U.S. Senator Ken Salazar Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees 2300 15^th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
For Immediate Release Monday, September 22, 2008		CONTACT:Michael Amodeo – 303-455-7600 Matt Lee-Ashley – 202-228-5905
Sen. Salazar Urges Public Disclosure of BOP Report on Florence Prison Staffing & Security Issues WASHINGTON, DC – Today, United States Senator Ken Salazar urged the Department of Prisons to update the public on the results of their investigation into the April 20, 2008 riot at the United States Penitentiary (USP) in Florence, Colorado. The riot at the USP endangered security personnel and left two inmates dead and five others severely injured. According to reports, hundreds of rounds of ammunition were fired to subdue the violence. Following the incident, Senator Salazar requested a full investigation and an evaluation of staffing levels on the Florence campus, which is home to the USP, the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) and the Administrative Maximum Facility, or Supermax, but despite having had five months to compile its report, the BOP has not released any details from its findings to Senator Salazar or the American public. In his letter, Senator Salazar requests to be fully briefed on the investigation and asks that information be shared with the public. “The people of Colorado,” writes Sen. Salazar, “especially those in the communities surrounding the USP, deserve the assurance that the BOP is taking the steps necessary to improve security at the facility and prevent terrible incidents like this in the future. Public disclosure of the conclusions of the report will ensure the BOP is accountable for its decisions relating to the USP going forward.” Senator Salazar has repeatedly urged the Administration to take action on this issue. In February 2007, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales joined Senator Salazar to tour the Florence campus, where they met with officials to discuss the safety needs of the correctional officers. On March 1, 2007, Senator Salazar wrote to Attorney General Gonzales expressing his continued concern with security, including staffing levels. Near the end of 2007, in response to the increasing levels of violence, Senator Salazar successfully included language in the report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill directing the BOP to allocate the necessary resources to address the staffing and security needs of the Supermax, which will also aid in boosting security at the other prisons. To date, the BOP has not allocated additional staff to correct the problem. A full copy Senator Salazar’s letter to Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Harley G. Lappin can be found here. ###