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OFFICE OF 

INSPECTOR GENERAL 

U.S.DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

MANAGEMENT ADVISORY

The 

Needs Policies or Procedures 

Covering Prison Work Details

in National Parks

Report No.: OI-GA-18-0898-I April 2, 2020
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OFFICE OF 

INSPECTOR GENERAL 

U.S.DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Memorandum 

To: George “Rob” Wallace 

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks 

From: Mark Lee Greenblatt 

Inspector General 

Subject: Management Advisory – The National Park Service Needs Policies or Procedures 

Covering Prison Work Details in National Parks 

Case No. OI-GA-18-0898-I 

We recently concluded an investigation into allegations that a National Park Service 

(NPS) employee assisted inmates to smuggle contraband into a U.S. penitentiary through a 

prison work detail on an NPS property. Our report of investigation on the matter (Report No. OIGA-18-0898-I, Alleged Smuggling of Contraband) details our findings related to the smuggling 

allegations and will also be issued in April 2020. 

Our investigation found that on the day the contraband was found, the inmates, whose 

criminal histories included firearms- and drug-related convictions, had been left working 

unsupervised in a park’s campground for approximately 2 hours. We further found that the NPS 

has no policies or formal procedures in place for the management of inmates while they are 

under the supervision of the NPS and working in national parks. We did not identify relevant 

NPS policies at the park, region, or headquarters levels. This policy void led to NPS employees 

overseeing prison inmates without any training or formal guidance, inmates gaining access to 

contraband such as tools and knives, and inmates being left working unsupervised for hours 

while on park grounds. 

We also found that prison work detail agreements differed from park to park, because 

they were coordinated and approved at the park level between the local NPS superintendent and 

the supporting prison facility. When we asked the NPS for documentation on these prison work 

details, the NPS identified five memoranda of understanding, three cooperative agreements, and 

three task agreements being used Servicewide. We also found that two national parks used prison 

work details without any written agreement in place at all. The NPS does not require review and 

approval of these agreements at any higher level than the local park; moreover, there is no 

review by the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of the Solicitor (SOL). The absence of 

standardization and oversight of these agreements resulted in parks using a variety of methods to 

create them, such as memoranda of understanding and interagency agreements, when they do not 

necessarily have the authority to do so. 

Office of Inspector General | Washington, DC 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The absence of NPS policies and oversight regarding prison work details at NPS 

properties creates risks to NPS employees, park visitors, and the prison community, and may 

expose the U.S. Department of the Interior to liability. 

Recommendations 

In order to improve the safety and security of NPS employees and park visitors, and to 

ensure consistent approval and employment of prison work details across the NPS, we 

recommend that the NPS: 

1. Develop and implement policies and procedures that standardize agreements between

the NPS and prisons, define how NPS employees use inmate work details, and

establish requirements for transporting and supervising inmates while they are under

NPS supervision

2. Require all agreements between the NPS and Federal, State, or private prisons to be

reviewed and approved by NPS headquarters and the SOL and maintained nationally

by an NPS official

3. Train NPS employees assigned to duties associated with prison work details on

specific safety issues related to transporting and supervising prisoners

Please provide us with a written response to this memorandum within 90 days describing 

the actions you have taken, or plan to take, to address the issues and our recommendations. You 

may either email your response to doioigreferrals@doioig.gov, or mail to: 

Office of Inspector General 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

381 Elden Street, Suite 3000 

Herndon, VA 20170 

In accordance with the IG Empowerment Act of 2016, we intend to publish this 

memorandum on our website, in redacted form, no later than 3 days from the date we issue it to 

you. Within the next 10 business days, a representative from our Office of Investigations will 

contact you, or your designee, to discuss the memo and the status of your response. If you have 

any questions or need further information concerning this matter, please contact Matthew Elliott 

at 202-208-5745. 

cc: David Vela, Deputy Director for Operations, National Park Service 

Daniel Jorjani, Solicitor, U.S. Department of Interior 

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