Preventing Prison Sexual Abuse: What You Need to Know
A focus on the Prison Rape Elimination Act and CCA’s efforts
In recent times, attention to inmate sexual assault has increased on the national corrections agenda.
In 2003, Congress enacted the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) to protect inmates from sexual abuse. The Act required that a national commission be formed to study sexual abuse in correctional facilities and develop standards for prison sexual abuse prevention and response. In June 2009, the National PREA Commission issued its report, which contains nine findings on sexual abuse in confinement as well as policies and practices that must be uniformly applied nationally in order to curb the problem of prison rape.
According to the report’s executive summary: “In the years leading up to the passage of PREA and since then, corrections leaders and their staff have developed and implemented policies and practices to begin to prevent sexual abuse and also to better respond to victims and hold perpetrators accountable.”
CCA general counsel Gus Puryear served on the PREA Commission. Over five years of study, the Commission developed standards that address correctional operations and culture.
“The report reflects the judgment of the Commission for best practices that prevent rape and sexual assault in prison,” Puryear explains. “The catalyst for the formation of this Commission was not a particular episode or series of episodes. Instead, it was motivated by the belief that someone sentenced to serve time is not also sentenced to be sexually abused.”
The proposed standards have been submitted to the U.S. attorney general. “After the attorney general approves the standards, they will become binding on all federal detention and correctional facilities. States that fail to adopt the standards will lose a portion of the federal funding that supports their correction and detention systems, so universal adoption is likely,” says Cole Carter, CCA assistant general counsel, Operations.
According to Carter, the PREA Commission’s recommendations will help reduce systemic subjectivity in assessing sexual abuse. These standards address inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate sexual conduct.
“Different agencies may have had different definitions for specific acts or infractions,” he says. “The PREA standards aim to create the same definitions across the board. As a result, our nation’s corrections and detention systems will all be on the same page.”
“I believe very much that this is a topic that needs to be discussed and needs our attention,” adds Steve Conry, CCA vice president, Operations (Business Unit III). “We owe it to our inmates, staff and partners to provide an environment in which we eliminate inmate sexual abuse.”
Changing the culture of corrections
Camaraderie. Teamwork. Solidarity. Such terms describe the closely knit correctional culture. Unfortunately, it can also stand for a code of protective silence. Such comradeship, however well intentioned, should never be allowed to undermine correctional professionals’ legal and ethical duties.
“Practically every prison and jail system prohibits sexual activity among inmates,” says Puryear. “But some outcomes from the PREA hearings suggested that contact believed to be consensual is largely ignored by prison and jail administrators.”
Such willingness to turn a blind eye can be ethically flawed, operationally unadvised and loaded with assumptions. Power plays, protection and other agendas can set the stage for dynamics between inmates.
”The potential for abusing power and coercion may exist,” Puryear explains.
The taboos that still surround sexual issues in general also keep people quiet. “It’s more of an issue of the culture at large – no one wants to pry into someone’s private activities,” Puryear says. “There’s a natural reluctance to inquire about these matters.”
Conry, who is serving as CCA’s PREA coordinator, sees the PREA Commission’s report as an opportunity to foster candid conversations among corrections professionals at all levels.
“This may signal a cultural shift in corrections,” says Conry. “This is a complicated and sensitive subject, but the Commission’s outcomes may help corrections systems across the country become more vigilant and aware.”
CCA: At the forefront of prevention
CCA is working to increase education, awareness and vigilance about prison sexual abuse. Even before the PREA Commission’s report was released, the company had been committed to encouraging dialogue and providing employees with information on the subject.
“Our PREA policy was developed with help from the National Institute of Corrections, and we use a lot of their training materials,” says Carter. “We report incidents to law enforcement, conduct a full investigation, support prosecutorial efforts and assess any opportunities to introduce new security tactics.”
Employee training, at the outset of a CCA career, with annual refreshers, also emphasizes PREA.
“Starting with the pre-service academy, employees are familiarized with PREA issues,” Conry says. “They learn how to spot, report and prevent sexual abuse. Plus, annual in-service training and quarterly recall meetings emphasize any PREA updates and reiterate practices.”
New PREA initiatives are also bringing new visual attention to the issue. CCA facilities recently received a series of new posters designed to help offenders and staff identify and report sexual abuse. The posters also promote CCA’s universal PREA hotline, which was rolled out in March.
“There is a natural reluctance for inmates to make a report,” Puryear says. “There is a shame associated with rape. We want offenders to know they can speak out confidentially. They don’t have to fear retaliation.”
In August, CCA also launched an online PREA Resource Center for employees on MyCCA. The site features reports from the PREA Commission and the Bureau of Justice Statistics as well as company policies, forms and checklists.
Silence is not golden, employees must speak up
All CCA employees have a duty to report suspected PREA violations.
“Being quiet about misconduct is the same as committing misconduct,” advises Puryear.
This obligation exists even if employees don’t witness an act in progress or if they’re only privy to persisting rumors about such misbehavior.
“Staff members have a duty to report to their supervisors any activity they perceive as being potentially related to inmate sexual abuse as soon as they’re aware of it,” Conry says. “They do not need to know for sure if something is happening, but if they even think something is happening, they have a duty to report it up the chain of command.”
“It’s inconsistent with our values as a company to know about misconduct like this and not report it,” adds Puryear.
Keeping The CCA Way, with the company’s mission, vision and guiding principles front and center can help employees understand why reporting is so critical.
“Integrity and trust are two important values of The CCA Way, and those get to the core of running safe and secure facilities,” Puryear explains. “Every employee needs to realize that any staff member who engages in inappropriate relationships with an inmate poses a serious risk to the safety and security of the facility for everyone. The lives of our employees are on the line every day. We can’t afford to compromise the safety and security of our facilities, and this sort of conduct does that.”
To learn more about the PREA Commission and view the report, visit http://www.nprec.us.
By K. Danielle Edwards