Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


3

US Prisons Leave Driving to Greyhound

Convicts unescorted in transfers; feds say there's little risk

Share

(Newser) – Federal convicts regularly transfer themselves between prisons unescorted, riding public transportation without a guard in sight, WFAA-TV reports. Some 5,300 have switched prisons on their own since April 2006; 54,000 have headed to halfway houses. And in 2003-05, 77 escaped while en route. “It’s an inherent safety and security risk for the industry as a whole,” says a Greyhound spokeswoman.

The Bureau of Prisons notes that such transfers are for minimum-security cases. “Inmates assigned to either camps or halfway houses do not present a significant risk to the community,” said a rep, noting “substantial” savings. Adds one senator, “We don’t want our bus system to turn into Con Air, but you would think there would be some safety measures that could be put into place here.”

Holiday travelers line up to board at the Greyhound Bus Station, Nov. 21, 2007, in Los Angeles.
Holiday travelers line up to board at the Greyhound Bus Station, Nov. 21, 2007, in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo)
Many convicts escort themselves between prisons.
Many convicts escort themselves between prisons.   (Shutterstock)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To transfer these types of inmates using BOP staff or US Marshals services or contract services would result in a large, unnecessary cost to the government and ultimately the taxpayer. - Traci Billingsley, Bureau of Prisons

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.6.09
Galleon Scandal: Shocked, Shocked by Insider Trading
11.5.09
Rupert Murdoch Is Mad but Cute
3 comments
VIEWING:
 
justme
Apr 28, 09 6:44 PM CDT
Just like a politician. One note, halfway houses are not guarded. Residents leave every day for work, etc. That's the point. Why hot get themselves there as well. Foolish to use armed guards to take prisoners to an unguarded facility. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
Laugh
Apr 28, 09 9:00 PM CDT
This is one stupid, reckless idea. I wonder what the cost would be to the "government and ultimately the taxpayer" if one crazy convict decides to "make a meal" of his fellow passengers? Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
IN RESPONSE:
radnip
May 1, 09 4:17 AM CDT
What's the cost of guarding all these non-violent felons?
Vote up! Vote down!
0
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

16 Stories

(Newser) - Almost 10% of prisoners incarcerated in the US are serving life sentences, an all-time high, the New York Times reports. In California, which maintains the nation’s highest prison population, that number is 20%, says a report from the Sentencing Project, a group that wants to eliminate life-without-parole sentences.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
prison • United States • convict • criminal • prisoner • incarceration • life sentence

 Recession Cuts Into 
 Prison Sentences 

States opt for cheaper routes to justice

Jul 13, 09 10:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - With the recession squeezing their finances, many states are opting to cut the high costs surrounding incarceration—meaning fewer criminals are heading to jail and prison, and more are getting out earlier, the Washington Post reports. Some states are sending drug offenders and drunk drivers to special courts that allow... More »

MORE ABOUT:
drugs • prison • recession • prison system • jail • criminal justice system • imprisonment • DWI • prison sentence

(Newser) - The collective freak-out over closing Guantanamo proves that Americans do care about prisons and prisoners, but Gitmo “is a mere speck in the eye of America’s larger prison program,” writes Dahlia Lithwick in Newsweek. That’s why Sen. Jim Webb of the “lock ‘em... More »

MORE ABOUT:
prison • Guantanamo Bay • mental illness • prison system • James Webb • inmates • prison population

Greyhound Bus Killer Found Mentally Ill

Man who decapitated traveler committed to mental hospital

Mar 6, 09 9:07 AM CST
(Newser) - The man who beheaded and partly cannibalized a passenger aboard a Greyhound bus last July was found not criminally responsible and will be committed to a mental institution, reports the Globe and Mail. Prosecution and defense both argued that Vince Li was tormented by voices he believed came from God... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Canada • murder • decapitation • buses • Vincent Weiguang Li • Greyhound • cannibalism

Greek Convicts Stage Daring Prison Break—Again

Fugitives use helicopter to escape Athens facility, as they did in 2006

Feb 22, 09 2:34 PM CST
(Newser) - Two Greek criminals escaped the most secure prison in Athens for the second time, the BBC reports. Vassilis Paleokostas and Alket Rizai fled the Korydallos prison after accomplices picked them up using a helicopter they landed on the building’s roof. The escape is similar to their 2006 breakout, when... More »

MORE ABOUT:
prison • convict • Greece • fugitive • escape • criminal justice • criminal justice system

16 Stories


An investigation of convict transfers
KSTP TV (Minnesota)


Crime & Courts  •  Politics  •  US 
TwitterFollow @NewserCrime on Twitter

 
travel • prison • convict • prison system • transportation • Bureau of Prisons • buses • Greyhound

from our news partners