WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday a bill requiring the federal Bureau of Prisons to overhaul outdated security systems and fix broken surveillance cameras after rampant staff sexual abuse, inmate escapes and high-profile deaths.
The bipartisan Prison Camera Reform Act, which passed the Senate last year and the House on Dec. 14, requires the Bureau of Prisons to evaluate and enhance security camera, radio and public address systems at its 122 facilities.
The agency must submit a report to Congress within three months detailing deficiencies and a plan to make needed upgrades. Those upgrades are required within three years and the bureau must submit annual progress reports to lawmakers.
“Broken prison camera systems are enabling corruption, misconduct and abuse,” said the legislation’s sponsor, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. “That’s why I brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass my Prison Camera Reform Act, which is now law.”
The Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that it “appreciates the work and support of Senator Ossoff and other members of Congress, as well as the President of the United States.”
Failing and inadequate security cameras have allowed inmates to escape from federal prisons and hampered investigations. They’ve been an issue in inmate deaths, including that of financier Jeffrey Epstein at a federal jail in New York City in 2019.
