Audit of the Management of Federal Prison Industries and Efforts to Create Work Opportunities for Federal Inmates

Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI) is a wholly owned government corporation and inmate reentry program operated within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) under the trade name "UNICOR." FPI's mission is to employ and provide job skills training to the greatest practicable number of inmates confined within the BOP; contribute to the safety and security of federal correctional facilities by keeping inmates constructively occupied; produce market-quality products and services; operate in a self-sustaining manner; and minimize FPI's impact on private business and labor. In fiscal year (FY) 2011, FPI had $745 million in total sales, mostly to the federal government. The U. S. Department of Defense is FPI/s largest customer, accounting for $357 million in sales, or 48 percent of total sales, in FY 2011. As shown in Exhibit 1, FPI's six business groups offer several products and services for sale.