Department
of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Attorney General Holder Announces New Federal
Bureau of Prisons Director
Attorney General Eric Holder today
announced the appointment of Charles E. Samuels Jr. as the director of the
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
"I am pleased that Charles will
continue to build upon 23 years of distinguished service at the department,"said Attorney General Holder.
"I am confident that Charles will provide the kind
of effective and innovative leadership that will increase efficiency, further
expand prisoner development and reentry programs, and allow for transparency and
accountability at the Federal Bureau of Prisons while remaining true to the
BOP's core mission of protecting public safety."
"I am very
honored to be appointed by Attorney General Holder to serve as the director for
the Federal Bureau of Prisons and will continue to work with the great staff at
every level of the BOP to meet our mission to protect society and provide
meaningful life skills and reentry programs for our inmate population," said
Samuels. "I also look forward to
working with the leadership and others in the Department of Justice, throughout
the federal government and in states and local communities to further the
department's goals and objectives."
In his
current position as assistant director of the Correctional Programs Division for
the BOP, which he has held since January 2011, Samuels oversees all inmate
management and program functions, including intelligence and counterterrorism
initiatives; security and emergency planning; inmate transportation; case
management; mental health and religious services; private prisons; and community
corrections. Samuels is also responsible for inmate skills development and
reentry initiatives, and shares the attorney general's commitment to reduce
recidivism by preparing incarcerated people to return to their communities and
become productive members of society.
Samuels began
his career with the BOP as a correctional officer in 1988. He was promoted to a
number of positions within the BOP including correctional programs administrator
and executive assistant for the Northeast Regional Office. Samuels has served as associate warden at
the Federal Correctional Institutions at Otisville, N.Y. and Beckley, W.Va.;
ombudsman in the BOP's Central Office; warden at the Federal Correctional
Institutions at Manchester, Ky. and Fort Dix, N.J.; and senior deputy assistant
director of the Correctional Programs Division.
Samuels is a
native of Birmingham, Ala. He
received his Bachelor of Science in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the
University of Alabama in Birmingham. Samuels is a graduate of the Harvard
University Executive Education Program.
The mission
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons is to protect society by confining offenders in
the controlled environments of prisons and community-based facilities that are
safe, humane, cost-efficient and appropriately secure, while providing work and
other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding
citizens.