The US government is closing a women's prison and other facilities after years of abuse and decay
The Associated Press has learned that the federal Bureau of Prisons is permanently closing its “rape club” women’s prison in California and will idle six facilities in a sweeping realignment after years of abuse, decay and mismanagement
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal Bureau of Prisons is permanently closing its “rape club” women’s prison in California and will idle six facilities in a sweeping realignment after years of abuse, decay and mismanagement, The Associated Press has learned.
The agency informed employees and Congress on Thursday that it plans to shutter the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, and deactivate minimum-security prison camps in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. Staff and inmates are being moved to other facilities, the agency said.
In a document obtained by the AP, the Bureau of Prisons said it was taking “decisive and strategic action” to address “significant challenges, including a critical staffing shortage, crumbling infrastructure and limited budgetary resources.” The agency said it is not downsizing and is committed to finding positions for every affected employee.
The closures are a striking coda to the Biden administration's stewardship of the Justice Department's biggest agency. After repeatedly promising to reform FCI Dublin and other troubled facilities, Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters is pivoting to closures and consolidation, citing inadequate staffing and staggering costs to repair aging infrastructure.
