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This report by the U.S. Department of Justice's Review Panel on Prison Rape concludes that prisons and jails that are able to keep inmates safe from sexual abuse have well-trained staff, committed leaders, and strong oversight. The report summarizes the findings from the Review Panel’s 2011 hearings on U.S. prisons and jails with especially high and low rates of sexual victimization.

Examines 2007 and 2008 data from the Survey of Sexual Violence (SSV). Conducted since 2004, the SSV is an annual collection of official records on incidents of inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate sexual victimization. This report presents counts of nonconsensual sexual acts, abusive sexual contacts, staff sexual misconduct, and staff sexual harassment reported to correctional authorities in adult prisons, jails, and other adult correctional facilities. Appendix tables include counts of sexual victimization, by type, for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, all state systems, and surveyed jail jurisdictions. An in-depth examination of substantiated incidents is also presented, covering the number and characteristics of victims and perpetrators, location, time of day, nature of the injuries, impact on the victims, and sanctions imposed on the perpetrators. Highlights include the following: correctional administrators reported 7,444 allegations of sexual victimization in 2008 and 7,374 allegations in 2007; about 54% of substantiated incidents of sexual victimization involved only inmates, while 46% of substantiated incidents involved staff with inmates; and female inmates were disproportionately victimized by both other inmates and staff in federal and state prisons, as well as local jails.

This report, “the first of its kind that relied on data from juvenile offenders, surveyed the incidence of sexual victimization in the United States by facility” (p. iii). Sections following an executive summary include: background; National Prison Rape Reduction Commission and national standards; selection of juvenile justice facilities for the public hearing; institutions with the lowest prevalence of sexual victimization; institutions with the highest prevalence of sexual victimization; general observations; common themes; unresolved institutional questions that warrant further study; and conclusion.

Results from the second National Inmate Survey (NIS-2) documenting inmate sexual assault are presented. The NIS-2 “is part of the National Prison Rape Statistics Program, which collects administrative records of reported sexual violence, and allegations of sexual victimization directly from victims, through surveys of adult inmates in prisons and jails and surveys of youth held in juvenile correctional facilities” (p.6). Sections of this report include highlights; incidents of sexual victimization; facility level rates; demographic characteristics; sexual history and orientation; criminal justice status; predicted victimization rates; inmate-on-inmate victimization; staff sexual misconduct; and survey items from the National Inmate Survey, 2008-09 related to inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization, staff sexual victimization, and follow-up questions to inmates reporting no sexual activity. The rate of sexual victimization in prisons is 4.4% and 3.1% in jails over a 12-month period.

Description: Covering the calendar year 2007, this fifth annual report to Congress summarizes the activities of the Office of Justice Programs and the National Institute of Corrections to curtail prison rape. In addition to an introduction and background, this report reviews activities and accomplishments for the: Office of Justice Programs (OJP); National Institute of Justice (NIJ)—legislative mandate and research awards and activities; Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)—legislative mandate, expert panel meetings, administrative survey collections, victim self-report survey collections, coordination efforts, and PREA-related publications; Review Panel on Prison Rape—legislative mandate and information gathering; Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)—legislative mandate, grant accomplishments, and other assistance activities; and National Institute of Corrections (NIC)—legislative mandate, classroom training, Web chats, professional conferences, informational videos, technical assistance, other assistance activities, additional work, evaluation, and national clearinghouse. Appendixes include: NIC/WCL (Washington College of Law) Newsletter; PREA statewide probation and parole direction; and a summary of the health care subject matter experts meeting.

This entry contains forms for documenting an injury from an attack are provided. The incident report compiles information regarding: responding law enforcement agency; abuse, neglect, exploitation, or death; serious incidents (to be reported within 24 hours); location of incident; and alleged victim/juvenile information. The internal investigation form records: alleged victim(s); alleged perpetrator(s); person reported to; date of allegation reporting; date of internal investigation initiation and completion; incident specifics; and person completing the investigation.

Findings are presented from hearings intended “to aid BJS [Bureau of Justice Statistics] in the identification of common characteristics of victims and perpetrators of rape [in jails],” and to also aid in identification of facility characteristics where rape incidence is high or low (p. 4). Four sections comprise this report: role of the Review Panel on Prison Rape; panel members and staff; panel’s 2008 jail hearings—selection of jails invited to testify, identified common characteristics of victims and perpetrators of sexual violence, and common characteristics of jail systems with high or low prevalence of sexual assault; and best practices to lessen the risk of rape in U.S. prisons—training of staff and inmates, classification, surveillance, reporting, investigation, prosecution, and relevant policies and practices.

The Internal Audit Division is responsible for examining and evaluating the adequacy of the agency's system of internal controls and the quality of agency performance in carrying out assigned responsibilities.

The scope of these audits involves reliability of information systems; compliance with stature, board policy, agency policy or operating policy/procedures; safeguarding of agency assets; economical and efficient use of agency resources; and accomplishment of established objectives and goals for agency operations or programs.

The Internal Audit Division also provides assistance to management through the review of draft agency policies, service on agency committees, advice to agency management, completion of special projects based on management requests, participation in System Development Life Cycle, and participation in agency re-engineering efforts.

This report fulfills the requirement under the Prison Rape Elimination Act for the collection and reporting of data in juvenile facilities. It details the results from the first-ever national survey of administrative records on sexual violence in adult and juvenile correctional facilities.

This report fulfills the requirement under the Prison Rape Elimination Act to provide a list of local jails according to the prevalence of sexual victimization. It presents findings for the 282 local jails in the National Inmate Survey. The survey on sexual victimization, conducted by RTI International, was administered to 40,419 jail inmates between April and December 2007.

This semiannual report summarizes the work of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) from October 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008 During this reporting period, the OIG received 2,680 complaints involving the BOP. The most common allegations made against BOP employees included official misconduct and force, abuse, and rights violations. The vast majority of complaints dealt with non-criminal issues that the OIG referred to the BOP’s Office of Internal Affairs for review.

Prison rape has long been one of the most disturbing realities within the American criminal justice system.  Attention to prison rape has historically focused on inmate-on-inmate violence; however, sexual assaults by correctional staff are no more less, and arguably more important.  The passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act and creation of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission in 2003 increased the focus on sexual assaults in correctional facilities and furthered prison rape research.  Although the zero-tolerance position of PREA and NPREC includes both inmates and correctional staff, the bulk of the literature concerning sexual assaults has remained focused on characteristics of inmates (Chronco, 1989, Dumond, 2000; Gaes and Goldberg, 2004; Hensley et. al., 2003., Hensley et. al., 2005., Kunselman et. al., 2002; Lockwood 1980). Much more research needs to be undertaken to determine the characteristics of correctional staff who commit sexual assault, the circumstances under which those assaults take place, and the differences between the assaults committed by correctional staff and those committed by inmates.

            The study collected statewide incident level data from the Arkansas Department of Corrections, and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Data was drawn from disciplinary records of all assaults perpetuated since agencies were required to collect PREA related data (2004-2007).  The primary goals of this study are 1) to identify situational characteristics of prison violence incidents involving correctional staff and 20 identify situational and constitutional correlates of staff who perpetuate sexual violence in incarcerated settings. Both individual and situational variables were examined, including: 1) demographic variables of the correctional staff (age, sex, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and marital status); 2) employment variables (rank/title, length of service, number and type of previous disciplinary infractions or complaints, and custody/security level of the facility); 3)incident-specific variables (time  of day, day of week, location within the correctional facility, number of perpetrators); 4) victim characteristics (age, race, sex, previous disciplinary infractions) and 5)outcome of reported cases, where available.

            Analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and content analysis of PREA related cases for the selected time frame. A profile of correctional staff who commit sexual violence and the circumstances under which sexual violence is committed was identified. Implications for minimizing conditions posing substantial risk of sexual violence include enhanced utilization of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), a best practices orientation to prevention cognizant that staff sexual assault is not monolithic, the need to realize measurement consistency within and across states, and prosecution intensity enhancement of substantiated case outcomes.

This report provides a listing of state and federal prisons ranked according to the incidence of prison rape according to the National Inmate Survey of 146 State and Federal Prisons completed by BJS.

Covering the calendar year 2006, this fourth annual report to Congress summarizes the activities of the Office of Justice Programs and the National Institute of Corrections to curtail prison rape. In addition to an introduction and background, this report reviews activities and accomplishments for the: Office of Justice Programs (OJP); National Institute of Justice (NIJ)—legislative mandate, research awards and activities, and PREA research reports; Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)—legislative mandate, expert panel meetings, administrative survey collections, victim self-report survey collections, coordination efforts, and PREA-related publications; Review Panel on Prison Rape—legislative mandate and information gathering; Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)—legislative mandate, awarding of Protecting Inmates and Safeguarding Communities Program Grants, and other assistance (BJA Award Summaries); and National Institute of Corrections (NIC)—legislative mandate, classroom training, training development, professional conferences, videoconference, informational videos, technical assistance, other assistance activities, evaluation, and national clearinghouse. Appendixes include: BJA FY 2006 Protecting Inmates and Safeguarding Communities Project Summaries; NIC/WCL (Washing College of Law) Project on Addressing Prison Rape—Sample Action Plans; and PREA Training for Trainers—Training Plan Progress Summaries.

This report fulfills the requirement under the Prison Rape Elimination Act for submission of an annual report on the activities of Bureau of Justice Statistics with respect to prison rape. It is based on surveys completed between January 1 and June 30, 2007, of administrative records in adult correctional facilities covering the calendar year of 2006.

PARC President Merrick Bobb, who serves as Special Counsel to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, has issued the 23rd semiannual report on the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD). This report focuses on supervisory inquiries and unit level investigations, with the next report to cover investigations by the Internal Affairs Bureau. This report also describes Special Counsel’s concerns regarding the LASD’s discipline and grievance system stemming from unit level investigations.

Semi-annual report to congress reporting on the activities of the OIG. This semiannual period was marked by the death of Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Special

Agent William “Buddy” Sentner III, who was shot and killed in the line of duty on June 21, 2006. Agent Sentner was working as part of a team to execute arrest warrants on six federal correctional officers in Tallahassee, Florida. The six correctional officers were charged with conspiring to sexually abuse female inmates and to introduce contraband into the prison. During the execution of the arrest warrants, one of the correctional officers who was being arrested opened fire on the arrest team. Acting with extraordinary courage, Agent Sentner engaged the officer and returned fire, killing the correctional officer. Agent Sentner was killed and a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employee was wounded by the correctional officer. Agent Sentner’s brave actions under fire saved the lives of several other federal employees while sacrificing his own life.

Covering the period from October to December 2004, this second report to Congress summarizes the activities of the Office of Justice Programs (i.e., the National Institute of Justice, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance) and the National Institute of Corrections to curtail prison rape. In addition to an introduction and background, this report reviews activities and accomplishments for the: Office of Justice Programs (OJP); National Institute of Justice (NIJ)—legislative mandate, research on sexual violence in corrections and the protection of human subjects, research awards, and requests for proposals (RFPs); Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)—legislative mandate and administrative survey collections; Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)—legislative mandate and awarding of Protecting Inmates and Safeguarding Communities Program Grants; and National Institute of Corrections (NIC)—legislative mandate, training and education, regional workshops for executive leadership, informational video, NIC videoconference, continued distribution of “Video Tool Kit 1: Facing Prison Rape,” agency/staff focus groups, technical assistance, and national clearinghouse.

The Correctional Institution Inspection Committee (CIIC) staff met with Department of Youth Services (DYS) Central Office staff on March 17, 2005, prior to the April 2005 effective date of the new CIIC responsibilities regarding juvenile correctional institutions.

Monthly data on specific areas were requested that would enable CIIC to monitor and evaluate operations, conditions, programs, and the grievance procedure. However, due to the reported lack of system-wide standardization in data gathering and reporting, CIIC staff received data limited to youth population, mental health caseload, and grievance summaries. Additional data were provided on a one-time basis in response to a request for Incident Summary Data that each facility provides to the American Correctional Association at the time of an audit. The data pertained to differing time periods from institution to institution. Further, urine drug test data was provided on one occasion.

 CIIC staff were subsequently advised that on August 8, 2005, a DYS committee was formed to look at the data process relevant to establishing a uniform system-wide database on the number of incidents in DYS facilities. In the communication from the DYS director on the subject, it was reported that there were too many points of entry, too much room for interpretation, and no standards for quality assurance.

 On May 16, 2006, in follow-up to the prior CIIC meeting on May 10, 2006, further inquiry was made on the status of the prior request for additional DYS data. Data were requested on use of force including information on injuries, youth on youth assaults, youth on staff assaults, seclusion rooms, and program participation. The information was requested for 2006 to date on these subjects, with monthly reports thereafter.

 In response to the request, CIIC staff were advised that until a new computerized data management system could be put into place, the Superintendents were manually reporting data on a monthly basis on assaults, injuries, and seclusion. However, the data were reported to be reliable. Such data for January through March 2006 was subsequently provided on May 24, 2006, with assurance that it would be submitted on a monthly basis in the future. It was further relayed that DYS staff were in the process of putting the data in a useable, readable format.

This semiannual report summarizes the work of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) from October 1, 2005, through March 31, 2006. In January 2006 legislation was enacted that increases the statutory penalty for sexual abuse of federal inmates by correctional staff and expands federal jurisdiction to sex abuse and contraband cases involving federal inmates housed in non-federal correctional facilities. The OIG has investigated many allegations of sexual abuse of federal inmates and introduction of contraband into contract facilities, and we believe the increased penalties can help deter this criminal conduct.

In February 2005, the criminal justice consulting firm of Pulitzer/Bogard & Associates (P/BA) was retained by the Alachua Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to conduct a cultural assessment of the Alachua County Jail (Department of the Jail or DOJ), which is operated by the Office of the Sheriff under an interlocal agreement with the BOCC. The decision to proceed with the assessment of the Jail came some 20 months after a June 2003 incident in which a 19-year-old University of Florida student alleged that he was sexually assaulted at the Jail by an inmate named Randolph Jackson. Questions about the incident and tension on the part of DOJ employees surrounding the employee discipline that followed (along with other staffing issues) prompted calls on the part of the Commissioners to know more about the extent to which this incident and the tensions were reflective of deeper issues within the Agency. The task with this cultural assessment was to get to know this organization in-depth, to assess the appropriateness and professionalism of the formal culture (as expressed in written policies and procedures and the training program), and to evaluate the degree to which there is alignment between its formal culture and its subcultures (the underlying beliefs of the staff and the way the formal policies are implemented in practice).

This report examines the prevalence of the sexual abuse of inmates by correctional staff and also analyzes the laws that exist to deter this type of abuse. The Office of the Inspector General reviewed reports of such abuse in federal prison, examined the current statutes in place and deficiencies that exists in those statutes, compared state and local laws on staff abuse of inmates to federal laws, and gives recommendations for changes in the current law.

Contains a report of the work undertaken by the Office of the Inspector General in 2005 in the State of California. Includes investigations into deaths and suicide by inmates, allegations of abuse, and conditions of facilities, as well as plans for the future.

This report “fulfills the requirement in section 5(b) of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) for the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to submit an annual report to Congress and to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, summarizing the activities of the Department of Justice regarding prison rape abatement for the preceding year” (p. 3). This report is divided into two parts: introduction; and activities and accomplishments by five U.S. Department of Justice agencies. Also included is “Rape and Coercive Sex in American Prisons: Interim Findings and Interpretation on Preliminary Research” by Mark S. Fleisher.

This analysis by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) evaluates the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) response to the recommendations contained in the OIG's report entitled "Supplemental Report on September 11 Detainees' Allegations of Abuse at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York." (MDC Report). The OIG supplemental report, issued on December 18, 2003, examined allegations that some correctional officers in the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York, physically and verbally abused aliens who were detained on immigration charges and held in connection with the investigation of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In our MDC Report, we described the evidence of that abuse, concluded that the evidence substantiated allegations of abuse, and recommended that the BOP discipline certain MDC correctional officers.

In our report, we also described systemic problems in how the MDC handled the September 11 detainees. We made a series of recommendations to the BOP to address those systemic problems, which we concluded would improve the BOP's ability to prepare for and respond to future emergencies involving detainees, as well as improve its routine handling of inmates.

In an effort to get a summary estimate of the level of sexual victimization, a meta-analysis was conducted to provide a calculation of an average estimate over all of the studies, even though any single study may not meet conventional levels of statistical significance. Results of the meta-analysis indicate an average prison lifetime sexual assault prevalence of 1.91 percent. This means that 1.91 percent of inmates have experienced a sexual victimization over a lifetime of incarceration. This estimate is based primarily on studies which report completed victimizations, although it incorporates some studies which also include serious attempts of sexual assault and one study that includes sexual pressure.

The task framed by the Prison Elimination Act of 2003 presents problems of estimation, validity, and bias. The correctional setting amplifies the problems encountered when researchers measure sensitive and stigmatized behaviors in the community. Most of the literature has been concerned with adult prisons. While there are difficulties encountered in prisons, there will be additional problems in jails and juvenile facilities. Jails have high turnover rates. To get compliance from adolescents, in most jurisdictions you need the consent of their parents. While the task is a formidable one, it is worth the effort, even if prison rape is a relatively rare event. The data can be used to raise or allay concerns depending on the results of the jurisdiction. The survey results can be used to train staff and inmates. The data may lead to better classification of victims and assailants which will help to reduce the level of sexual assault. The American Correctional Association has already promulgated new standards that address prevention, detection, and records collection associated with sexual assault. Because there is no validity check on the outcomes, there will probably always be some controversy associated with the results of a facility-based estimate. The adjustments to the estimates required by the public law will probably amplify that controversy. Furthermore, there are critics of correctional administration and some researchers who argue that prison sex is part of a subculture of sexuality that is not commonly understood by most analysts doing work in this domain. They argue that to fully understand the level of sexual victimization, one must first understand the language and sub-cultural definitions used by the confined. The data may also lead to a more objective understanding of the actual level of prison sexual victimization that will either support or invalidate the assumptions inherent in the Rape Elimination Act that make it appear prison rape is endemic in American correctional institutions. However, since there is no independent assessment of the validity of the self-reported incidents, there may well be dissatisfaction with the results of a national probability assessment regardless of the outcome.

Description: This report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights examines federal funding of programs intended to assist Native Americans at the Department of Interior, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, Department of Education, and Department of Agriculture. The report reveals that federal funding directed to Native Americans through programs at these agencies has not been sufficient to address the basic and very urgent needs of Indigenous peoples. Among the myriad unmet needs are health care, education, public safety, housing, and rural development. The section on education outlines the history of federal Indian education; describes current issues related to dropout disparities, loss of cultural identity, and community involvement; and looks at unmet needs in the areas of school administration, special education, higher education, vocational rehabilitation, and other set-aside programs. Significant disparities in federal funding exist between Native Americans and other groups in our nation. Among immediate requirements for increased funding are infrastructure development, without which tribal governments cannot properly deliver services; tribal courts; and tribal priority allocations, which permit tribes to pursue their own priorities and respond to the needs of their citizens. The Commission recommends that all federal agencies administering Native American programs identify and regularly assess unmet needs.

This study contributes to this growing interest and concern by focusing on the larger spectrum of psychopathology that characterizes the general non-hospitalized population in a women’s prison. Specifically, the study is guided by three primary goals:

Goal 1: To explore the psychiatric symptoms, childhood and adult victimization, and personality disorders that characterize a female prison population.

Goal 2: To explore the impact of these experiences and conditions on institutional adjustment and to validate the Prison Adjustment Inventory (PAI), a measure developed for use with men, on a female sample.

Goal 3: To explore the relationship of these psychiatric conditions and past experiences to the violence perpetrated by female inmates while in the prison and in the community.

A Report to the Honorable Eleanor Holms Norton U.S. House of Representatives On the special concerns dealing with female prison inmates.