The U.S. government is set to close down a woman’s prison known for abuse issues and will idle six other facilities.
The Bureau of Prisons announced Thursday plans to close the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, and deactivate minimum-security prison camps in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. According to the agency, staff and inmates are being relocated to other facilities.
In a document reviewed by The Associated Press, the Bureau of Prisons described its actions as “decisive and strategic,” aimed at tackling “significant challenges, including a critical staffing shortage, deteriorating infrastructure and limited budgetary resources.”
The agency emphasized that it is not downsizing and pledged to secure new positions for all affected employees.
The closures mark a significant shift in the Biden administration’s approach to overseeing the Justice Department’s largest agency. Despite pledges to reform FCI Dublin and other struggling facilities, Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters has turned to closures and consolidation, pointing to severe staffing shortages and the overwhelming costs of repairing outdated infrastructure.
The decision to permanently close FCI Dublin, following its temporary shutdown seven months ago amid a staff-on-inmate abuse scandal that earned it the nickname “rape club,” underscores the Bureau of Prisons’ apparent inability—or unwillingness—to overhaul its most troubled facilities.
