NCJ Number
224876
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 19 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2008 Pages: 414-437
Date Published
December 2008
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the degree of policy compliance with both the spirit and language of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).
Abstract
This article reviewed the policies of 29 adult correctional systems including the Federal Bureau of Prisons for their compliance of PREA. Results identified eight specific dimensions that captured the essence of PREA. The dimensions include: staff training, inmate education, classification at intake, zero tolerance, reporting procedures, investigative protocol, mandatory separation, and inmate victim aftercare. The study notes that those States from which policies were received appear to have policies that are in compliance with Federal law including the PREA. Although it was difficult to determine exactly how many of the responding States already had policies regarding the issue of prison rape in effect prior to passage of the law, it appears as though all are taking the problem seriously, recognizing the negative legal, moral, or ethical consequences that occur form simply ignoring the problem A secondary objective was to highlight certain policy excerpts as evidence of effective and pragmatic policies so that institutions of confinement at other levels of government (county and local) can begin the task of formulating their own general orders without having to figuratively reinvent the wheel. The greatest concern is the fact that several States either refused repeated requests for policy documentation or instead indicated having not yet developed such standards and procedures. As time and events transpire, the study indicates the need to revisit the issue of policy development, implementation, and analysis in an effort to determine where additions and/or changes to PREA-related standards and procedures were required; some policy provisions will prove effective while others may fail. It is imperative that correctional agencies avoid the temptation to simply adopt a policy and neglect to conduct regular, periodic evaluations to determine their relative success or failure, making changes as necessary. Table, notes, references