BOP Security Designation: How Your Points Are Calculated.

Under Section 3621(b) of Title 18, the Bureau of Prisons shall designate the place of the prisoner’s imprisonment. This section states: “Section 3621(b) authorizes the Bureau of Prisons to designate the place of a prisoner’s imprisonment and to consider specified factors, including facility resources, the nature and circumstances of the offense, the prisoner’s history and characteristics, sentencing-court statements, and pertinent Sentencing Commission policy statements.” This statute provides the BOP’s broad authority to assign inmates to appropriate facilities to meet security, rehabilitative, and other needs.

Crucially, this authority means that a sentencing judge cannot designate the federal institution where a defendant will serve imprisonment. While judges may make recommendations, BOP officials make the ultimate determination based on statutory factors, staff judgment, facility needs, and other criteria.

To make a final determination, the BOP engages in a two-tiered process. This involves:

• Determining custody classification, and,
• Determining institution security designation.

These are related but separate determinations. Custody classification involves assigning inmates to specific custody levels based on their needs and risks. The BOP uses four custody levels:

• Community
• Out
• In
• Maximum

Once the BOP determines the appropriate custody level for a defendant, it determines his or her appropriate institution security designation. The BOP institutions themselves are divided into five security categories:

• Minimum security
• Low security
• Medium security
• High security
• Administrative security

While these are related, as aforementioned, they are separate determinations that depend on different information. Both determinations are intended to ensure the BOP places inmates in facilities that can accommodate their needs and meet the necessary security requirements.

What Role Do BOP Points Play?

BOP points are used to evaluate factors relevant to determining both custody classification and institution security designation. By assigning point values to various factors, including criminal history, type of offense, and personal background, the BOP creates a structured approach to its decision-making process.

These points are not meant to be the sole basis for a final placement determination; instead, they inform a more comprehensive assessment. The point total serves as a starting point, which BOP officials then use in conjunction with other considerations, such as medical needs, proximity to home, and institutional capacity, to make a well-informed and objective decision.

What must the BOP weigh besides a prisoner’s custody points?

Section 3621(b) of Title 18 outlines five key factors that the BOP must consider when designating a federal institution for an inmate. These factors provide the framework for determining the appropriate facility, balancing the individual inmate’s characteristics with the BOP’s available resources and security needs.

1. Resources of the Facility Contemplated: The BOP must consider the resources of the facility contemplated. This involves considering the capacity, location, and security capabilities of various institutions to determine where an inmate can be safely placed.

2. Nature and Circumstances of the Offense: The nature and circumstances of the federal offense are a significant consideration. This analysis allows the BOP to account for specific details about the crime, such as the degree of violence, the scope of the criminal activity, and other aspects that may influence the inmate’s risk level and specific needs.

3. History and Characteristics of the Prisoner: The BOP also considers the individual’s history, characteristics, and prior criminal record. This helps identify the inmate’s background, behavior, and potential for rehabilitation, which in turn informs the security level and institutional setting that would be most effective.

4. Sentencing Court Recommendations: While judges have limited authority over the final institution designation, Section 3621(b) requires the BOP to consider any recommendations made by the sentencing court. This ensures that the judge’s insight, based on the facts of the trial and the defendant’s circumstances, is taken into account during the decision-making process.

5. Applicable Statements from the Sentencing Commission: Finally, the BOP must consider any applicable statements issued by the Sentencing Commission. These statements provide broad guidance and interpretations related to federal sentencing and the appropriate placement of prisoners, contributing to a comprehensive and informed process.

Beyond these five statutory factors, Section 3621(b) also directs the BOP to consider other important aspects of institutional placement, which include:

• The security level of the proposed facility; and,
• The need for any particular type of correctional program.

In determining an inmate’s security designation, the BOP balances these factors in a subjective and discretionary process. While custody points provide structured information, the final decision is based on staff judgment, the overall needs and capacity of the BOP’s prison system, and the individual characteristics of the inmate.

Most first calls to Spodek Law Group are not from the person under investigation. They come from a mother, a husband, a sister, holding a phone and frightened.

Can anyone verify the published 24-point security cutoffs?

There are many websites and legal forums on the internet that provide alleged security point cutoffs for the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). This includes the response to the Avvo question quoted above, and this competing page’s breakdown of security levels. To repeat, these pages all say:

For male inmates, the BOP manual lists these ranges:

• 24 points or more: High Security
• 16 to 23 points: Medium Security
• 12 to 15 points: Low Security
• 0 to 11 points: Minimum Security

For female inmates, the listed ranges are 31 points or more for High Security, 16 to 30 points for Low Security, and 0 to 15 points for Minimum Security.

There is evidence that these cutoff points are accurate, though the BOP doesn’t explicitly publish them (their program statements discuss the factors involved but not the point thresholds used to define the custody levels).

While they may be accurate, however, their most important limitation is that they are indicative, not prescriptive. They are not a formula. To be clear: they are not an equation and they don’t trigger an automatic prison designation. They are used to inform the decision. They aren’t used to make it.

The actual process is one that blends the quantitative (the points) with the qualitative (staff judgment, medical needs, programmatic needs, capacity, staffing, and other external factors).

A person with 13 points will not necessarily go to a low-security facility. For example, they could have a medical condition that requires specific care or needs to be close to their home.

A person with 17 points will not necessarily go to a medium-security facility. For example, a medium-security facility might not be within a reasonable distance from the person’s family or home.

A person with 30 points will not necessarily go to a high-security facility. For example, a high-security facility may be full at the time of their commitment.

The outcome of the designation process is unique to each inmate. With the exception of certain individuals who end up at the lowest security levels, inmates with low point totals will almost always end up at a facility with a higher security level than the lowest available one.

When do records, staff judgment, and facility limits change the recommendation?

While the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) uses calculations based on a formula to provide an initial recommendation for security designation, it does not rely on this formula exclusively. According to the BOP, this designation is based on the following:

• The judgment, presentence report, and statement of reasons that inform the BOP’s officials;
• The professional correctional judgment of the correctional officer assigned to the case;
• Available bed space; and,
• Program needs.

Depending on the inmate’s individual circumstances, any of these factors can raise or lower the recommended security designation. Specifically, these factors can change the recommendation in the following ways:

Management Variables

The BOP has the ability to raise or lower the recommended security level with a “management variable.” The BOP has identified this as the “application of a management variable” which can result in a “A Management Variable is required when placement has been made and/or maintained at an institution level inconsistent with the inmate’s scored security level.”

Staff Judgment

The BOP also has the ability to change the recommendation based on professional judgment. Specifically, the BOP refers to “A Management Variable is required when placement has been made and/or maintained at an institution level inconsistent with the inmate’s scored security level.” “A Management Variable is required when placement has been made and/or maintained at an institution level inconsistent with the inmate’s scored security level.” and “Management Variables entered at initial designation are manually transferred to the BP-338, Custody Classification form.”

Available Bed Space

Available bed space is another factor that can result in a security designation that is different from the initial recommendation. The BOP’s designation criteria specifically allow for “Situations may occur in which an inmate requires housing in a facility which is not commensurate with his or her security level. Following are example situations: facility activation; population pressures affecting available appropriate-level bed space within 500 driving miles of the inmate’s anticipated release residence; gang/security concerns.”

Program Needs

As the name suggests, program needs can play a significant role in determining where an inmate is sent. For instance, if the BOP determines that an inmate requires a specific type of correctional program, including substance abuse treatment or vocational training, that the proposed facility does not provide, it may be necessary to change the prisoner’s designation.

Medical Needs

Medical needs can also trigger a security designation that deviates from the initial recommendation. If the BOP determines that the inmate requires a higher level of medical care than what the initial recommended facility can provide, it can shift the prisoner’s designation to a facility that can address the inmate’s specific medical needs. The BOP’s facilities have various levels of care, and if necessary, these medical requirements will override the results of the initial calculations based on security designation points.

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