• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

INSTALLATION CONFINEMENT FACILITIES

MP operate ICFs to confine pretrial detainees, posttrial prisoners awaiting transfer to another facility, and prisoners serving short-term sentences. Accused prisoners in pretrial confinement are informed of the nature of the offenses for which they are being confined. This is done at the time the prisoner is confined. Individuals are accepted for confinement only on receipt of a court-martial order, a valid DD Form 497 (Confinement Order) or a report of the result of a trial. Specific procedures for pretrial restraint and pretrial confinement can be found in the MCM Rules for Courts-Martial 304 and 305 and local supplements to AR 27-10.

The staffs at ICFs provide administrative services, custodial supervision, and limited counseling. Other important ICF functions include screening prisoners for transfer to another facility, processing prisoners whose adjudged punitive discharge is ordered, and coordinating with the installation Adjutant General (AG) for the reassignment of prisoners when they are released from confinement.

Installation PMs are responsible for staff supervision of the operation and administration of ICFs. They also are responsible for the custody and control of prisoners confined in hospitalized-prisoner wards. The installation PM guides and assists the facility commander and his staff in training the prisoners and the staff, implementing emergency plans, and obtaining people, equipment, and supplies to operate the facility. The installation PM also is responsible for ensuring that prisoners receive proper medical care.

ICFs are arranged with the primary goal of safely controlling detainees and prisoners. Special consideration is given to cells and living quarters, fire protection devices, and locking devices. ICFs must meet specific requirements for location, site, and the amount of space allotted for confinement areas in which prisoners are quartered. The inmate population is segregated into detainees, enlisted prisoners, and officer prisoners. Each group is further segregated by sex. Workshops and recreation areas are constructed in facilities large enough to accommodate them. All ICFs must meet the physical requirements for the confinement of both sexes (see AR 190-47 for details).

Usually the prisoner capacity of a facility is based on 1 percent of the troop strength of the area being served. In some cases, the prisoner population of a facility may be very small, or the size, location, or troop strength of an installation may not warrant a facility. Under such circumstances and when the installation commander so decides, prisoners of one service may be confined in confinement facilities operated by another service. The services coordinate a local written agreement. The agreement is called an interservice support agreement (ISA). It is based on the particular needs of the services in the area the facility serves. The rules, regulations, laws, and procedures that apply to the confinement of Army prisoners also apply to the confinement of members of the other services. (See FM 19-60 for a complete discussion of ICFs.)

When access to an ICF is not available, military prisoners may be temporarily confined in federally approved local, county or city jails or in MP detention cells. For a detailed discussion of temporary confinement of military prisoners, see AR 190-47.

In a peacetime environment PMs of tactical units tenanted on an installation (refer to FM 19-60 for configuration information/requirements) exercise staff supervision over confinement facilities that are set up by the units in the field. When in garrison and when facilities are provided by the installation on which the tactical unit is stationed, tactical unit PMs advise their commanders and staffs on current policies and procedures pertaining to prisoners. Tactical unit PMs also maintain liaison with the installation PM.

US ARMY CONFINEMENT AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

The US Army operates two "permanent" full-scale correctional facilities. The missions and functions of the USACA and the USDB are similar. Both facilities provide a safe, secure environment in which to confine prisoners. At both facilities the mission emphasis is on correctional treatment and educational and vocational training. And both facilities are staffed with carefully selected, well-qualified correctional, supervisory, and professional personnel. The USDB and USACA provide the professional evaluation, counseling, training, custody, and personnel administration needed to prepare inmates for return to civilian life or military duty. The USDB, however, because it confines long-term prisoners, can and does provide specialized correctional programs. For more information on USDB and USACA, see FM 19-60.

Although federal civilian penal institutions are not a part of the Army correctional system they are sometimes used by the military to confine prisoners. Military prisoners whose disciplinary and adjustment records indicate a need for the treatment available in a federal penal institution may be so confined. Military prisoners who are to be confined in a federal institution are first confined at the USDB. From there they are transferred to the federal institution. For further guidance on procedures involving federal penal institutions, see AR 190-47.