Federal Bureau of Prisons announces new time credit and phone call policies

As detailed in this official announcement released Friday afternoon by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the BOP “is introducing several important updates to its phone call policies and time credit systems, reflecting its commitment to improving the well-being of Adults in Custody (AICs) and supporting their successful rehabilitation and reintegration.” The full announcement has all the details, and here are key parts:

[D]ue to budget constraints and in an effort to incentivize programming participation, the FBOP decided to change its approach and will provide free phone calls only to those who are on the waitlist for, or are participating in, an [Evidence-Based Recidivism Reduction program]. As mentioned, this is intended to incentivize programming and also to allow FBOP to reallocate resources to other critical needs, including programming, staffing, and contraband interdiction….

The FBOP is also updating its [First Step Act] Time Credit system to better support AICs as they engage in pre-release planning. Under the FSA, AICs earn time credits for completing approved programs while in custody, which can reduce the time before they are placed in community settings such as Residential Reentry Centers or home confinement.

Walter Pavlo has this Forbes piece, headlined “Bureau Of Prisons Announces Updates To First Step Act Calculations,” seeking to explain what BOP is hoping to achieve on time credits.  As he explians, BOP’s efforts here seem to be “an improvement but it is certain to bring more questions from prisoners.”