Résumé
This report examined the issue of staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct in U.S. women’s prisons, with a focus on the applicable laws, policies and procedures for addressing such misconduct, and the number, nature, and outcome of recent allegations. Four jurisdictions were studied: the federal Bureau of Prisons, the California Department of Corrections, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the District of Columbia. Results indicate that most U.S. correctional jurisdictions have passed laws criminalizing some types of staff sexual misconduct in prisons and have initiated training to help them develop policies and procedures to deal with such misconduct. The four correctional systems studied have or were in the process of developing policies to ban staff sexual misconduct. However, the study also found that sexual misconduct persists. Between 1995 and 1998, female inmates in the three largest jurisdictions GAO studied made 506 allegations of staff sexual misconduct; 92 of them were sustained, generally resulting in staff firings or resignations. But the full extent of sexual misconduct is unknown because two of the three jurisdictions did not provide data on all types of allegations.
Of the four jurisdictions, only the Bureau of Prisons reported any criminal convictions under sexual misconduct laws from 1995 to 1998. All four jurisdictions were involved in at least two civil lawsuits arising from staff sexual misconduct during this period. Officials in the four jurisdictions cited a lack of evidence as the primary reason why more allegations were not sustained. Generally, none of the four jurisdictions GAO studied had readily available, comprehensive data or reports on the number, the nature, and the outcome of staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct allegations. The absence of such systematic information makes it difficult for lawmakers, corrections management, and others to effectively address the problem.
Contenu
1. Letter. – Appendix 1: Scope and methodology. – Appendix 2: Laws, policies, and procedures related to staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct in four U.S. correctional jurisdictions. – Tables.