PREA - Prison Rape Elimination Act

• What is PREA?
• Standards
• Policies
• Contractor, Volunteer, & Training Information
• PREA Annual Reports

• Reporting
• Investigations
• Victim Advocacy Information
• Audit

What is PREA?

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed in 2003 with unanimous support from both parties in Congress. The purpose of the act was to "provide for the analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape in Federal, State, and local institutions and to provide information, resources, recommendations and funding to protect individuals from prison rape." (Prison Rape Elimination Act, 2003). In addition to creating a mandate for significant research from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and through the National Institute of Justice, funding through the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Institute of Corrections supported major efforts in many state correctional, juvenile detention, community corrections, and jail systems.

The act also created the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission and charged it with developing draft standards for the elimination of prison rape. Those standards were published in June 2009, and were turned over to the Department of Justice for review and passage as a final rule. That final rule became effective August 20, 2012.

In 2010, the Bureau of Justice Assistance funded the National PREA Resource Center to continue to provide federally funded training and technical assistance to states and localities, as well as to serve as a single-stop resource for leading research and tools for all those in the field working to come into compliance with the federal standards.

Standards

• National PREA Standards

Policies

Investigations

Administrative Investigations

Administrative investigations will be conducted by trained, internal PREA investigators. All investigative reports are reviewed by the District Director and forwarded to the Administrator of the Department of Investigative Services.

Criminal Investigations

All allegations of criminal sexual abuse or sexual harassment may be referred for investigation to local or state law enforcement and the Polk County Attorney’s Office.

PREA Audit Information

The first 3-year cycle of audits:

The second 3-year cycle of audits:

The third 3-year cycle of audits:

PREA Annual Reports