Fixing the Federal Bureau of Prisons
High recidivism, rotten conditions, almost no rehabilitation. This site is the public case file on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Latest
BOP Expands First Step Act Time Credits After Courts Told It To
A new BOP rule lets inmates start earning First Step Act time credits at sentencing instead of arrival at a facility, and extends eligibility to treaty-transfer inmates. Courts forced the change. Comments close September 30.
Read more
One Company, Many Names: Inside the ContactMeASAP and GorillaText Operation
ContactMeASAP and GorillaText sell $20 and $30 monthly plans for services over the BOP's mandatory TRULINCS terminal, take the payment, and in many cases deliver nothing. We traced their shared checkout, their referral network, and the calling platform behind the robocalls families report.
Read more
One Real Technology Company in a Fly-by-Night Industry
CorrLinks gives federal inmates bare text-only email. Open Efforts, a Wyoming technology company, built a whole assistant layer on top of it, and says it is already building for the BOP's move to Securus, with plans to serve Securus-covered institutions including Texas and California.
Read more
Josh Smith Is Gone. His BOP Reforms Are Still Standing.
Deputy Director Josh Smith, the first formerly incarcerated person in BOP senior leadership, resigned August 25 with no stated reason. He swapped out 70% of executive staff, rewrote decades-old policy in 90 days, and left the agency arguing about itself in a way it hadn't in decades.
Read more
The Albarati Act Won't Stop Contraband Phones. It Will Just Clog the Courts.
S. 736 doubles the maximum sentence for smuggling a cell phone into a federal prison and makes it a felony. Against 20,000 phones a year and about 81 prosecutions, that changes nothing.
Read more
BOP Hands the Tablet Contract to Securus
The Bureau awarded Securus the inmate tablet contract on July 8, 2026. It replaces the ATG/Keefe devices sold at commissary. Implementation has not started, and the Bureau has not said what happens to paid music and messages.
Read more
Nicotine Is Back in the BOP
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has started selling nicotine pouches. Official policy still bans tobacco. It does not ban nicotine. The product is cheap, the purchase cap is tight, and a secondary market is already easy to see coming.
Read more
Six Federal Prisons Are Closing. La Tuna Could Become a Migrant Detention Center.
The Bureau of Prisons is permanently closing six facilities, displacing about 5,400 people in custody and 500 staff, citing extreme understaffing and a $4 billion maintenance backlog. In Anthony, Texas, residents worry La Tuna could become a migrant detention center.
Read more
Topics
- BOP History & Decline
- Rehabilitation Programs: Lost Opportunities
- Prison Conditions & Safety
- Healthcare Neglect in Prisons
- Statistics & Data: Exposing the Crisis
- Corruption & Lack of Accountability
- Advocacy & Reform Strategies
- Systemic Impact: Prisons & Society
- Technology & Data: Smarter Solutions for Reform
- Legal Battles & Legislative Updates
- Corrections