Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced today that the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) closed a recommendation made in June 2016 to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to develop uniform guidelines and criteria for conducting random pat searches of staff entering prisons. The OIG determined that the BOP’s October 26, 2024, publication of its revised Employee Entrance and Search Procedures policy satisfies our recommendation; therefore, the recommendation is closed.
“Stopping the flow of contraband is critical to ensuring the safety and security of federal prisons, for both staff and inmates. The BOP should be commended for implementing random pat searches of staff entering prisons,” said Inspector General Horowitz. “This policy provides one more reason why any prison employee should think twice before attempting to smuggle contraband into a federal prison.”
This recommendation was one of three open recommendations that the DOJ OIG had designated a “priority” for DOJ. The OIG uses this designation to identify the three recommendations that it believes will have the most benefit or impact to DOJ’s mission, operations, programs, or funds when implemented.
In closing this recommendation, the DOJ OIG also announced that it has newly designated as a priority a recommendation made to the BOP in 2023 to develop and implement a reliable method for calculating appropriate staffing levels at the enterprise and institutional levels. The BOP concurred with this recommendation when it was made.
With the changes described above, the DOJ OIG’s current priority recommendations are now:
- For the BOP: complete needed upgrades to its security camera system.
- For the FBI: reassess its policies for coordination with state and local law enforcement after receiving allegations of crimes against children.
- For the BOP: develop and implement a reliable method for calculating appropriate staffing levels at the enterprise and institutional levels.
Read more about the OIG’s priority recommendations.
Explore all open recommendations on our website.