Justice Dept. bolsters monitoring of federal inmate accounts

By MICHAEL BALSAMO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is directing the federal prison system implement new procedures to monitor government-run prison deposit accounts that have at times been used by inmates to shield themselves from paying debts and for suspicious or illegal activity. The directive was issued this week by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. It instructs the Bureau of Prisons to implement reforms to its current policies on so-called inmate trust accounts that would “strengthen appropriate monitoring and reporting.” The Associated Press obtained a copy of Monaco’s directive and a subsequent Bureau of Prisons memo providing new guidance to wardens.