Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) joined Senator Jim Justice (R-WV) to introduce the Bureau of Prisons Security Check and Action against Narcotics in Mail Act (BOP SCAN Mail Act). This bipartisan legislation would require the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to develop and implement a digital scanning strategy to prevent the smuggling of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs into federal correctional facilities by mail.
“We have a responsibility to protect our federal correctional officers, prison support staff, and inmates, and we need to stop fentanyl and other deadly drugs from putting their lives at risk,” said Senator Fetterman. “I’m proud to work with Senator Justice to introduce the BOP SCAN Mail Act to expand on the success we’ve seen at USP Canaan in Pennsylvania. By bringing these protective measures to correctional facilities across the country, this bill will keep dangerous drugs out of our prisons. I hope my colleagues will join us to get this thing passed and signed into law – our prisons will be safer because of it.”
“Protecting police officers and prison support staff from deadly fentanyl is not a partisan issue and catching it through whatever avenue it is smuggled shouldn’t be either,” said Senator Jim Justice. “In West Virginia, far too many lives have been lost due to mailed-in synthetic drugs and fentanyl to correctional facilities. Inmate mail is an often-overlooked smuggling route, but with this bill, we protect correctional officers, prison support staff, and stop deadly drugs from reaching inmates.”
Federal prisons have experienced a 600% increase in overdose-induced inmate deaths in the last two decades. The influx of these deadly drugs, which are increasingly smuggled through prison mail, has also resulted in the death of one federal correctional officer and hospitalizations for dozens of others in the last year.
The BOP SCAN Mail Act would expand a pilot program started at USP Canaan in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and FCI Beckley in West Virginia. Under the program, mail is scanned at an off-site location and digitally distributed to inmates at federal prisons within 24 hours. If the mail is determined to be free of synthetic drugs or opioids, the original copies are given to inmates within 30 days. The pilot program was 100% effective at preventing staff exposure to deadly drugs through the prison mail process.
Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) are cosponsoring the legislation. Representatives Chris Pappas (D-NH-01) and Don Bacon (R-NE-02) introduced the House companion legislation.
The BOP SCAN Mail Act is endorsed by the national board of the American Federation of Government Employees Council of Prisons Locals 33 (AFGE CPL-33), AFGE CPL-33 Locals 306, 307, 3003, and 4070, the National Association of Police Organizations, National District Attorneys Association, National Fraternal Order of Police, Mothers for Awareness and Prevention of Drug Abuse, Police Officers’ Defense Coalition, and Treatment Communities of America..
“The BOP SCAN Mail Act is a smart, measured, and much-needed step forward in confronting a crisis that continues to evolve,” said Brandy Moore White, National President of the National Council of Prison Locals 33. “We urge Congress to move swiftly to pass this legislation and to prioritize its implementation. Our members, and the communities we serve, are counting on your leadership to ensure that no correctional officer ever has to fear for their life simply by doing their job.”
Read the full bill text here.
