This appropriation also includes expenses related to prisoner  transportation and medical care. Prisoner Housing

USMS does not own or operate its own detention facilities. USMS Facility Payments Are the Primary Prisoner Operations Cost, and Total Prisoner Operations Costs Have Decreased Since Fiscal Year 2012

		Facility Payments Comprise About 86 Percent of USMS’s Prisoner Operations Costs

In fiscal year 2015, USMS expended about $1.20 billion in payments to  state and local government and private detention facilities. Costs Are Higher in Districts Where Prisoner Population Is Concentrated and the Districts Cannot Rely on BOP Facilities to House Most Prisoners

In general, districts with larger prisoner populations have more costs than  districts with lower prisoner populations. USMS officials stated that bed space in locations with the  highest ADP—such as along the southwest border—often overtake the  federal, state, and local facilities’ capacity. USMS Has Taken Steps to Reduce Prison Costs, but Could Improve the Reliability of Its Cost Savings Estimates

		USMS Implemented Several Initiatives and Other Actions to Reduce Prison Operations Costs

USMS has implemented a number of actions to manage costs and meet  its strategic goal of optimizing detention operations, which it estimates  have achieved costs savings in fiscal years 2010 through 2015. Alternatives to Pre-Trial Detention: We also found that USMS’s  cost savings estimate of approximately $375 million from the  alternatives to pre-trial detention program—for fiscal years 2010  through 2015—had limited reliability because USMS lacked adequate  documentation to support the estimates, did not validate estimates,  and reported inconsistent savings estimates. However, USMS officials did not provide documentation or a  timeframe in which they will do so. USMS Has Designed Systems to Identify Opportunities for Additional Cost Efficiencies, but Could Improve its Monitoring of Internal Control

		USMS has Systems to Help Identify Opportunities for Cost Efficiencies and Savings

USMS has several systems it uses to help it identify cost savings  opportunities, including:  Strategic Plan. For example, according to the officials, the U.S. By developing a mechanism that would allow them to aggregate and  analyze results from the annual self-assessments, USMS would be better  positioned to more consistently and comprehensively identify deficiencies  and monitor corrective actions across districts and over time that could  result in additional opportunities to achieve cost savings and efficiencies. Conclusions

USMS provided for the care of over 50,000 federal prisoners daily at a  cost of about $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2015. Recommendations for Executive Action

To ensure that costs savings estimates are reliable, we recommend that  the Director of the USMS direct its Prisoner Operations Division to  develop reliable methods for estimating cost savings and validating  reported savings achieved. To enable USMS to more consistently identify deficiencies and monitor  corrective actions, we recommend that the Director of the USMS  establish a mechanism to aggregate and analyze the results of annual  district self-assessments. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

We addressed the following questions as part of this review:  (1) What are the primary costs associated with United States Marshals  Service (USMS) prisoner operations, and what have been the trends in  spending from fiscal years 2010 through 2015? (2) What recent actions has USMS taken to reduce its prisoner operations  costs and how much has been saved? Additionally, we  used USMS’s housing data on facilities’ per diem costs per prisoner and  average daily population to determine the percentage of USMS prisoners  housed in federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) facilities for fiscal years 2010  through 2015—for which USMS does not pay—and to monetize any  potential cost savings resulting from USMS housing some of its prisoners  in BOP facilities. To monetize potential costs savings, we developed two estimates: (1) an  estimate of USMS’s potential costs avoided by using BOP facilities for  fiscal years 2010 through 2015; and (2) an estimate of the potential cost  savings to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ)—of which both USMS and  BOP are component agencies—in fiscal year 2015 due to USMS housing  its prisoners in BOP facilities versus in potentially more costly non-federal  facilities.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Justice's (DOJ) USMS is responsible for managing more than 50,000 federal prisoners during criminal proceedings until their acquittal or their conviction and transfer to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to serve their sentence. USMS provides housing, clothing, food, transportation, and medical care. The USMS does not own or manage any of its own facilities and instead relies on a combination of federal, state, local, and privately-managed facilities to house and care for these prisoners. Senate Report 113-78 of the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2014 included a provision for GAO to assess the costs of housing federal inmates and detainees.
This report (1) identifies the primary costs associated with USMS prisoner operations, and the trends in spending from fiscal years 2010 through 2015; (2) assesses recent actions USMS has taken to reduce its prisoner operations costs and how much has been saved; and (3) determines systems USMS has to identify additional opportunities to save costs. GAO analyzed USMS's financial and operational data related to its prisoner operations costs from fiscal year 2010 through 2015, analyzed USMS documentation, and interviewed USMS officials.

What GAO Found

From fiscal years 2010 through 2015, the U.S. Marshals Service's (USMS) largest prisoner costs were housing payments to state, local, and private prisons. For example, in fiscal year 2015 USMS spent 86 percent of its $1.4 billion in prisoner operation costs on housing. While total prisoner costs and prisoner populations decreased since fiscal year 2012, per prisoner costs increased. USMS officials attributed the increase in part to lower than expected prisoner populations, resulting in USMS not filling guaranteed bed space at certain facilities. Also, prisoner costs generally were higher in districts with larger populations and limited use of federal facilities, for which USMS does not pay. Both population and costs were highest in 5 districts along the southwest border (see figure).
USMS has implemented actions that it reports have continued to save prisoner-related costs from fiscal years 2010 through 2015, such as the alternatives to pre-trial detention program to reduce prisoners in USMS's custody. However, for actions with identified savings over this time period, GAO found that about $654 million of USMS's estimated $858 million in total savings is not reliable. For example, USMS identified $375 million in savings from the alternatives to pre-trial detention program for fiscal years 2010 through 2015, but did not verify the data or methodology used to develop the estimate or provide documentation supporting its reported savings for fiscal years 2012 onward. By developing reliable methods for estimating costs and validating savings, USMS would be better positioned to assess the effectiveness of its cost savings efforts.
USMS has designed systems to identify opportunities for cost efficiencies, including savings. For example, the agency requires districts to conduct annual self-assessments of their procedures to identify any deficiencies which could lead to cost savings. However, USMS cannot aggregate and analyze the results of the assessments across districts. Developing a mechanism to do so would better position USMS to identify deficiencies or develop corrective actions that could result in additional cost savings opportunities.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that USMS develop reliable methods for estimating cost savings and validating reported savings achieved, and establish a mechanism to aggregate and analyze the results of annual district self- assessments. USMS concurred with the recommendations.