Standards for the Prevention, Detection, Response and Monitoring of Sexual Abuse in Lockups

• NCJ Number: 226685
• Date Published: June 2009
• Length: 66 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Guideline

Annotation

Presented to the Attorney General of the United States for review and approval, the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission presents standards it developed for the prevention, detection, response, and monitoring of sexual abuse in lockups.

Abstract

The standards are categorized under the following four headings: prevention and response planning, prevention, detection and response, and monitoring. After presenting standards for prevention planning and response planning, the standards proposed for prevention all deal with training and education for employees and volunteers; detainee, attorney, contractor, and inmate worker notification of the agency's zero-tolerance policy; and specialized training for investigations. The standards for detection and response address reporting, official response following a detainee report, investigations, discipline, and medical and mental health care. The standards for monitoring focus on data collection and review as well as audits. Each standard statement contains mandatory requirements, followed by an assessment checklist, which is a tool for agencies and lockups to use for self-assessment and the tracking of progress toward meeting the standard. Following the checklist, the rationale of the standard is discussed, and guidance is offered for complying with it. The appendixes contain information on training topics and procedures, incident-based data collection, a list of the Commission's expert committee members, and a standards implementation needs assessment. Upon approval of the standards by the Attorney General, the Federal Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 requires agencies to comply with the national standards proposed by the Commission. Appendixes A-D