Lexington prison satellite camp to close as feds deal with ‘extreme staffing challenges’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- BOP will close FMC Lexington satellite camp due to staffing and maintenance issues.
- Nine prisons and satellite camps, including FMC Lexington's camp, will be closed.
- FMC Lexington houses just over 1,000 inmates in its main facility and 232 in its camp.
The satellite camp of the Federal Medical Center in Lexington will close to address the federal Bureau of Prisons’ “extreme staffing challenges” and large deferred maintenance backlog, according to a news release from the BOP.
The Lexington FMC satellite camp is just one of nine prisons and satellite camps closing to help alleviate the BOP’s issues. The bureau said it’s facing a $4 billion backlog in deferred maintenance payments along with “extreme staffing challenges.”
“These actions are necessary to address longstanding infrastructure and staffing challenges while ensuring the Bureau remains focused on its core mission of operating safe, secure, and efficient correctional facilities,” BOP Director William Marshall III said in a news release. “We will support our workforce throughout this transition and responsibly position the agency for the future.”
FMC Lexington serves as a men’s and women’s federal prison on Leestown Road. Its website says it houses just over 1,000 inmates at its main facility and 232 inmates at its minimum security satellite camp.
The prison was recently connected to a large, multi-year drone smuggling conspiracy that involved 10 federal prisons, according to a federal indictment originating in Georgia. The indictment says at least three drones were used to drop contraband off at the Lexington prison.
The BOP said staff currently employed at FMC Lexington’s satellite camp will be transferred to other units on-site or nearby facilities. Other prisons, like Big Spring FCI and La Tuna FCI in Texas, will experience job cuts.
