Apology to BOP

In an earlier post, I stated that the mission of the BOP is merely to warehouse inmates; that it had no rehabilitative function . I got that information from the first chapter of Downtime: A Guide to Federal Incarceration.

I don't know where he got his information but it is wrong. The mission of the BOP is clearly stated as:

It is the mission of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to protect society by
confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and
community-based facilities that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and
appropriately secure, and that provide work and other self-improvement
opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens.

At least at FPC Pensacola, that does not appear to be just rhetoric. There are significant programs to assist inmates returning to society, including a drug rehabilitation program. I hope to talk about these over the next couple of months.

Furthermore, my fears about dehumanizing treatment appear to be unfounded - so far. While I have heard contrary stories from other inmates, every officer I have had contact with was pleasant and professional, even funny.

In short, initial impressions indicate that the FPC is not the dehumanizing monster I feared. Time may change that opinion, but for now I have no complaints.