ACLU sues Bureau of Prisons over failure to implement First Step Act

In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) faced significant operational challenges and scrutiny in 2024, particularly regarding its budget of $8.3 billion and its ongoing struggle with employee morale. The agency ranked last among federal agencies in terms of employee satisfaction, revealing deep-seated workforce issues that aggressive retention and sign-on bonuses failed to address. Director Peters inherited a troubled agency heavily criticized by oversight bodies and consistently placed on high-risk management lists. As the year progressed, persistent staffing shortages further complicated the BOP's operations, especially within the Health Services Department, which hindered the provision of adequate inmate healthcare. One of the BOP’s key achievements was the management of CARES Act prisoners during the pandemic, allowing many older and vulnerable inmates to serve their sentences at home under strict guidelines. This success led the BOP to consider expanding community confinement options for minimum-security prisoners as part of its ongoing alignment with the goals of the First Step Act. Despite some advancements in implementing the First Step Act, particularly in creating a sentence calculation tool, many hurdles continued to affect its effectiveness, including limited halfway house capacity to transition eligible prisoners into prerelease custody. The struggles with the First Step Act’s implementation were met with increased scrutiny as the ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit against the BOP. The lawsuit claimed the agency's failure to adhere to the Act’s provisions resulted in a violation of the rights of thousands of inmates who should qualify for community confinement but remained incarcerated due to bureaucratic inefficiencies. Mistakes in policy implementation, lack of proper communication, and insufficient staff training compounded these issues, creating a climate of confusion that persisted, affecting many prisoners' ability to earn credits that would allow earlier release. In summary, the BOP entered 2025 still grappling with significant reform challenges amidst evolving public safety and rehabilitation objectives. With its prior shortcomings in administering the First Step Act under pressure from legal challenges, advocacy groups, and internal morale issues, the BOP's future operations and reform strategy would necessitate major reforms to navigate these complexities effectively.