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 Development of Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Related Products for Tribal Jurisdictions The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) supports the elimination,
reduction, and prevention of sexual assault and rape within corrections
systems. Although there has been a concerted effort to educate correctional
facility personnel nationwide regarding their increased accountability under
PREA, policy guidelines for correctional facility personnel in tribal
jurisdictions have yet to be fully implemented.
PREA requires prisons and jails to keep data regarding inmate-on-inmate
sexual assaults, nonconsensual sexual acts, and staff sexual misconduct.
Under PREA, corrections personnel who directly or indirectly supervise
offenders in custodial situations may be held accountable if sexual
coercion, abuse, or assault occurs. It is critical that PREA and its
implications and obligations for corrections personnel be fully understood.
Tribal jurisdictions may have jails that are under-funded and understaffed.
It may benefit tribal jails to identify community resources that may be
helpful in developing sound PREA practices. Tribal community partners may
include local police, community supervision officers, tribal courts,
prosecutors, reservation social services, and local medical facilities.
The Council of State Governments/American Probation and Parole Association
has been awarded a grant by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (Grant
#2006-RP-BX-K001) to develop practice and policy guidelines to assist
corrections professionals in tribal jurisdictions in understanding and
complying with the provisions of PREA. CSG/APPA, along with the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Office of Law Enforcement Services, will develop the
guidelines in such a way that they can be adapted to meet the needs of local
facilities without sacrificing the intent and requirements of PREA. CSG/APPA
will also develop a training curriculum to be used by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs to train correctional facilities managers and staff on the
implementation of the policy guidelines, and will produce a variety of
PREA-related materials for the tribal community to distribute information to
the community and potential inmates regarding PREA.
For more information, please contact: |
