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 emphasized that it is not downsizing but 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, the Bureau of Prisons is pivoting to closures and consolidation due to inadequate staffing and staggering costs needed for repairing aging infrastructure.
"As the agency navigates a challenging budgetary and staffing environment," stated an official document from the Bureau of Prisons. "We must make incredibly difficult decisions. FCI Dublin will not reopen."
FCI Dublin's permanent closure represents an extraordinary acknowledgement by the Bureau of Prisons that it has failed to fix the facility's culture following AP reporting that exposed rampant sexual abuse within its walls. Hundreds who were incarcerated at FCI Dublin are suing for reforms and monetary compensation for mistreatment at the facility.
The closures come amid an AP investigation uncovering deep flaws within the Bureau of Prisons. This includes rampant criminal activity by employees, dozens of escapes, chronic violence deaths along with severe staffing shortages hampering responses to emergencies such as inmate assaults or suicides.
"In July," reports note President Joe Biden signed a law strengthening oversight after AP reporting highlighted numerous issues within this federal institution system."