Corruption & Lack of Accountability
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How Corruption Undermines Federal Prisons
The politics of contraband within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a complex and deeply entrenched issue. The problem isn't just about illicit goods finding their way into facilities—it’s about systemic corruption, mismanagement, and a workforce that, in many cases, has little incentive to operate with integrity.
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- Category: Corruption & Lack of Accountability
Opinion: In the Bureau of Prisons, Every Clown Runs His Own Circus
At the national level, it is the Department of Justice’s stated goal that all federal correctional facilities under the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) operate in compliance with standardized policy. In practice, however, that vision is often lost in translation. What exists instead is a fragmented system, where local administrators exercise inconsistent — and at times dangerous — levels of autonomy. The phrase “every clown has his own circus” may seem crass, but for many BOP institutions, it captures the absurdity of decentralized mismanagement all too well.