The Federal Detention Center, Miami (FDC Miami) is a prison operated by the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

. It is located in

downtown Miami Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...

, at the corner of Northeast Fourth Street and North Miami Avenue. The administrative facility employed 311 staff as of 2002 and housed 1,512 male and female inmates as of July 15, 2010.

Background

Built in 1995, the detention center was designed for a capacity of 1,259 inmates. The facility primarily houses prisoners of the

U.S. Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...

, both male and female. Its mission is to provide a safe and humane confinement of inmates and detainees, many of whom are involved in federal court proceedings in the Southern District of Florida.

Security procedures

Inmates are screened by a unit team member, and assigned quarters based on personal profile and security needs. Each unit team is composed of a unit manager, case manager(s), correctional counselor(s), and at times, an education representative. A federal register number is assigned to each inmate for identification and forwarding of correspondence while in federal custody. In June 2010, the facility's security procedures prevented attorney Brittney Horstman from meeting a client when her

underwire bra An underwire bra (also under wire bra, under-wire bra, or underwired bra) is a brassiere that utilizes a thin, semi-circular strip of rigid material fitted inside the brassiere fabric to help lift, separate, shape, and support a woman's breasts. ...

set off a

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...

. After returning from a bathroom without the item, she was turned away because of the detention center's

dress code A dress code is a set of rules, often written, with regard to what clothing groups of people must wear. Dress codes are created out of social perceptions and norms, and vary based on purpose, circumstances, and occasions. Different societies an ...

. The federal

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

's office contacted Warden Linda McGrew, who conducted an inquiry. McGrew concluded the incident was "an aberration" and promised it would not happen again.

Sexual victimization

According to a 2005

U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

report, an estimated 12 percent of the complaints received by the department's inspector general involved inmates claiming sexual victimization by prison staff. In 2009,

federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A US federal judge is appointed by the US President and confirmed by the US Senate in accordance with Article 3 of ...

Cecilia Altonaga Cecilia María Altonaga (born December 26, 1962) is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She is the first Cuban-American woman to be appointed as a federal judge in the ...

wrote that although the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...

had passed to award damages in a civil case, "the BOP and FDC Miami did have notice of the illegal conduct taking place, and were woefully deficient in addressing it."

Notable inmates (current and former)

†Inmates in the

Federal Witness Protection Program The United States Federal Witness Protection Program (WPP), also known as the Witness Security Program or WITSEC, is a witness protection program codified through 18 U.S. Code § 3521 and administered by the United States Department of Justic ...

are not listed on the Bureau of Prisons website.

References

External links

Federal Detention Center, Miami
{{Federal Bureau of Prisons Prisons in Florida

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...