U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Prisons

Office of the Director

Washington, DC 20534

September 27, 2013
The Honorable Christopher Murphy
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Murphy:
I am writing in response to your August 2, 2013, and August
30, 2013, letters expressing concerns regarding the planned
mission change for the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in
Danbury, Connecticut, and in response to additional concerns set
forth in an August 6, 2013, email from committee staff.
I
appreciate your concern for the well-being of the female inmates
housed at Danbury, and I assure you that the Bureau of Prisons
(BOP) remains committed to keeping inmates as close to home as
reasonably possible in order to assist with maintaining family
ties and preparation for reentry.
Before answering your specific questions, I want to provide
you some background information about the BOP's inmate
population and our facilities.
Women have constituted a
relatively small percent of the total federal inmate population,
comprising approximately 6 to 7 percent of federal inmates for
the past 50 years.
But over time the number of women in BOP
custody has increased, consistent with the overall growth of the
federal inmate population.
Crowding at secure female facilities
is now higher than any other security level other than high
security male facilities. 1
Between FY 2006 and FY 2008, appropriations bills were
enacted that provided $210 million to complete construction of a
secure prison in Aliceville, AL.
By the time the final
1

Crowding percentages are based on the number of inmates housed in a facility
above the rated capacity.
For example, if a facility has a rated capacity of
1,000 and houses 1,400 inmates, then the crowding rate is 40% (400 inmates
greater than rated capacity, divided by the rated capacity).
Rated capacity
calculations for secure female facilities assume 100 percent double bunking
(for example, a secure female facility with 500 cells would have a rated
capacity of 1,000).

construction appropriation for the prison in Aliceville was
being debated and passed in FY 2008, the Senate Appropriations
Committee included report language (S. Rept. 110-124), based on
discussions with BOP, that recognized the need for "additional
bedspace capacity for female inmates at new facilities." At
that time, the crowding rate in secure female facilities was 56
percent and some facilities were being "quadruple bunked", that
is, rooms designed for two inmates were housing four inmates.
Construction of a facility for women in Aliceville, AL
began in September of 2008.
The FY 2009 President's Budget
Request named this facility "Secure Female FCI Aliceville, AL",
and it has been identified as such in each President's Budget
Request through FY 2013.
Following submission of these budget
requests, Congress appropriated partial year funding for
staffing and equipping the facility (referred to as
"activating") in FY 2012 (Public Law 112-55, November 18, 2011),
and the remainder in FY 2013 (Public Law 113-6, March 26, 2013),
for a total of about $51.5 million.
FCI Aliceville's rated capacity is 1,536 inmates.
It is
the second LEED-certified facility in the Bureau of Prisons,
consisting of all "green" materials by design and construction.
FCI Aliceville formally opened and began receiving female
inmates at its minimum security camp in December 2012, and at
its secure facility in July 2013.
FCI Aliceville is located approximately 45 miles southwest
of Tuscaloosa, which has a population of approximately 92,000,
is home to the University of Alabama, and has commercial bus and
Amtrak service.
FCI Aliceville is also close (35 miles) to the
town of Columbus, Mississippi, and is 111 miles from the
Birmingham airport.
We have provided specific information below to address the
questions posed in your letter and the supplemental questions
submitted by Committee staff. We would be pleased to provide
any additional information that might help assure you that our
plans to proceed with activating FCI Aliceville and modify the
mission of FCI Danbury are indeed in the best interest of all
inmates in the BOP.

2

1. Given the unique proximity of the Danbury facility to major
Northeastern cities, why was it selected to be converted into a
facility for men? And what facilities in the Northeast will be
available for women currently at the security level housed at
Danbury?
Apart from FCI Aliceville, BOP presently operates low
security female inmate institutions at the following locations:
Danbury, CT; Dublin, CA; Hazelton, WV; Tallahassee, FL; and
Waseca, MN.
Before the recent activation of FCI Aliceville, the
overall crowding rate at our five existing female low security
institutions was 48%.
BOP low security male facilities, meanwhile, are operating
at an overall crowding rate of 38%. As part of our regular
evaluation of our facilities and inmate population, we have
determined that with the activation of FCI Aliceville, we can
convert one of the existing female low security institutions to
a male facility.
This conversion will allow us to realize
substantial reductions in the crowding rates at low security
female institutions, while also providing some relief to our
overcrowded male low security institutions.
To realize these reductions in male and female low security
crowding, we decided to change the mission at FCI Danbury. As
of July 27, 2013, FCI Danbury housed 1,337 female inmates in two
facilities:
1,120 inmates in a low security facility and 217
inmates in a minimum security camp. 2 The BOP's plan to change
the mission at FCI Danbury concerns only the low security
facility; the minimum security camp at FCI Danbury will continue
to house female inmates. We estimate that even with the change
in mission at FCI Danbury's low security facility, the
activation of FCI Aliceville will permit the BOP to achieve a
significant reduction in the overall crowding rate at low
security female facilities across our system, from the pre-FCI
Aliceville rate of 48% to an estimated crowding rate of 23%.
Meanwhile, by converting FCI Danbury to a male institution, we
anticipate the overall crowding rate at low security male
institutions will be reduced to 36%.
Following receipt of your August 2, 2013, BOP temporarily suspended its
plans to transfer female inmates from FCI Danbury in connection with the
change of mission.
However, as we separately related to Committee staff
during the week of August 19, 2013, approximately 98 female inmates have been
transferred from FCI Danbury during the month of August in order to move
these inmates to facilities closer to their release residences or to permit
their continued participation in the Residential Drug Abuse Treatment
Program.
For purposes of answering the questions in your letter, we are
using the inmate population as it existed before these moves took place.

3

Our justifications for converting the low-security facility
at FCI Danbury to a male institution, as opposed to converting
one of the other low-security female institutions, are two-fold.
First, as of July 27, 2013, there were 7,421 male inmates housed
in low security facilities throughout the BOP who would be
closer to their release residences if they were transferred from
their current institution to FCI Danbury. While FCI Danbury
does not have the capacity to house all 7,421 of these male
inmates, the conversion of FCI Danbury will allow hundreds of
low security male inmates to move closer to their homes in the
Northeast.
Second, while we anticipate that the mission change at FCI
Danbury will result in some female inmates being moved farther
from their release residences, we anticipate that the mission
change on balance will result in the transfer of a much greater
number of women closer to their release residences. As
explained above, as of July 27, 2013, there were 1,120 women at
FCI Danbury's low security facility.
Of these women, 673 are
United States citizens.
BOP is reviewing each of these inmates,
on a case-by-case basis, to determine the best possible transfer
location.
Consistent with BOP policies and practices, BOP is
considering each inmate's eventual release residence as well as
individual security, medical, and programmatic needs.
The
release residence will be a significant consideration in
determining the transfer location.
While reviews of these 673 inmates are ongoing, we have
identified a total of 391 women who are from Northeast or MidAtlantic states, including the District of Columbia.
Of these,
43 will be released prior to January 1, 2014; these female
inmates will not be transferred.
Each of the remaining 348
inmates from Northeast or Mid-Atlantic states, including the
District of Columbia, will be reviewed to determine if they
qualify for a reduction in their security level, and, if so,
they will be evaluated for placement at the FCI Danbury prison
camp to the extent there is capacity there.
Those who are not
placed at the FCI Danbury camp will be transferred from FCI
Danbury either to the Secure Female Facility (SFF) Hazelton,
West Virginia, located in the Northeastern panhandle of West
Virginia near the Maryland and Pennsylvania borders, or to the
Federal Detention Center (FDC) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
We estimate that these transfers will result in placements of
approximately 243 of the 348 female inmates at facilities that
are closer to their residences than FCI Danbury.

4

Similarly, the 282 female inmates from areas outside of the
Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions will be transferred closer to
home as well.
These inmates will be transferred to the Federal
Medical Center Carswell, TX; FCI Waseca, MN; FCI Tallahassee,
FL; FCI Aliceville, AL; or FCI Dublin, CA; as appropriate.
BOP records reflect that 447 female inmates at FCI Danbury
are not United States citizens. Consistent with BOP practice
for housing inmates who are not United States citizens, BOP will
determine a transfer location for these women based on factors
other than their identified address, including factors such as:
security needs, medical needs, and crowding considerations.
Additional information about these 447 inmates is set forth
below in response to question number 10.

2.
What are the home residences for the women currently housed
at Danbury, broken down by city and state?
Although we do not have city information readily available,
below please find a listing of the states of residence for the
women in the low security facility at FCI Danbury as of July 27,
2013.
The first listings below include all inmates regardless
of their citizenship, but 305 of the 447 female inmates who are
not United States citizens are not included because BOP's
records do not contain a known United States address for these
305 women.
Following the first listings, we have included a
separate listing that shows country of origin for the 305 women
for whom we lack an identified address in the United States.

5

Table of States of Residence for the 815 Inmates at DAN with Identified Address in
the US Excluding Camp Inmates as of July 27, 2013
Sorted by Frequency
Sorted Alphabetically by State Abbr.
State of Residence
NY
TX
VA
PA
DC
CA
FL
MD
NC
IL
OH

wv
NJ
Puerto Rico

AZ
TN
MA
CT
ME
Ml
lA
GA
NH
MN
IN

VT

sc

MO
KS
AR
WI

co

LA
OK
AL
NE
NO
MS

so

OR
HI
KY
NM

WY
Rl
DE
iD
Virgin Islands
AK
Northern Marianna
Islands
NV

Number of
Female Inmates

State of Residence

92
73
53
51
47
45
44
37
30
29
24
21
20
17
17
16
14
13
13
13
11
11

AK
AL
AR

AZ
CA

co
CT
DC
DE
FL
GA
HI
lA
ID
IL
IN
KS
KY
LA
MA
MD
ME
Ml
MN
MO
MS
NC
NO
NE
NH
NJ
NM
NV
NY
Northern Marianna Islands
OH
OK
OR
PA
Puerto Rico
Rl

8
8
8

7
7
7
7
6
6
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
1

sc
so
TN
TX
VA

VT
Virgin Islands
WI

wv
WY

6

Number of
Female
Inmates

5
6
17
45
5
13
47
2
44
11
3
11
1
29
8

7
3
5
14
37
13
13
8

7
4
30
4
4
8

20
3
1
92
1
24
5
4
51
17
2
7
4
16
73
53
7
1
6
21
2

Below please find the countries of origin for the 305
female inmates at the low security facility at FCI Danbury who
are not United States citizens and who do not have an identified
address in the U.S.:

3.
What percentage of the female inmates at Danbury have
children under the age of 18?
Of the 1,120 female inmates at the low security facility at
FCI Danbury on July 27, 2013, there are 665 (59%) with a child
under the age of 21. BOP does not maintain more specific
information regarding the ages of inmate's children.

7

4.
Why was the Danbury facility selected to be converted into
a facility for men, given that Aliceville was explained as
needed to respond to overcrowding of women's prisons?
Please see our answer to question #1, above.
5.
How much will it cost to "convert" Danbury to a men's
facility? What different kinds of programs, activities, and
facilities will be provided? What will happen to the current
equipment or other items used by women?
The BOP does not have to remodel, construct, or make
significant changes to FCI Danbury to accommodate male inmates.
There will be costs of approximately $260,000, to cover inmate
clothing suitable for male inmates and other general inmate care
items.
Female-specific clothing and serviceable supplies from
FCI Danbury will be distributed to our female facilities,
including FCI Aliceville, thereby reducing expenditures for the
facilities receiving the female inmates.
FCI Danbury will offer all of the education and reentry
programs that are typically provided in male low-security
institutions across the country, including Residential Drug
Abuse Treatment.
6.
Since some Bureau policies suggest that family visits are
one factor included when inmates are considered for transfer to
less secure facilities, what role will visitation history play
in the transfer of inmates from Danbury to Aliceville?
Pursuant to BOP policy, family visits are a factor in
reviewing inmates' custody scores, which impact their overall
security level and the range of institutions where they can be
housed.
This information is included when inmates are
considered for a transfer to a less secure facility, and will be
taken into consideration when reviewing Danbury inmates for
possible transfer to the minimum security camp.
7.
Given the 1997 Program Statement on meeting the needs of
women prisoners, and the June 19, 2013 memo committing resources
and support to parenting and to "helping you prepare to reenter
society", what steps is the Bureau taking to ensure women
inmates transferred from Danbury to Aliceville continue to have
contact with their families and are prepared for reentry,
including the following:
• Cost of communication (e.g., phone calls, packages)?
• Cost of transportation to Aliceville?
8

•

•
•
•

Access to lawyers from their home districts to support
keeping custody of children, dealing with immigration
issues, or questions on convictions and sentencing?
Access to education and reentry programs?
Access to work opportunities?
Access to residential drug and alcohol treatment
programs similar to the ones currently offered at
Danbury?

As described above, the BOP presently is reviewing 673
female inmates at the low-security facility at FCI Danbury, on a
case-by-case basis, to determine the best possible transfer
location, mindful of the importance of fostering a successful
reentry while also attending to security, medical and
programmatic needs.
Female inmates from FCI Danbury or other
BOP facilities who are transferred to FCI Aliceville will be
provided a broad variety of programs in the areas of education,
drug and alcohol treatment, job training and work skills
development.
Some examples are listed below:
•

•
•
•

•

•

Adult Continuing Education: GED, English as a Second
Language, accounting, business ownership, publishing, and
business courses.
Vocational Trade: commercial driver's license (CDL) and
HVAC/refrigeration.
Apprenticeship: cosmetology, horticulture, barber styling,
and culinary arts.
Psychology, Drug, and Alcohol Treatment: Alcoholics
Anonymous, drug education, non-residential drug abuse
treatment program, and Resolve program (for abuse and
traumatic experiences).
Employment Skills and Work Opportunities: auto garage,
general maintenance, HVAC, painting, welding, carpentry,
electrical training, plumbing, landscaping, and food
services.
Federal Prison Industries

In addition, the FCI Danbury mission change will not impact
participation in the Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program
(RDAP).
Inmates currently participating in the FCI Danbury RDAP
will be transferred to other RDAPs to ensure program continuity
so that participants receive the maximum benefits of the
program. We will attempt to place all of the RDAP inmates at
facilities as close to their residences as possible.

9

8.
What will be the total cost of transferring female inmates
to Aliceville from Danbury and moving male inmates into Danbury?
As described above, the activation of FCI Aliceville and
the conversion of FCI Danbury will involve transferring inmates
to many different institutions in order to house inmates as
close to home as reasonably possible.
The exact movement plans
have not yet been formulated for each individual inmate.
Based
on the average cost of an inmate transfer, we currently estimate
the transfers will cost approximately $847,000.

9.
What information did you provide to Congress and when
regarding this transfer project?
On July 2, 2013, the Bureau made telephonic contact with
the following offices to inform them of the Danbury mission
change:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Personal offices of the Connecticut delegation:
Senators
Blumenthal and Murphy, and Representative Esty.
Personal office of Delegate Holmes-Norton.
Senate Judiciary Crime Subcommittee majority and minority
offices.
House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee majority and minority
offices.
Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science
Subcommittee majority and minority offices.
House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science
Subcommittee majority and minority offices.

Staff members in the offices of Senator Murphy and Delegate
Holmes-Norton were available to take our call and we responded
to specific questions regarding the mission change.
The
remaining staff members were not available to take our call, and
detailed voicemails and contact information were left as
follows:
"I wanted to alert you that the Bureau of Prisons female
facility in Danbury, CT will be undergoing a mission
change.
Due to additional female capacity added at our
FCI Aliceville, AL site, beginning in August 2013, the Bureau
will begin moving female inmates out of the Danbury
facility.
Movement to other facilities will be determined on a
case by case basis.
The movement should be complete by the end
of the year, after which we will convert FCI Danbury to a low
security male facility.
Please let me know if you have any
10

questions regarding the mission change and I will be happy to
assist you."
The House and Senate Judiciary Crime Subcommittee staff
received the information above as both a voicemail and an email.
In addition to the questions above included in your
August 2, 2013 letter, the questions below were submitted in a
follow-up email received on August 6, 2013:

10. For the 41% of the Danbury population that is comprised of
"non-citizens", what is their U.S. home residence, or if that
infor.mation is unavailable, in what jurisdictions were they
sentenced? Many of them may well have family that live in the
United States despite the fact that they are not U.S. citizens.
As stated above, there are 447 female inmates at FCI
Danbury as of July 27, 2013 who are not United States citizens.
Of these 447 inmates, 142 have an identified address in the
United States.
Information pertaining to these 142 inmates is
provided below:

State of Residence Number of Inmates
NY
32
TX
27
FL
16
15
CA
VA
7
NJ
6
PA
6
AZ
5
IL
5
3
GA
KS
3
3
MA
3
MD
3
NC
1
AR
co
1
1
DC
1
NM
1
OH
1
OR
1
Puerto Rico
1
sc
11

For the 305 female inmates who are not United States
citizens and who do not have an identified address in the United
States, the court of jurisdiction is listed below.

Court of Jurisdiction Number of Inmates
TX S
47
CAS
29
TX W
20
NY S
18
AZ
17
FL s
17
CAC
9
FL M
8
TX N
8
GAN
7
NJ
7
VA E
7
NM

6
6
6

NY E
PA E
MA

5
5

MOW
IN s

4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1

MD

MI E
NY w
OH S
TX E
CT
IL N
NC W
NE
Puerto Rico
DC
ME

NC E
NV

NY N
OH N
TNE
TNM
VA W
AL M
ALN
ARE
12

Court of Jurisdiction Number of Inmates
CAE
1
CAN
1
DC Superior
1
FLN
1
HI
1
IA N
1
IA S
1
ID
1
IL C
1
IN N
1
KY E
1
KY W
1
MN
MT

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

NC M
NH
PAM

sc
UT
Virgin Islands
WA W
WV N
WY

11.
How many inmates will be transferred out of the Hazelton,
West Virginia facility (and where are they from and where are
they going) to make room for the Danbury inmates from the MidAtlantic region? What are the other facilities that are
available in the Mid-Atlantic region?
We estimate that approximately 200 inmates at Hazelton can
be moved to another facility without being transferred further
from home, thereby freeing up beds for inmates from the
northeast. At this point, we do not have the details of each
specific case but can provide that at a later date.

* * * * * *
We anticipate lifting the suspension and resuming the
transfers of female inmates from FCI Danbury on October 7, 2013.
In the past, FCI Danbury staff have held informational sessions
with inmates on these matters, and staff will do so again in the
future when the suspension on transfers is lifted.

13

Thank you for your support of the Bureau.
I trust this
response has addressed your concerns and I look forward to
continued collaboration on these important criminal justice
issues.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of
assistance on this or any other matter.

Sincerely,

14