BOP Trust Funds

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed two Bureau of Prisons (BOP) trust funds, focusing on the: (1) purpose of, controls over, and costs of the trust funds; (2) current BOP rules, regulations, and directives; (3) amount of funds in inmate accounts; (4) inmate rights and responsibilities; and (5) markup on items and services sold to inmates. GAO noted that: (1) the purpose of the commissary trust fund is to provide BOP inmates the opportunity to obtain merchandise not provided by BOP; (2) the inmate deposit fund maintains inmates' funds in personal accounts; (3) BOP manuals cover the rules and regulations of both the commissary fund and the inmate deposit fund; (4) each institution is required to maintain deposit and withdrawal records for each inmate account; (5) all inmates are informed of their rights and responsibilities under the trust funds; and (6) BOP requires commissaries to sell most items at 25 percent above the institution's cost.