America’s federal prison system is running a 20th-century operation against 21st-century threats. If Congress is serious about public safety, it must modernize the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Right now, Washington is moving in the opposite direction.
This budget cycle, President Donald Trump proposed $8.9 billion to operate the bureau. Roughly 65% of that is payroll for the men and women who show up to one of the most dangerous jobs you can have each day. Fifteen percent is medical care for the inmates, and the remaining 20% is for operations of the facilities — many of which are in disrepair from decades of neglect. Congress cut that $8.9 billion to $8.4 billion. A half-billion dollars may not sound like much compared to some of the other agencies, but for the bureau, it has significant consequences. It means fewer officers, less technology, and fewer tools to keep prisons secure and prepare people to return to society.
The Bureau of Prisons oversees more than 150,000 people in its custody and has more than 36,000 employees. Yet much of the system still operates with outdated tools that would look familiar to a corrections officer 30 years ago.
BLAKEMAN SLAMS HOCHUL OVER REQUIREMENT TO PUT CONVICTED CRIMINAL ON STATE CORRECTIONS COMMISSION
To overhaul the bureau, you must start with transparency and officer safety. Police departments across the country have adopted body cameras because they protect officers and the public. Correctional officers deserve the same protection. Body cameras deter misconduct, document incidents, and reduce false accusations against staff. In a high-stress environment like a prison, the presence of cameras can lower tensions and increase accountability.
Then there is the growing problem of criminal networks operating inside the prisons. Organized gangs use prison phone systems to coordinate drug trafficking, fraud, and violence on the outside. Today, monitoring those calls often relies on overwhelmed staff listening to endless recordings. Artificial intelligence can rapidly analyze phone calls and identify patterns linked to criminal activity. It allows staff to intervene before violence spreads beyond prison walls.
Another urgent threat is drones. Across the country, drones are flying over prison fences and dropping contraband, drugs, and even weapons onto prison yards. This is not theoretical. It is already happening. Airports, military bases, and major events use anti-drone technology to stop these threats. Federal prisons should have the same tools.
Modernization is also about rehabilitation. If people leave prisons with no skills and no prospects, they are far more likely to return. Secure tablets that provide education, vocational training, and programming courses give incarcerated people a chance to prepare for real jobs in the modern economy. This is not leniency. That is commonsense public safety.
Importantly, modernization is also fiscally responsible. A targeted investment of roughly $400 million to deploy body cameras, AI monitoring tools, anti-drone systems, and secure learning tablets could pay for itself within five years. Reduced contraband, fewer violent incidents, lower investigative costs, and better rehabilitation outcomes would save taxpayers millions over time while making prisons safer for staff and inmates alike.
We know what happens when corrections systems are underfunded and outdated. In Alabama, extreme overcrowding and staffing shortages became so severe that the Department of Justice opened a sweeping civil rights investigation into prison conditions. In Oklahoma, chronic underfunding has left prisons struggling with violence, understaffing, and limited rehabilitation programming. In California, years of overcrowding and inadequate resources led to federal court intervention and massive disruption across the system.
SALENA ZITO: PETER NAVARRO’S BOOK IS A RAW RETELLING OF HIS EXPERIENCE IN PRISON
These failures hurt everyone. Officers face burnout and dangerous working conditions. Inmates leave prison less prepared to succeed. Communities deal with higher recidivism and more crime.
There is only one question for Congress: are we willing to run a national prison system with tools from the last century while organized gangs and cartels use the technology of the next one? If Congress wants safer prisons, safer officers, and safer communities, it must stop treating the federal prison system like an afterthought. Modernizing the Bureau of Prisons is not optional — it is a national security and public safety imperative.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is the host of the Newt’s World podcast and an author of the bestseller Defeating Big Government Socialism: Saving America’s Future. More of his commentary can be found at www.Gingrich360.com.