§30303 — Title 34 Navy | U.S. Code

Summary

The Bureau of Justice Statistics must do a yearly, detailed study of how often prison rape happens and what harm it causes. The study must look for common traits of victims, offenders, and prisons or systems with high rates. The Bureau must decide how to define rape for the study, how to count staff-on-inmate abuse, how to get more than just inmate self-reports, and whether to run a preliminary study. It must ask for advice from correction officials, juvenile facilities, former inmates, victim groups, researchers, and other experts. The study must use a scientific sample of at least 10% of Federal, State, and county prisons, plus a representative sample of municipal prisons, with at least one prison from every State. Surveys of current and former inmates must protect confidentiality. Prison and jail officials asked to help must give access to inmates. The Bureau may report child abuse to officials when state law requires it. A Review Panel of three experts, chosen by the Attorney General with HHS input, must hold public hearings each year on the three prisons with the highest and the two with the lowest rape rates in each prison category, and a separate hearing on the three Federal or State prisons with the highest rates. The Attorney General must send a report by June 30 each year to Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The report must include statistics on effects and incidence at several levels, a ranked list of sampled institutions, those that seem to deter rape, any noncooperators, and explanations for statistical adjustments. Prisons must be grouped into three categories (one group is all Federal and State prisons). The Attorney General may fund research and grants, and $15,000,000 was authorized for each fiscal year 2004 through 2010.

Title 34, §30303

Navy — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the Department of Justice (in this section referred to as the “Bureau”) shall carry out, for each calendar year, a comprehensive statistical review and analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape. The statistical review and analysis shall include, but not be limited to the identification of the common characteristics of—

(A)both victims and perpetrators of prison rape; and

(B)prisons and prison systems with a high incidence of prison rape.

(2)In carrying out paragraph (1), the Bureau shall consider—

(A)how rape should be defined for the purposes of the statistical review and analysis;

(B)how the Bureau should collect information about staff-on-inmate sexual assault;

(C)how the Bureau should collect information beyond inmate self-reports of prison rape;

(D)how the Bureau should adjust the data in order to account for differences among prisons as required by subsection (c)(3);

(E)the categorization of prisons as required by subsection (c)(4); and

(F)whether a preliminary study of prison rape should be conducted to inform the methodology of the comprehensive statistical review.

(3)The Bureau of Justice Statistics shall solicit views from representatives of the following: State departments of correction; county and municipal jails; juvenile correctional facilities; former inmates; victim advocates; researchers; and other experts in the area of sexual assault.

(4)The review and analysis under paragraph (1) shall be based on a random sample, or other scientifically appropriate sample, of not less than 10 percent of all Federal, State, and county prisons, and a representative sample of municipal prisons. The selection shall include at least one prison from each State. The selection of facilities for sampling shall be made at the latest practicable date prior to conducting the surveys and shall not be disclosed to any facility or prison system official prior to the time period studied in the survey. Selection of a facility for sampling during any year shall not preclude its selection for sampling in any subsequent year.

(5)In carrying out the review and analysis under paragraph (1), the Bureau shall, in addition to such other methods as the Bureau considers appropriate, use surveys and other statistical studies of current and former inmates from a sample of Federal, State, county, and municipal prisons. The Bureau shall ensure the confidentiality of each survey participant, except as authorized in paragraph (7).

(6)Federal, State, or local officials or facility administrators that receive a request from the Bureau under subsection (a)(4) or (5) will be required to participate in the national survey and provide access to any inmates under their legal custody.

(7)Nothing in section 10134 or 10231 of this title or any other provision of law, including paragraph (5), shall prevent the Bureau (including its agents), in carrying out the review and analysis under paragraph (1), from reporting to the designated public officials such information (and only such information) regarding child abuse or child neglect with respect to which the statutes or regulations of a State (or a political subdivision thereof) require prompt reporting.

(b)(1)To assist the Bureau in carrying out the review and analysis under subsection (a), there is established, within the Department of Justice, the Review Panel on Prison Rape (in this section referred to as the “Panel”).

(2)(A)The Panel shall be composed of 3 members, each of whom shall be appointed by the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

(B)Members of the Panel shall be selected from among individuals with knowledge or expertise in matters to be studied by the Panel.

(3)(A)The duty of the Panel shall be to carry out, for each calendar year, public hearings concerning the operation of the three prisons with the highest incidence of prison rape and the two prisons with the lowest incidence of prison rape in each category of facilities identified under subsection (c)(4). The Panel shall hold a separate hearing regarding the three Federal or State prisons with the highest incidence of prison rape. The purpose of these hearings shall be to collect evidence to aid in the identification of common characteristics of both victims and perpetrators of prison rape, and the identification of common characteristics of prisons and prison systems with a high incidence of prison rape, and the identification of common characteristics of prisons and prison systems that appear to have been successful in deterring prison rape.

(B)(i)In carrying out the hearings required under subparagraph (A), the Panel shall request the public testimony of Federal, State, and local officials (and organizations that represent such officials), including the warden or director of each prison, who bears responsibility for the prevention, detection, and punishment of prison rape at each entity, and the head of the prison system encompassing such prison.

(ii)The Panel may request the testimony of prison rape victims, organizations representing such victims, and other appropriate individuals and organizations.

(C)(i)The Panel may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of written or other matter.

(ii)In the case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena, the Attorney General may in a Federal court of appropriate jurisdiction obtain an appropriate order to enforce the subpoena.

(c)(1)Not later than June 30 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit a report on the activities of the Bureau and the Review Panel, with respect to prison rape, for the preceding calendar year to—

(A)Congress; and

(B)the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

(2)The report required under paragraph (1) shall include—

(A)with respect to the effects of prison rape, statistical, sociological, and psychological data;

(B)with respect to the incidence of prison rape—

(i)statistical data aggregated at the Federal, State, prison system, and prison levels;

(ii)a listing of those institutions in the representative sample, separated into each category identified under subsection (c)(4) and ranked according to the incidence of prison rape in each institution; and

(iii)an identification of those institutions in the representative sample that appear to have been successful in deterring prison rape; and

(C)a listing of any prisons in the representative sample that did not cooperate with the survey conducted pursuant to this section.

(3)In preparing the information specified in paragraph (2), the Attorney General shall use established statistical methods to adjust the data as necessary to account for differences among institutions in the representative sample, which are not related to the detection, prevention, reduction and punishment of prison rape, or which are outside the control of the State, prison, or prison system, in order to provide an accurate comparison among prisons. Such differences may include the mission, security level, size, and jurisdiction under which the prison operates. For each such adjustment made, the Attorney General shall identify and explain such adjustment in the report.

(4)The report shall divide the prisons surveyed into three categories. One category shall be composed of all Federal and State prisons. The other two categories shall be defined by the Attorney General in order to compare similar institutions.

(d)In carrying out its duties under this section, the Attorney General may—

(1)provide grants for research through the National Institute of Justice; and

(2)contract with or provide grants to any other entity the Attorney General deems appropriate.

(e)There are authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2010 to carry out this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 15603 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

2005—Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 109–108, § 113(a)(1), inserted “, except as authorized in paragraph (7)” before period at end. Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 109–108, § 113(a)(2), added par. (7).

§30303 National Prison Rape Statistics, Data, and Research

Summary

Title 34, §30303

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata