Federal prisons chief Mark Inch abruptly resigns from job he took over in September

WASHINGTON — Mark Inch, the director of the embattled federal Bureau of Prisons, abruptly announced his resignation Friday, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

There was no immediate reason provided for the departure of Inch, who assumed leadership of the country's largest detention system in September.

As director, Inch oversaw 122 facilities, 39,000 staffers and 186,000 inmates.

Inch’s resignation also comes as the White House was staging a summit Friday on prison reform.

Hugh J. Hurwitz, assistant director of the BOP’s Reentry Services Division, will serve as acting director, said the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not immediately authorized to comment publicly.

For the last year, the Bureau of Prisons has been the focus of a review by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has been examining allegations of sexual harassment, management retaliation against staffers and staffing shortages.

Those shortages have routinely thrust nurses, teachers, food service workers and others to take up guard duty in under-staffed prison yards and solitary confinement wings.

Hundreds of non-custodial staffers were tapped last year to fill guard posts across the Bureau of Prisons because of acute officer shortages and overtime limits, according to prison records reviewed by USA TODAY and staff interviews.

The moves were made despite repeated warnings that the assignments placed unprepared employees at risk. And the practice has continued for years even though the agency has been rebuked by Congress and federal labor arbitrators.

It was immediately unclear whether the House examination was related in any way to Inch's resignation.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/18/mark-inch-chief-federal-bureau-prisons-resigns-abruptly/623252002/