II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2899 

To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to address deficiencies 

and make necessary upgrades to the security camera and radio systems 

of the Bureau of Prisons to ensure the health and safety of employees 

and inmates. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 

Mr. OSSOFF (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to address 

deficiencies and make necessary upgrades to the security 

camera and radio systems of the Bureau of Prisons 

to ensure the health and safety of employees and inmates. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prison Camera Reform 

5 Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Bureau of Prisons has 122 institutions 

2 located throughout the United States. The Bureau 

3 of Prisons employs nearly 38,000 employees and is 

4 responsible for more than 150,000 Federal inmates. 

5 (2) Video footage from security camera systems 

6 and reliable communication over radio systems with7 in Bureau of Prisons institutions are essential to 

8 protecting the health and safety of Bureau of Pris9 ons employees and Federal inmates. 

10 (3) Based on the experience of Bureau of Pris11 ons correctional staff, the noticeable presence of 

12 functioning security cameras serves as an effective 

13 deterrent to criminal behavior and misconduct. 

14 (4) Well-documented deficiencies of camera sys15 tems at Bureau of Prisons’ facilities have hindered 

16 investigators’ ability to substantiate allegations of 

17 serious misconduct by staff and inmates, including 

18 sexual and physical assaults, medical neglect, and in19 troduction of contraband. 

20 (5) In a 2016 report, the Office of the Inspec21 tor General for the Department of Justice deter22 mined that ‘‘deficiencies within the BOP’s security 

23 camera system have affected the OIG’s ability to se24 cure prosecutions of staff and inmates in BOP con25 traband introduction cases, and these same problems 


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1 adversely impact the availability of critical evidence 

2 to support administrative or disciplinary action 

3 against staff and inmates’’. 

4 (6) Shortcomings in the land-mobile radio sys5 tems at Bureau of Prison facilities institutions im6 pede the communication abilities of staff, slowing or 

7 preventing the response of correctional officers dur8 ing an emergency or threat of attack, and jeopard9 izing the safety of both staff and Federal inmates. 

10 SEC. 3. REQUIRED PLAN FOR REFORM OF BOP SECURITY 

11 CAMERA AND RADIO COVERAGE AND CAPA12 BILITIES. 

13 (a) PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 

14 enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Pris15 ons shall— 

16 (1) evaluate the security camera, land-mobile 

17 radio (referred to in this Act as ‘‘LMR’’), and public 

18 address (referred to in this Act as ‘‘PA’’) systems in 

19 use by the Bureau of Prisons as of the date of en20 actment of this Act; and 

21 (2) submit to the Committee on the Judiciary 

22 of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 

23 of the House of Representatives a plan for ensuring 

24 that all Bureau of Prisons correctional facilities have 


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1 the security camera, LMR, and PA system coverage 

2 and capabilities necessary to— 

3 (A) ensure the health and safety of staff 

4 and Federal inmates; and 

5 (B) ensure the documentation and accessi6 bility of video evidence that may pertain to mis7 conduct by staff or inmates, negligent or abu8 sive treatment of inmates, or criminal activity 

9 within correctional facilities. 

10 (b) CONTENTS.—The plan required under subsection 

11 (a) shall— 

12 (1) identify and include plans to address any 

13 deficiencies in the security camera system in use at 

14 Bureau of Prisons correctional facilities, including 

15 those related to— 

16 (A) an insufficient number of cameras; 

17 (B) inoperable or malfunctioning cameras; 

18 (C) blind spots; 

19 (D) poor quality video; and 

20 (E) any other deficits in the security cam21 era system; 

22 (2) identify and include plans to adopt and 

23 maintain any security camera system upgrades need24 ed to achieve the purposes described in subsection 

25 (a), including— 


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1 (A) conversion of all analog cameras to 

2 digital surveillance systems, with corresponding 

3 infrastructure and equipment upgrade require4 ments; 

5 (B) upgrades to ensure the secure storage, 

6 logging, preservation, and accessibility of re7 cordings such that the recordings are available 

8 to investigators or Courts at such time as may 

9 be reasonably required; and 

10 (C) additional enterprise-wide camera sys11 tem capabilities needed to enhance the safety 

12 and security of inmates and staff; 

13 (3) identify and include plans to address any 

14 deficiencies in the LMR and PA systems in use at 

15 Bureau of Prisons correctional facilities, including 

16 those related to— 

17 (A) an inadequate number of radios; 

18 (B) inoperable, outdated, or malfunc19 tioning LMR or PA systems; 

20 (C) areas of Bureau of Prisons correctional 

21 facilities that lack adequate reception for radio 

22 operation; 

23 (D) radios that lack an emergency notifica24 tion feature (also known as a ‘‘man down’’ 

25 function), which automatically sends an alert 


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1 and transmits the location of that radio in the 

2 event the wearer is in a prone position; and 

3 (E) any other deficits in the LMR or PA 

4 systems; 

5 (4) include an assessment of operational and 

6 logistical considerations in implementing the plan re7 quired under subsection (a), including— 

8 (A) a prioritization of facilities for needed 

9 upgrades, beginning with high security institu10 tions; 

11 (B) the personnel and training necessary 

12 to implement the changes; and 

13 (C) ongoing repair and maintenance re14 quirements; and 

15 (5) include a 3-year strategic plan and cost pro16 jection for implementing the changes and upgrades 

17 to the security camera, LMR, and PA systems iden18 tified under paragraphs (1) through (4). 

19 (c) IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE.—Not later than 3 

20 years after the date on which the plan is submitted under 

21 subsection (a)(2), and subject to appropriations, the Di22 rector of the Bureau of Prisons shall complete implemen23 tation of the submitted plan. 

24 (d) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—Beginning 1 

25 year after the date on which the plan is submitted under 


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1 subsection (a)(2), and each year thereafter until the end 

2 of the 3-year period described in subsection (c), the Direc3 tor of the Bureau of Prisons shall submit to the Com4 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 

5 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report 

6 on the progress of the implementation of the submitted 

7 plan. 

Æ 


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