Between 2003 and 2005 at least 77 inmates escaped while transferring themselves between minimum security facilities and 19 evaded recapture. 

 

Bus companies Jefferson and Greyhound, which are most often used in these transfers, object to this program because they are not informed when the Federal Bureau of Prisons places convicts on their vehicles. Yet there have been no violent incidents involving inmates onboard buses, so the companies have little recourse when bringing their reservations before the government. 

 

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has answered such worries by saying that the convicts transferred in this way are deemed not to be a severe risk to the public. The bureau also cites this program as a cost-cutting measure which saves millions of taxpayer dollars every year on staff and transportation costs. 

 

Despite these arguments, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar recently sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding to know why this practice has been allowed to continue in the face of protests from the bus companies involved. When the existence of the program first caught the attention of Congress in 2005, it was then-Senator Joe Biden who took the lead in questioning it. Now that Biden is part of the executive branch, the bus companies and others will be watching to see if he addresses their concerns.

-Kyle Kuersten

 

Federal Convicts Travel Unescorted From Prison to Prison (by Jason Whitely, Dallas-TX WFAA)

Feds Refuse Response to Inmate Transfer Investigation (by Nicole Muehlhausen, Minneapolis-St. Paul KSTP)

Prison Board Reveals Number of Bus-Riding Escapees (by Joe Cantlupe and David Hasemyer, Copley News Service)

Prison Agency Still Mum on Unescorted Transfers (by Joe Cantlupe, Copley News Service)