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.