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Addressing Sexual Violence in Prisons: a National Snapshot of Approaches and Highlights of Innovative Strategies, Final Report

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Addressing Sexual Violence in Prisons: a National Snapshot of Approaches and Highlights of Innovative Strategies, Final Report The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: Document Title: Addressing Sexual Violence in Prisons: A National Snapshot of Approaches and Highlights of Innovative Strategies, Final Report Author(s): Janine M. Zweig ; Rebecca L. Naser ; John Blackmore ; Megan Schaffer Document No.: 216856 Date Received: January 2007 Award Number: 2004-RP-BX-0001 This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally- funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. FINAL REPOR st op p T O C TOBE Addressing Sexual R 2006 Violence in Prisons: A National Snapshot of Approaches and Highlights of Innovative Strategies Final Report Janine M. Zweig The Urban Institute Rebecca L. Naser Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc. John Blackmore Association of State Correctional Administrators Megan Schaffer John Jay College of Criminal Justice URBAN INSTITUTE Justice Policy Center This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. URBAN INSTITUTE The views expressed are those of the authors, and should not be attributed to The Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Justice Policy Center 2100 M STREET, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20037 www.urban.org This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. URBAN INSTITUTE Justice Policy Center 2100 M Street NW Washington, DC 20037 http://www.urban.org © 2006 Urban Institute This report was prepared for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) through Grant Number 2004- RP-BX-0001. The authors would like to thank contributors to this report and project staff, including: THE URBAN INSTITUTE ASSOCIATION OF STATE CORRECTIONAL ADMINISTRATORS Dionne Davis Camille Camp Shelli Rossman George Camp Kevonne Small Shaina Vanek Emily Turner Ashley Wolff Lisa Newmark (Crime Victim Consultant) The authors would also like to thank the National Institute of Justice and our project advisors for their contributions, specifically Cathy Girouard, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Fleisher, Joyce Lukima, Tom Beauclair, Robert Dumond, Roger Werholtz, and Reginald Wilkinson. Finally, we would like to sincerely thank all the Department of Corrections’ staff and community-based partners that we interviewed for their time and the information they provided. Opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice, the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. The research contained in this document was coordinated in part by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (Research Agreement #477-R05). The contents of this report reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. URBAN INSTITUTE The views expressed are those of the authors, and should not be attributed to The Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Justice Policy Center 2100 M STREET, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20037 www.urban.org This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. TABLE OF CONTENTS Report Highlights................................................................................................................. i What Was the Purpose of This Project? .......................................................................... i How Was This Project Conducted? ................................................................................. i What Types of Approaches Are States Implementing to Address Sexual Violence in Prisons?........................................................................................................................... ii Developing Policies .................................................................................................... ii Prevention Efforts ......................................................................................................iii Investigation and Prosecution.................................................................................... iv Victim Services........................................................................................................... v Staff Training............................................................................................................. vi Documenting Incidents .............................................................................................. vi Collaboration............................................................................................................. vii Funding ....................................................................................................................viii Implications for Policy and Practice............................................................................viii Implications for Research .............................................................................................. ix Chapter 1: Introduction...................................................................................................... 1 Why Does Addressing Sexual Violence in Prisons Matter?........................................... 1 The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.................................................................. 1 The Prevalence of Sexual Violence in Prisons ........................................................... 1 The Consequences of Sexual Violence in Prisons...................................................... 3 How Are States Addressing Sexual Violence in Prisons?.......................................... 3 The Current Project Methodology .................................................................................. 4 Task I: A National Snapshot of How State DOCs Are Addressing Sexual Violence in Prison ...................................................................................................................... 4 Task II: Identifying Promising and Innovative Practices Being Conducted in States..................................................................................................... 5 Task III: Documenting the Specific Activities Being Implemented by Promising Programs through Case Studies .................................................................................. 5 The Case Study Sites .................................................................................................. 6 The Structure of This Report .......................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2: Developing Policies ......................................................................................... 9 A National Snapshot of Written State Policies............................................................... 9 Designing PSV Approaches: The Impetus for Change................................................ 11 Developing Research-Based Policies and Practices ..................................................... 13 Implementing a Change Process................................................................................... 15 Executing Change from the Top: State Led Initiatives............................................ 16 Executing Change Locally: When Individual Facilities Take the Lead .................. 17 Barriers to Developing Policies .................................................................................... 20 Chapter 3: Prevention Efforts .......................................................................................... 21 A National Snapshot of Prevention Efforts .................................................................. 21 Implementing Prevention Efforts.................................................................................. 22 This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Changing Culture in Departments of Corrections .................................................... 22 Identifying Facility Design Vulnerabilities .............................................................. 23 Creating Inmate Classification Scales .....................................................................
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