NPS reported that they operate lockup facilities at 26 different sites. Of these sites, 11 include U.S. Park Police locations in the greater Washington, DC; New York City; and San Francisco areas. The remaining sites include national parks such as Grand Canyon, Hawaii Volcanoes, Yellowstone, and Yosemite, as well as national recreation areas such as Glen Canyon and Lake Mead.
We chose to focus our inspection on Yosemite National Park and Yellowstone National Park because these two parks have a long history of operating lockup facilities. In addition, both parks feature Federal courthouses presided over by resident magistrate judges. Each park reported arrests of about 150 people every year and that inmates are typically held no longer than 48 hours, unless the magistrate judge orders them held longer.
We found that that neither park fully complied with either the Departmental Manual or NPS' Reference Manual. Specifically, neither park complied with departmental requirements regarding inmate monitoring, inspections, emergency planning, and evacuation planning. Both parks also failed to fully comply with NPS requirements regarding the use of closed-circuit television in lockup facilities.
With the number of inmates the two parks hold each year, NPS must ensure that lockup facilities operate according to Department and NPS policies and procedures to protect the health and safety of park staff, visitors, and inmates. We issued 7 recommendations to improve facility operations all NPS lockup facilities.
In response, NPS informed OIG that it has addressed the recommendations, stating that commissioned rangers monitor subjects at the lockup facilities and conduct on-site checks. Yosemite also has drafted a policy requiring annual inspections, and has created recommended emergency and evacuation plans.