Interview protocols

The PREA Standards require auditors to conduct interviews with inmates, residents, and detainees, as well as staff, supervisors, and administrators. The audit instrument includes interview protocols for the various roles and positions that require an interview. The DOJ has clarified the basic requirements of the interview process, including minimum numbers, selection/sampling criteria, and privacy considerations, which are discussed in detail in the PREA Auditor Handbook.  

Each interview protocol is designed to elicit information about facility practices that relate to specific PREA Standards, and more general attitudes about preventing, detecting, and responding to sexual abuse and sexual harassment in confinement. Auditors are not limited to the interview questions included in the protocols; rather, these questions are designed to serve as a starting point for eliciting information about the facility’s compliance with the PREA Standards. Auditors are strongly encouraged to use the interview protocols as a baseline only, and to ask additional questions to probe compliance issues.

It is important to note that some of the interview protocols provided below include multiple protocols under one title. For example, specialized staff includes approximately 25 discrete roles and positions that should be interviewed as part of every audit (the auditor should explain in their audit reporting why any particular roles or positions were not interviewed). All audit stakeholders should be aware that the interview process is extensive and is a key evidence-gathering obligation of the auditor. Adequate time should be allowed for the auditor to conduct thorough interviews as required by the handbook.

Adult Prison and Jail interview protocols:

Lockups interview protocols:

Community Confinement interview protocols:

Juvenile Facility interview protocols: