Danbury Prison Rebuild Way Over Budget: Report

DANBURY, CT — The U.S. Inspector General's Office has determined that Bureau of Prisons overpaid when it rebuilt the Danbury federal penitentiary to accommodate both male and female inmates. In a separate report, the OIG was critical of the conditions to which female inmates were exposed during that same transition.

A report released by OIG this week cites the BOP for not consulting with experts regarding requirements such as food services, health services and programming until after the contract was awarded to the builder, Sealaska Constructors, LLC. This resulted in change orders which extended the time of construction. The OIG was also critical of the BOP for paying over $1.7 million for a building that ultimately proved unnecessary.

The new construction began in 2015 and was budgeted at $10.5 million. As specifications changed across the course of the build, the construction timeline lengthened and the final cost mushroomed to $28 million.

Among the marks missed by the planners were a lack of food service space; inadequate office, classroom, and leisure space; a lack of medical space for inmates; and a lack of indoor and outdoor recreation.

The OIG pointed to a "significant lack of coordination between different BOP components involved in the project" and failure to "adequately involve the different BOP stakeholders, which caused unnecessary building costs and delays."

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A second report from the OIG took the BOP to task for not ensuring that its top-level management is trained in how female inmates’ needs differ from those of male inmates. The BOP was further cited for staffing levels insufficient to provide adequate trauma treatment, an insufficient amount of available feminine hygiene products, and a low level of inmate participation in pregnancy programs. The OIG specifically referenced the conditions for the temporary transfer of Danbury female inmates to Brooklyn during the build, citing limited recreation and programming compared to the inmates' Danbury accommodations.