Sponsors (7)
The bill standardizes collection of facial photos to help prison officials with identification and custody management, but increases privacy harms for prisoners and concentrates sensitive data that could create costly security liabilities for taxpayers.
Law-enforcement agencies and Bureau of Prisons staff will have up-to-date unobstructed facial photographs of federal prisoners, improving identification, custody management, and operational safety.
Taxpayers, federal employees, and federal prisoners face increased risk of liability and costs if a centralized repository of prisoner photos is breached, since maintaining and storing photos creates a valuable target and potential data-security obligations for the government.
Federal prisoners — including people with disabilities — will have unobstructed facial images collected and retained, creating privacy and dignity harms for those individuals.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the BOP Director to maintain a photographic directory with an uncovered, unobstructed face photograph of every person in BOP custody and adds a new Title 18 provision.
Official title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to direct the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to maintain a photographic directory of Federal prisoners, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 12, 2026 by Scott Perry · Last progress May 12, 2026
Creates a Bureau of Prisons photographic directory that requires the BOP Director to maintain a face photograph of every person in BOP custody showing an uncovered, unobstructed view of the face. Adds a new chapter and section to Title 18 to require and authorize that directory and updates the Title 18 table of sections.