According to the BOP's program statement , the purpose of monitoring is to preserve the security and orderly management of the institution and to protect the public. In all BOP facilities , a notice is placed on inmate telephones advising the user that all conversations are subject to monitoring. Use of the telephones by inmates, therefore, constitutes their consent to this monitoring. 14 Inmate calls to attorneys are an exception to this rule and will not be monitored by BOP staff if the inmate follows proper procedures, established by the warden at each institution, to arrange and place attorney calls. Rather, determinations about the amount and methods of monitoring are left to individual wardens.
Some institutions have remote monitoring locations.
At these locations, officers randomly listen to some calls as they are occurring. This monitoring is in addition to their regular duties. The officers are required to fill out a form describing the content of each monitored call and submit these reports to the institution's SIS office. The SIS offices are supposed to review the reports and decide if any further action is required. Most institutions without remote monitoring locations have established a fixed listening post where a staff member assigned as the telephone monitor listens to inmate calls in addition to other duties, such as reviewing inmate mail.