions from fiscal years 2009 through 2011; conducted site visits to nine BOP institutions selected to cover a range of prison characteristics and at each, interviewed officials responsible for relevant programs; and visited four community-based facilities serving the institutions visited. Though not generalizable, the information obtained from these visits provided insights.

What GAO Found

BOPs use of authorities to reduce a federal prisoners period of incarceration varies. BOP primarily utilizes three authoritiesthe Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program (RDAP), community corrections, and good conduct time.
(1) Eligible inmates can participate in RDAP before release from prison, but those eligible for a sentence reduction are generally unable to complete RDAP in time to earn the maximum reduction (generally 12 months). During fiscal years 2009 through 2011, of the 15,302 inmates who completed RDAP and were eligible for a sentence reduction, 2,846 (19 percent) received the maximum reduction and the average reduction was 8.0 months. BOP officials said that participants generally do not receive the maximum reduction because they have less than 12 months to serve when they complete RDAP.
(2) To facilitate inmates reintegration into society, BOP may transfer eligible inmates to community corrections locations for up to the final 12 months of their sentences. Inmates may spend this time in contract residential re-entry centers (RRCs)also known as halfway housesand in detention in their homes for up to 6 months. Based on the most recently available data, almost 29,000 inmates completed their sentences through community corrections in fiscal year 2010, after an average placement of about 4 months; 17,672 in RRCs, 11,094 in RRCs then home detention, and 145 in home detention only. RRCs monitor inmates in home detention and charge BOP 50 percent of the daily RRC cost to do so. However, BOP does not require RRC contractors to separate the price of home detention services from the price of RRC beds and thus, does not know the actual costs of home detention. BOP officials stated that they are developing a process to review and amend existing RRC contracts and require new contractors to submit proposals separating out RRC and home detention prices, but did not document the specifics of the review process or establish time frames or milestones for the review. Thus, BOP does not have a roadmap for how it will achieve this goal.
(3) Most eligible inmates receive all of their potential good conduct time credit for exemplary compliance with institutional disciplinary regulations54 days taken off their sentence, per year served, if an inmate has earned or is earning a high school diploma; 42 days if not. As of the end of fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011, about 87 percent of inmates had earned all of their available credit.
BOP also has other authorities, such as releasing prisoners early for very specialized reasons, but has used these less frequently for various reasons.
Inmate eligibility and lack of capacity impact BOPs use of certain flexibilities and programs that can reduce an inmates time in prison. BOP officials cited inmate ineligibility for RRC placement (e.g., inmates who are likely to escape or be arrested or with sentences of 6 months or less, among other things) as the primary reason that some inmates are not released through community corrections and one of the main reasons that some inmates are not able to participate in RDAP. BOPs lack of additional RRC space has prevented it from increasing the length of its RRC placements. According to BOP, lack of program capacity also prevents eligible inmates from entering and completing RDAP early enough to earn their maximum allowable sentence reductions, which prevents BOP from maximizing the cost savings provided by the authority.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that BOP establish a plan, including time frames and milestones, for requiring contractors to submit prices of RRC beds and home detention services. BOP concurred with this recommendation.