Federal Jails

This report describes design and construction deficiencies in the Federal Bureau of Prison's Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles and actions taken to correct them. GAO found that due to concerns about earthquakes, cell walls on upper floors of the jail were made of plaster over steel mesh with steel studs. Bureau officials said that at least two inmates had been able to break through these walls. While government specifications call for 12-gauge steel door frames and 14-gauge steel doors, the construction contractor installed less sturdy and less costly doors that inmates have been able to bend and warp. So far, inmates have broken through these doors at least a dozen times. Inmatesalso tampered with electrical switches and light fixtures located inside their cells. While none of the inmates involved in these incidents actually escaped from the jail, damage to the facility was substantial; cells were sometimes rendered unlivable while repairs were being made. The Bureau is trying to correct these deficiencies by installing metal sheathing to cell walls and ceilings, replacing cell doors with doors of heavier gauge steel, moving electrical switches from inside the cells to the hallways, and installing more secure ceiling light fixtures. The Bureau expects this work to be completed by November 1991 at an estimated cost of about $250,000. In addition to the other deficiencies, the jail's health unit was not used as originally intended. The health unit was designed to provide all basic medical services in the jail. In practice, however, budget constraints have precluded the hiring of the medical and security staff needed to treat and escort inmates to and from the facility. As a result, most routine outpatient care is provided by physician's assistants in the housing units, and inmates who need to see a doctor are given a clinic appointment. Rooms designed for inpatient care are used only for emergencies, and inmates needing hospitalization are sent to nearby hospitals. The Bureau believes that this arrangement is less costly than staffing the facility to provide inpatient care.

GAO found that: (1) most of the design and construction deficiencies existed in MDC/LA segregation unit; (2) the cell walls were made of plaster over steel mesh with steel studs to reduce weight in the upper floors because of local seismic considerations; (3) at least two segregation inmates succeeded in breaching the plaster walls of their cells and entering adjacent cells; (4) since drawings provided to the construction contractor by the design agent called for only standard security steel doors and did not specify a gauge or the extra-heavy-duty designation, the construction contractor installed less sturdy and less costly doors that inmates were able to bend and warp to gain access to the adjacent hallways; (5) inmates in the segregation unit frequently tampered with electrical switches; (6) the Bureau of Prisons is attempting to correct deficiencies by installing metal sheathing to cell walls and ceilings, replacing cell doors with doors of heavier gauge steel, moving electrical switches from inside the cells to the hallways, and installing more secure ceiling light fixtures; (7) the cost of construction correction efforts will be about $251,012; (8) a June 1989 escape by 5 inmates was attributed not to design deficiencies associated with the segregation unit, but to staff and inmate complicity; and (9) the health unit was not used as it was originally designed to be used because budget constraints prevented the delivery of a full health care program.