The BOP announced July 14, 2022, that it opened a direct email link to the Central Office in Washington, DC, to allow transgender prisoners to voice their complaints and concerns to the Transgender Executive Council (TEC). The link became active on July 5, through the BOP`s TRULINCS internal email system for prisoners and staff members.
The BOP`s memo posted on the electronic bulletin board in the prisons says the email link will be available for things such as wrongful pat-down searches of transgender prisoners, request for “gender affirming transfers” (presumably to a prison that matches one`s gender identity), requests for gender-assignment surgery, or “other accommodation requests.” However, complaints by transgender prisoners under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) or other administrative complaints should use existing lines of communication for those issues, not the link to the TEC.
“This is intended to facilitate a direct line of communication between inmates who identify as transgender and the TEC,” the memo says.
It works by sending an email to the TEC, which is a group of BOP departments (psychology, Office of General Counsel, etc.) that meets quarterly and is a division of the Central Office Branch. TEC can then respond directly to a prisoner`s request, but only if it is “directly related to the TEC.” Other requests will be ignored, the memo says.
The BOP strongly suggests that any transgender issues be addressed with staff at the local level before turning to the TEC. But the lack of help at the local level is exactly what prompted the BOP to create a direct link to the TEC at the Central Office level in the first place.
Dale Chappell is the author of hundreds of published articles on the federal criminal justice system, and the Insider`s Guide series of federal post-conviction books. He is a consultant in federal post-conviction procedure and an authority on federal sex offense issues.