Privacy Rules Updated for Prison Rape Stats Database
Published Date: 10/15/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
The Department of Justice is updating rules to protect the privacy of people in its new statistical data system. This change affects anyone whose info is collected for research under laws like the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The update keeps data safe, limits how it’s used, and invites public comments by November 16, 2026—no extra costs involved!
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
BJS records exempted from Privacy Act
If your information is collected for Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) research, it would be placed in the new system "BJS Statistical Data" (JUSTICE/OJP-017) and that system is proposed to be exempted from subsections 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1), (e)(4)(G) and (H); and (f) of the Privacy Act. The proposal says the exemption is to comply with confidentiality rules in 34 U.S.C. 10231 and 34 U.S.C. 30303 and the requirement in 34 U.S.C. 10134 that data be used solely for statistical or authorized purposes (including under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA; 44 U.S.C. 3563) and the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA; Pub. L. 113-242)), and it notes BJS regularly obtains names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers, and other identifiers and that "no adverse determinations are made from these records as to any identifiable individual."
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