WASHINGTON — Federal prisons cannot effectively track seizures of weapons, drugs, cellphones and other contraband because officials lack a fully functional data collection system, an internal Justice Department review concluded Wednesday.
The Justice Department's inspector general also found that the Federal Bureau of Prisons has for 13 years operated without a universal policy on searches of staff members for possible contraband.
The search policy, according to the report, has been mired in a dispute with the prison labor union, which has repeatedly challenged bureau proposals.
The findings come as existing, though incomplete, records show instances of weapons and narcotics seizures have been increasing in recent years. Between 2012 and 2014, weapons recoveries were up 5%, from 2,289 to 2,410, while the number of narcotics recoveries increased by 57%, from 993 to 1,566.
While cellphones represented the most common form of contraband —8,700 recoveries between 2012 and 2014 — total seizures have declined during the same period, from 3,506 to 2,362.
In a written response, the prison bureau agreed with the inspector general's findings and pledged to develop a tracking system designed to account for all seizures.
