BOP Program Statement 5214.05 § 4

Inmates may be designated to CMUs only according to the following procedures:

(a) Initial consideration. Initial consideration of inmates for CMU designation begins when

the Bureau becomes aware of information relevant to the criteria described in § 540.201.

a. Referral. Designations to a CMU are coordinated by the CTU through a review of the

following information:

 Pre-Sentence Investigation Report (PSI/PSR).

 Judgment in a Criminal Case (J&C).

 Statement of Reasons (SOR).

 DHO reports relevant to referrals, such as communication-related misconduct.

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 Relevant Special Investigative Services (SIS) reports, protective custody investigations,

etc.

 Correspondence (e.g., memorandums, letters) from courts, United States Attorneys’

Offices, law enforcement officials, etc., relating to the referral.

 Any additional pertinent information or intelligence related to the referral.

CTU staff may gather intelligence from sensitive information and utilize the expertise of other law

enforcement and intelligence agencies during the CMU review process.

All material utilized during the review and referral process is ordinarily delivered to recipients in

electronic format, except classified material that must be handled in accordance with prescribed

handling procedures.

b. Review. The CTU completes the necessary CMU referral documentation, including the BP-

A0944, Notice to Inmate of Placement at a Communications Management Unit form and

forwards a copy to the Office of General Counsel (OGC) for review.

c. Decision. After OGC completes its review of the referral, the packet is returned to the CTU,

which then forwards it to the Assistant Director, CPD.

(b) Assistant Director authority. The Bureau's Assistant Director, Correctional Programs

Division, has authority to approve CMU designations. The Assistant Director's decision must

be based on a review of the evidence, and a conclusion that the inmate's designation to a CMU

is necessary to ensure the safety, security, and orderly operation of correctional facilities, or

protection of the public.

Only the Assistant Director, or the individual appointed by the Director to serve as acting

Assistant Director, CPD, has the authority to designate an inmate to a CMU. CMU designation

approval authority may not be delegated below this level.

Approval or denial by the Assistant Director, Correctional Programs Division (CPD) is reported

to the CTU. The CTU then notifies a designator at the DSCC, who notes the decision in the

applicable Bureau inmate management system on the inmate’s central inmate monitoring (CIM)

clearance and separatee data and loads the initial designation or redesignation. Once the

designation is loaded into the applicable Bureau inmate management system, movement of the

inmate through the prisoner transportation process can be initiated.

d. Notice to CMU Inmates. Upon arrival at the designated CMU, inmates are provided the BP-

A0944, Notice to Inmate of Placement at a Communications Management Unit, from the Warden

as follows:

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(c) Written notice. Upon arrival at the designated CMU, inmates will receive written notice

from the facility's Warden explaining that:

(1) Designation to a CMU allows greater Bureau staff management of communication with

persons in the community through complete monitoring of telephone use, written

correspondence, and visiting. The volume, frequency, and methods of CMU inmate contact

with persons in the community may be limited as necessary to achieve the goal of total

monitoring, consistent with this subpart;

(2) General conditions of confinement in the CMU may also be limited as necessary to

provide greater management of communications;

(3) Designation to the CMU is not punitive and, by itself, has no effect on the length of the

inmate's incarceration. Inmates in CMUs continue to earn sentence credit in accordance with

the law and Bureau policy;

(4) Designation to the CMU follows the Assistant Director's decision that such placement is

necessary for the safe, secure, and orderly operation of Bureau institutions, or protection of

the public. The inmate will be provided an explanation of the decision in sufficient detail,

unless the Assistant Director determines that providing specific information would jeopardize

the safety, security, and orderly operation of correctional facilities, or protection of the

public;

(5) Continued designation to the CMU will be reviewed regularly by the inmate's Unit Team

under circumstances providing the inmate notice and an opportunity to be heard, in

accordance with the Bureau's policy on Classification and Program Review of Inmates;

(6) The inmate may challenge the CMU designation decision, and any aspect of confinement

therein, through the Bureau's administrative remedy program.