DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms
by Matt Clarke
On May 27, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a Management Advisory Memorandum (MAM) directed to federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director William K. Marshall expressing concerns about BOP personnel misusing their law enforcement credentials to illegally purchase personal firearms.
The OIG found that some personnel used their BOP credentials to purchase personal firearms without a license or without complying with state firearms purchasing regulations. Others tried to justify carrying a concealed personal firearm using the BOP credentials. The MAM noted that some BOP personnel “were criminally prosecuted because they also showed their credentials or badges to law enforcement during traffic stops in an effort to avoid apprehension for other crimes.”
The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA), 18 U.S.C. § 926B allows a qualified law enforcement officer (LEO) to “carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce,” subject to state laws. A LEO is defined in federal retirement law as an employee whose primary duties are “investigation, apprehension, or detention of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the United States,” including such an employee “who is transferred to a supervisory or administrative position,” per 5 U.S.C. § 833(20).
A qualified LEO is an LEO who “is authorized by the agency to carry a firearm,” meets the agency’s qualification standards, and is not intoxicated or prohibited by federal law from carrying a firearm, as outlined in 18 U.S.C. § 926B(c).
According to one BOP official, the agency began issuing credentials with LE (law enforcement) or LEO endorsements and badges in part as a measure to “bring about esprit de corps to build morale of the workforce.” A July 6, 2022, BOP memorandum states “that ‘most’ BOP staff who have primary or secondary law enforcement status meet the criteria required by LEOSA. The LEOSA memorandum further states that BOP employees may use BOP identification cards or credentials to verify BOP employment, including presenting a BOP identification card or credentials to another federal, state, or local [LEO] for the purpose of explaining the employee’s eligibility to carry a concealed personal firearm under LEOSA.” It also states that the credentials should never be used to represent that carrying a concealed personal firearm was in furtherance of BOP duties and off-duty BOP personnel must adhere to state and local law, ordinances and regulations regarding concealed carry.
The problem is the BOP issued LE- and LEO-endorsed credentials to employees who are not authorized to use firearms as part of their duties and who did not qualify for using firearms, including chaplains, dentists and physicians. Some of those employees misused the credentials.
One computer specialist used his BOP LEO credentials to purchase two pistols despite “DO NOT ISSUE” being printed in red caps on a separate BOP Firearms Qualification Report. Another unqualified BOP employee used his credentials to purchase a pistol despite having failed a National Instant Criminal Background Check System review about a year earlier.
The OIG concluded that, although BOP policy did not permit these employees to use their credentials to purchase firearms, issuing them with LEO endorsements facilitated the abuse.
The OIG recommended the BOP update its training and memoranda to clarify who can use BOP credentials and badges and what purposes they can be used for. It also recommended that the BOP endorse the credentials of employees who are not firearms qualified with a statement that they are not qualified to carry firearm. The BOP agreed to the former but not the latter, citing the $12 cost per credential.
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