Bureau Of Prisons Is ‘Rudderless’ Operation, Says Former Director

Director Is Out But No One Is In

A look at the Bureau of Prisons website and you will see some missing people in leadership.

On January 20, 2025, former Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Colette Peters was dismissed and has since filed a challenge with the Merit Systems Protection Board over her termination. In a subsequent statement, Peters described the BOP as a “rudderless” organization without her leadership.

Shortly after her dismissal, William Lathrop was named Acting Director, but heretired on February 28, 2025, leaving the agency leaderless. According to a BOP source, there is currently no acting director, but Kathleen Toomey, who recently testified before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, appears to be the highest-ranking official at the agency.

Major Challenges Facing BOP

The BOP has many challenges and the Office of Inspector General, long a thorn in the BOP’s side, has a dedicated page to the challenges the agency faces. A common theme in these reports relates to staffing shortages that have plagued the BOP for years. In her testimony in February 2025, Toomey stated that “… we [BOP]

continue to have more than 4,000 vacant positions.” To overcome that deficit, BOP often must rely on overtime. In FY 2024, BOP spent $437.5 million in overtime at institutions. The two major cost drivers for overtime were an insufficient number of corrections officers to fill mandatory posts and overtime required to take inmates outside prisons for medical care, including hospital stays. For medical care alone, BOP spent $145.5 million on overtime for almost 76,000 outside medical trips and 84,000 hospitalizations, the highest number of hospitalizations of any year since 2017.

Prisons are also falling apart. Last year, Peters stated that over the past 10 years, the BOP received an average of about $100 million dollars a year for an estimated $3 billion backlog in maintenance and repairs. During 2024, BOP received $180 million, which was primarily used to address deficiencies with roofs, cameras and perimeter fencing.

BOP medical staffing is also an issue. Senator Dick Durbin stated that “… understaffed federal prisons cannot ensure the safety and wellbeing of the incarcerated individuals in their care or adequately provide necessary services for them, including critical medical and mental health care.”

The BOP Morale At All-Time Low

Despite already ranking last among federal agencies in employee satisfaction, morale has worsened. President Trump’s recent aims to eliminate BOP employees’ ability to unionize, a move condemned by AFGE Council 33 President Everett Kelley as a “disgraceful and retaliatory attack” on civil servants.

Compounding this frustration, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has reportedly pressured staff to resign, while long hours and severe shortages persist. The likelihood of mass resignations only increases instability within the agency.

Inmates Are Paying Attention

The inmate population, particularly at higher security institutions, are filled with gang members and many violent criminals. Their days are spent observing their surroundings, looking for weaknesses and opportunities. Inmates, many with cell phones or ways to get information, are keenly aware of the challenges the BOP sees. As I wrote about recently, some BOP facilities are facing extended lockdowns, run-down institutions in need of repair, limited food and restrictions on commissary. This is a recipe for discontent and discontent leads to uprisings.

Waiting For A Crisis

The BOP has not had a big crisis in years. One scare was in January 2023 when prison gangs fought at USP Beaumont (Texas) killing two inmates. It led to a rare nationwide lockdown that lasted weeks. While nobody wants such a crisis, a crisis in the BOP is indeed a national emergency.

In November 1987, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said they would send back thousands of incarcerated Cuban people who fled to America during a mass exodus in 1980 from the port of Mariel. The riot took place at USP Atlanta and took 11 days and the loss of the life of one of the inmates who was shot before it ended. Over 100 BOP employees were held hostage before they were all safely released. In August 1991 approximately 120 Cuban detainees armed with homemade weapons held seven BOP staff and three Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) staff hostage at FCI Talladega (Alabama).

The Next Director

Since 2017, there have been six BOP directors—a stark contrast to the agency’sfirst 73 years, when there were only six directors total. The rapid turnover has left no lasting leadership, and Peters’ 30-month tenure was the longest in recent years.

Following her departure, several high-ranking officials have retired, meaning the next director will have to rebuild the leadership team from scratch. Despite speculation, no clear successor has emerged, leaving the agency adrift.

With no one in charge, the BOP is spiraling toward crisis—a crisis that could beprevented with stable leadership. Until then, the agency remains in dangerous limbo.