Military Correctional Facilities: Consistent Application of Standards and Improved Oversight Could Enhance Health and Safety
Fast Facts
The U.S. military services operate a combined 36 military correctional facilities around the world. As of 2021, these facilities held 1,131 service members who were awaiting trial or had been sentenced by court-martial.
Each service branch is responsible for ensuring the health and safety of the staff and incarcerated service members at their respective facilities. We found:
- Most of the branches routinely assess whether their facilities adhere to established health and safety standards, but the Air Force does not
- Staffing shortages at Marine Corps facilities pose health and safety risks
Our recommendations address these issues.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the military departments have developed health and safety standards for military correctional facilities (MCFs). However, GAO found that the Air Force does not routinely assess its MCFs for adherence to these standards. Specifically, it is the only service that has not
- required the routine assessment of adherence to a uniform set of MCF-specific health and safety standards, and
- assessed all of its MCFs to determine adherence with these standards.
By routinely assessing all of its MCFs, the Air Force could better ensure that its MCFs are meeting health and safety standards, and identify and respond to any potential risks to the health and safety of MCF staff and incarcerated persons.
Marine Corps Installations—West, Camp Pendleton Base Brig, Camp Pendleton, CA
Adherence to health and safety standards varied and some identified deficiencies have not been addressed at Air Force and Marine Corps MCFs across a sample of eight MCFs. Specifically,
- Selected Army and Navy MCFs generally adhered to health and safety standards and addressed identified deficiencies, according to inspection reports.
- Inspections from 2017 to 2019 at an Air Force base identified structural and procedural deficiencies at the Air Force MCF. In 2020, an investigation prompted by a December 2019 suicide at the MCF resulted in an almost year-long closure of the MCF to address deficiencies identified. The Air Force has plans to address the remaining facility deficiencies identified in the earlier inspections; that work is expected to begin in fiscal year 2023.
- Inspections and audits have identified staffing shortages at Marine Corps MCFs, including those GAO selected. Additionally, officials have identified security personnel shortages at Marine Corps MCFs that result in 24-hour work shifts, posing a safety risk. Officials stated that they are in the process of reviewing personnel allocations at MCFs. However, if additional positions are approved, whether local commanders will use their discretion to fill them is unclear. Until the Marine Corps develops a plan to approve and fill positions at MCFs, incarcerated persons and MCF staff are at greater risk for health and safety incidents.
Why GAO Did This Study
As of 2021, DOD held 1,131 incarcerated persons in 36 MCFs located across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. DOD's MCFs are administered by the military services, each of which is responsible for operating its correctional facilities to maintain good order, discipline, safety, and security.
Senate Report 116-236 accompanying a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2021 included a provision for GAO to review matters related to health and safety at MCFs. This report assesses, among other things, the extent to which (1) OSD and the military departments have developed health and safety standards for MCFs and assessed adherence to these standards and (2) selected MCFs have adhered to health and safety standards and the services have addressed any identified deficiencies.
To conduct this assessment, GAO analyzed guidance and reviewed the results of inspections and audits at eight selected MCFs, among other things. GAO selected two MCFs from each service to capture a range of facility levels and locations.
Recommendations
GAO is making five recommendations, including that the Air Force ensure all MCFs are routinely assessed for adherence to health and safety standards, and the Marine Corps develop a plan to address staffing shortages at MCFs. DOD generally concurred with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Air Force | The Secretary of the Air Force should ensure that all Air Force MCFs, which currently are all Level I confinement facilities, are routinely assessed for adherence to health and safety standards, such as by revising Air Force guidance to require such assessments. (Recommendation 1) |
DOD partially concurred with this recommendation. As of April 2023, the Department of the Air Force updated its guidance requiring staff assistance visits that review health and safety standards for all Level I Confinement Facilities once every three years using health and safety checklists. As a result, the Air Force can better ensure that its MCFs are meeting health and safety standards, and identify and respond to any risks to the health and safety of MCF staff and incarcerated persons.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Commandant of the Marine Corps develops a plan for correcting deficiencies identified from higher-level inspections and audits at the Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton MCFs. (Recommendation 2) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of August 2024 DOD stated that the Marine Corps is drafting policy that will require corrective action plans, if needed, in response to all higher-level inspections. Officials stated that the draft policy is currently under review and estimates publication in September 2025.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Commandant of the Marine Corps develops a plan for approving and filling positions related to staffing shortages of health and safety-related personnel at MCFs. (Recommendation 3) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of August 2024, DOD stated that the Marine Corps has validated the need for additional positions and is taking steps to secure funding, among other actions. DOD estimates that this action will be complete in December 2025.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Commandant of the Marine Corps develops a plan for approving and filling security positions to address the 24-hour personnel model used at MCFs. (Recommendation 4) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of August 2024, DOD stated that the Marine Corps has taken steps to address the 24-hour model and has been able to reduce shift hours at some MCFs. DOD also stated that it is continuing to take actions, but it does not know how long full implementation will take due to current service level authorized strength requirements.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD (P&R)), should issue or revise existing guidance, such as DOD Instruction 1325.07 or the DOD Corrections Council charter, to require that the services report to the USD(P&R) (1) the specific details of incidents that implicate health and safety standards or that require internal reporting to a service corrections command due to their serious or critical nature and (2) the results of higher-level inspections and audits of MCFs and actions taken to remedy identified deficiencies. (Recommendation 5) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. In November 2024, DOD issued DOD Instruction 1325.07 with revisions requiring the military services to provide USD (P&R) with information on significant incidences at Military Correctional Facilities (MCFs), the results of inspections and audits, and information regarding actions taken to remedy identified deficiencies. This actions meets the intent of this recommendation.
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