The Attorney General issued a memorandum today to the Federal Bureau of Prisons officials. Given the COVID-19 crisis, BOP officials will be making decisions on possibly releasing eligible inmates to Home Confinement.

The criteria for such releases in many ways mirrors what is in place inside the First Step Act. Below are criteria noted in the Memorandum as a baseline for prison officials. Releases are on a case-by-case basis, with an emphasis on non-violent, elderly and vulnerable individuals. Some of the discretionary factors are listed below:

• The age and vulnerability of the inmate to COVID-19, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  (CDC) guidelines;
• The security level of the facility currently holding the inmate, with priority given to inmates residing in low (FCI) and minimum (camp) security facilities;
• The inmate’s conduct (clear preferred) in prison, with inmates who have engaged in violent or gang-related activity in prison or who have incurred a BOP violation within the last year not receiving priority treatment under the Memorandum;
• The  inmate’s  score  under PATTERN (Risk Assessment Tool), with inmates who  have anything above  a minimum score not receiving priority treatment under the Memorandum;
• Whether the inmate has a demonstrated and verifiable re-entry plan that will prevent recidivism and maximize public safety, including verification that the conditions under which the inmate would be confined  upon release would present a lower risk of contracting COVID-19 than the inmate would face in his or her BOP facility;
• The inmate’s crime of conviction, and assessment of the danger posed by the inmate to the community. Some offenses, such as sex offenses, (those with Public Safety Factors) will render an inmate ineligible for home detention. Other serious offenses should weigh more heavily against consideration  for home detention.