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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1898

To provide protection against the risks to the public that are inherent in

the interstate transportation of violent prisoners.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 9, 1999

Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Mr. ASHCROFT, and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the

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

Judiciary

A BILL

To provide protection against the risks to the public that

are inherent in the interstate transportation of violent

prisoners.

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 ‘‘Interstate Transpor5 tation of Dangerous Criminals Act of 1999’’ or ‘‘Jeanna’s

6 Act’’.

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

8 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) increasingly, States are turning to private

2 prisoner transport companies as an alternative to

3 their own personnel or the United States Marshals

4 Service when transporting violent prisoners;

5 (2) often times, these trips can last for days if

6 not weeks, as violent prisoners are dropped off and

7 picked up at a network of hubs across the country;

8 (3) escapes by violent prisoners during trans9 port by private prisoner transport companies have

10 not been uncommon; and

11 (4) oversight by the Attorney General is re12 quired to address these problems.

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

14 In this Act:

15 (1) CRIME OF VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘crime of

16 violence’’ has the same meaning as provided in sec17 tion 924(c)(3) of title 18, United States Code.

18 (2) DRUG TRAFFICKING CRIME.—The term

19 ‘‘drug trafficking crime’’ has the same meaning as

20 provided in section 924(c)(2) of title 18, United

21 States Code.

22 (3) PRIVATE PRISONER TRANSPORT COM23 PANY.—The term ‘‘private prisoner transport com24 pany’’ means any entity other than the United

25 States, a State or the inferior political subdivisions
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1 of a State which engages in the business of the

2 transporting for compensation, individuals com3 mitted to the custody of any State or of the inferior

4 political subdivisions of a State, or any attempt

5 thereof.

6 (4) VIOLENT PRISONER.—The term ‘‘violent

7 prisoner’’ means any individual in the custody of a

8 State or the inferior political subdivisions of a State

9 who has previously been convicted of or is currently

10 charged with a crime of violence, a drug trafficking

11 crime, or a violation of the Gun Control Act of 1968,

12 or any similar statute of a State or the inferior polit13 ical subdivisions of a State, or any attempt thereof.

14 SEC. 4. FEDERAL REGULATION OF PRISONER TRANSPORT

15 COMPANIES.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall

18 promulgate regulations relating to the transportation of

19 violent prisoners in or affecting interstate commerce.

20 (b) STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS.—The regula21 tions shall include, at a minimum—

22 (1) minimum standards for background checks

23 and preemployment drug testing for potential em24 ployees;
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1 (2) minimum standards for factors that dis2 qualify employees or potential employees similar to

3 standards required of Federal correction officers;

4 (3) minimum standards for the length and type

5 of training that employees must undergo before they

6 can perform this service;

7 (4) restrictions on the number of hours that

8 employees can be on duty during a given time pe9 riod;

10 (5) minimum standards for the number of per11 sonnel that must supervise violent prisoners;

12 (6) minimum standards for employee uniforms

13 and identification, when appropriate;

14 (7) standards requiring that violent prisoners

15 wear brightly colored clothing clearly identifying

16 them as prisoners, when appropriate;

17 (8) minimum requirements for the restraints

18 that must be used when transporting violent pris19 oners, to include leg shackles and double-locked

20 handcuffs, when appropriate;

21 (9) a requirement that when transporting vio22 lent prisoners, private prisoner transport companies

23 notify local law enforcement officials 24 hours in ad24 vance of any scheduled stops in their jurisdiction

25 and that if unscheduled stops are made, local law
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1 enforcement should be notified in a timely manner,

2 when appropriate;

3 (10) minimum standards for the markings on

4 conveyance vehicles, when appropriate;

5 (11) a requirement that in the event of an es6 cape by a violent prisoner, private prisoner transport

7 company officials shall immediately notify appro8 priate law enforcement officials in the jurisdiction

9 where the escape occurs, and the governmental enti10 ty that contracted with the private prisoner trans11 port company for the transport of the escaped vio12 lent prisoner;

13 (12) minimum standards for the safety of vio14 lent prisoners; and

15 (13) any other requirement the Attorney Gen16 eral deems to be necessary to prevent escape of vio17 lent prisoners and ensure public safety.

18 (c) FEDERAL STANDARDS.—Except for the require19 ments of subsection (b)(7), the regulations promulgated

20 under this Act shall not provide stricter standards with

21 respect to private prisoner transport companies than are

22 applicable to Federal prisoner transport entities.

23 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.

24 Any person who is found in violation of the regula25 tions established by this Act shall be liable to the United
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1 States for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed

2 $10,000 for each violation and, in addition, to the United

3 States for the costs of prosecution. In addition, such per4 son shall make restitution to any entity of the United

5 States, of a State, or of an inferior political subdivision

6 of a State, which expends funds for the purpose of appre7 hending any violent prisoner who escapes from a prisoner

8 transport company as the result, in whole or in part, of

9 a violation of regulations promulgated pursuant to section

10 4(a).

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