Relocating Prisoners: The Cross-Country Inmate Transfer - ConAir - Wired Magazine
May 24, 2010 - Wired June 2010
In the movies, criminals are transported in 10-car convoys with decoys, helicopter escorts, and an army of well-coiffed agents in black suits. (Somehow the prisoner still manages to escape and uncover the real culprit and clear his name!) Given the size of the US prison population—at almost 2 million, the largest in the world—the reality is a less exciting affair. Last year, the US Marshals Service shuttled 350,000 prisoners around the country, often to stand trial or serve as witnesses. Here’s how they do it.
Air
Travel
The US
Marshals Service operates the biggest prison transport network in the world, called JPATS (Justice
Prisoner and Alien Transportation System), headquartered in Kansas City,
Missouri. JPATS has its own fleet of 10 planes, ranging from a six-person
Beechcraft 99 to an MD-80 that can carry about 140 inmates (Yes, it’s nicknamed Con Air.)
Remand
of Custody
When custody changes hands, prisoners get a pat-down. For airport transfers, a shotgun-toting tactical team from the Bureau
of Prisons is on
hand. Someone is also there to oversee the paperwork. (This
includes medical records: If a prisoner doesn’t have their proper meds, they
don’t get to board.)
Security
in the Sky
The flight our photographer was on had as many as 15
guards. They spell each other every 15 minutes, eyeing prisoners from the
front, middle, and back of the plane. Firearms are generally a very bad idea in
pressurized cabins; that’s probably why our photographer never saw guards in
the air armed with anything other than Tasers.
Seating
Arrangements
Inmates travel in cuffs, shackles, and a belly chain. More dangerous customers
are fitted with a “black
box, a plastic casing over the chain
linking the handcuffs, to further hamper movement. Lavatory visits require the
company of a guard, and the door remains open at all times.
(Mental note: Never complain again about the indignities of flying coach.)
In-Flight
Menu
There’s no in-flight movie, and no one is allowed magazines or books of sudoku
puzzles. Meals are decidedly no-frills affairs. Sample
menu: corn chips, turkey bologna and cheese sandwich, cookie, and water. Tray
tables have been removed from the seats to preclude enterprising inmates from
weaponizing them.
Re-remand
of Custody
Prisoners can be marked to denote destinations. (In this case, an X on the hand may mean that he is to be transferred to a
particular jail.) Nick Cage notwithstanding, the JPATS says it has never had an
escape, and that airborne violence is rare. (All in all, better than your
typical flight out of LaGuardia.)