Massive Savings Seen if Federal Prisons Would Bunk 2 Per Cell

Congressional investigators Tuesday challenged the need for a massive expansion of federal prisons, saying that hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved by planning for two inmates per cell--a practice actually in wide use by the institutions.

A report by the General Accounting Office, Congress’ auditing arm, criticized the federal Bureau of Prisons’ emphasis on single-bunking for the unprecedented expansion, contending it has not experienced a higher escape rate or more violence by putting two inmates in cells.

Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), chairman of the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations, who requested the inquiry, said the report “indicates we could save approximately $315 million today and billions more over the next 30 years by requiring the bureau of prisons to adopt more realistic standards for further prison expansion.”

“We need to rethink the definition of overcrowding and to commit additional time and effort to analyze our prison needs for the future,” Nunn said. The GAO suggested that prison plans should assume double-bunking for all prisoners except those who are high-security risks.

The report said that federal prison officials reacted by contending that the implementation of such plans “would be too risky given the possibility of violence, particularly among medium-security inmates.”

The officials also said the double-bunking standard “would eliminate the flexibility needed to cope with unexpected surges in inmate populations.”

The disagreement over the Bureau of Prisons’ vast expansion program comes at a time when the number of persons being sent to federal institutions is growing at an unprecedented rate. Between 1980 and 1989, the federal inmate population jumped 180%--from 19,025 to 53,347.

For the fiscal years 1989 through 1991, the prisons bureau received $2.4 billion for its expansion, and costs could reach $2.9 billion by 1995, the GAO estimated.

“In reality, these expenditures represent only a down payment on the ultimate cost of expansion,” the GAO said. Operating costs for facilities over their useful life are estimated by prison officials at 15 to 20 times the construction costs.

The report noted that the Bureau of Prisons has already adopted a limited double-bunking standard for new medium security facilities and is considering extending a double-bunking standard to new minimum and low-security facilities.

But the congressional auditors said these were only “steps in the right direction,” and urged the prison authorities to make use of double-bunking in all facilities that are not high-security.