DOJ Announces New Reforms to Strengthen the Federal Bureau of Prisons

 

WASHINGTON – As part of National Reentry Week, Attorney General Lynch today in Philadelphia announced the “Roadmap to Reentry”, the Department’s comprehensive vision to reduce recidivism through reentry reforms at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).  These efforts will help those who have paid their debt to society prepare for substantive opportunities beyond the prison gates, promote family unity, contribute to the health of our economy, advance public safety and sustain the strength of our communities. 

You can read all of the details here.

Each year, more than 600,000 citizens return to our neighborhoods after serving time in federal and state prisons.  Another 11.4 million individuals cycle through local jails.  And nearly one in three Americans of working age have had some sort of encounter with the criminal justice system — mostly for relatively minor, non-violent offenses, and sometimes from decades in the past.  The long-term impact of a criminal record prevents many people from obtaining employment, housing, higher education, and credit — and these barriers affect returning individuals even if they have turned their lives around and are unlikely to reoffend. 

The principles outlined in the Roadmap to Reentry are aligned with the work of the Federal Interagency Reentry Council which has been working since its creation five years ago to reduce recidivism and improve employment, education, housing, health and child welfare outcomes.

As part of the national effort to increase awareness about these challenges, the Attorney General also sent a letter to governors with a request to permit citizens returning to their communities to exchange their Bureau of Prisons inmate identification card and authenticated release documentation for state identification, or for these documents to satisfy the primary identification document requirement for state-issued identification.  Without government-issued identification, men and women leaving correctional facilities face extreme challenges securing employment and housing, registering for school, opening bank accounts as well as accessing other benefits, such as health care, that are critical to successful reintegration.

Leadership from across the Administration will be traveling around the country to make policy announcements in support of National Reentry Week. They will also be encouraging federal partners and grantees to work closely with stakeholders like federal defenders, legal aid providers and other partners across the country to increase the impact of these efforts.  National Reentry Week events are being planned in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.  U.S. Attorney’s Offices alone are hosting over 200 events and BOP facilities are holding over 370 events.

Source: The Department of Justice