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Extracted Text (OCR)
MCC New York Procedural Memorandum for Psychological Observation states that inmates on psychological
observation will be continuously monitored by either an inmate companion or a staff member.
A review of the Suicide Watch Chronological Logs for July 23, 2019, revealed Epstein was allowed to leave the
suicide watch room to visit with his attorneys for more than 6 hours. According to the Psychological
Reconstruction conducted by the Assistant Director of the Reentry Services Division, during Epstein’s
psychological observation on July 24 through July 30, 2019, Epstein was also allowed to visit with his
attorneys between 8-11 hours each day without direct observation. Although the MCC New York
supplemental policy described an approval process for social and legal visits while an inmate is on suicide
watch or psychological observation, the OIG found no evidence that Epstein’s legal visits were approved by
the Captain or an Associate Warden. Additionally, the BOP Suicide Prevention Program Policy Statement
5324.08 does not describe any process or procedures that allows an inmate to have legal or social visits
while on suicide watch or psychological observation. The OIG therefore recommends that the BOP evaluate
its current process for such visits to be approved and documented.
4. The BOP should evaluate its methods of accounting for inmate whereabouts and
wellbeing and make changes as may be appropriate to improve those methods
through policy, training, or other measures.
The OIG's investigation and review revealed many inmate accountability deficiencies. Most fundamentally,
MCC New York staff assigned to the SHU on August 9 and 10, 2019, did not conduct many of the required
rounds and inmate counts. Additionally, there was lacking or delayed documentation regarding inmates,
including cell assignments and internal inmate transfers. Internal reports, such as the daily call out list and
the Lieutenant log, are either not retained or subject to continuous modification, which reduces their utility
as accountability tools. Therefore, the OIG recommends that the BOP evaluate its methods of accounting
for inmate whereabouts and wellbeing and make changes as appropriate to improve those methods
through policy, training, or other measures.
5. BOP policy should clarify what is required of a Lieutenant when conducting a round.
The OIG's investigation and review revealed significant gaps in the supervision of MCC New York staff
assigned to the SHU. Although BOP policy requires MCC New York Lieutenants to conduct at least one
round in the SHU during each shift, what was required of a Lieutenant during the round is not specified.
During their interviews with the OIG, experienced MCC New York supervisory personnel described what
should be done during a round, which is also reflected in BOP Lieutenant training, but this expectation was
not memorialized in any BOP or MCC New York policy or Post Order. The OIG recommends that the BOP
develop a policy, either at an agency-wide or institution-specific level, to define what is expected of
supervisory personnel during a round in the SHU to better ensure that BOP staff are
appropriately supervised.
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DOJ-OGR-00023479
Extracted Information
Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00023479.tif |
| File Size | 58.1 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 95.4% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 3,209 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 20:39:08.943255 |