U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

DATA
DATACOLLECTION
COLLECTIONPROFILE
PROFILE

June 2012, NCJ 238640

Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003

PREA Data Collection Activities, 2012
The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA; P.L. 10879) requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to carry out,
for each calendar year, a comprehensive statistical review and
analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape. The Act
further specifies that the review and analysis shall be based on
a random sample, or other scientifically appropriate sample of
not less than 10 percent of all prisons, and a representative sample

of municipal prisons. In 2011, more than 7,600 correctional
facilities nationwide were covered by the Act. The Act requires
the Attorney General to submit a report, not later than June 30
of each year, listing institutions in the sample and ranking them
according to the incidence of prison rape. BJS has developed
a multiple-measure, multiple-mode data collection strategy to
fully implement requirements under PREA.

DATA COLLECTIONS DURING 2011 AND 2012
National Former Prisoner Survey (NFPS) provided the
first-ever national estimates of the prevalence of sexual
victimization based on reports of former state prison inmates.
The report, Sexual Victimization Reported by Former State
Prisoners, 2008, was released in May 2012. It was based on
18,526 completed interviews with former inmates under active
supervision in 333 randomly selected parole offices nationwide.
Unlike previous BJS surveys of inmates in state and federal
correctional facilities, the NFPS collected data on the totality
of the prior term of incarceration, including any time in a local
jail, state prison, or community correctional facility prior to
final discharge. Because the survey was based on a sample of
parole offices and not a sample of prisons, the NFPS was not
conducive to providing facility estimates or rankings.
The NFPS was designed to encourage a fuller reporting of
victimization by surveying only former inmates, who were not
subject to the immediate risk of retaliation from perpetrators
or a code of silence while in prison. As a result, the NFPS
may have elicited reports of incidents that were unreported in
previous BJS surveys of prisoners. At the same time, the NFPS
collects only allegations of sexual victimization, and some
allegations may be untrue. Because participation in the survey
is anonymous and reports are confidential, the survey does
not permit any follow-up investigation or substantiation of
reported incidents through review. The relative extent of under
reporting and false reporting in the NFPS is unknown.
The NFPS interviews, which averaged 23 minutes in
length, were conducted using computer-assisted personal
interviewing (CAPI) and audio computer-assisted selfinterviewing (ACASI) data collection methods. Survey
interviewers initiated the personal interview using CAPI to
obtain demographic and criminal history information. For
the remainder of the interview, respondents interacted with

a computer-administered questionnaire using a touch-screen
and synchronized audio instructions delivered via headphones.
Respondents completed the survey in private at the parole
office (or satellite office), with the interviewer in the room but
unable to see the computer screen.
Among the findings—
„„

An estimated 9.6% of former state prisoners reported one
or more incidents of sexual victimization during the most
recent period of incarceration in a jail, prison, and postrelease community-treatment facility.

„„

Among all former state prisoners, 1.8% reported
experiencing one or more incidents while in a local jail,
7.5% while in a state prison, and 0.1% while in a postrelease community-treatment facility.

„„

Although the rate of sexual victimization in state prison
reported by former inmates (7.5%) was higher than the rate
reported by inmates in previous BJS surveys (4.8% in 200809), the difference may reflect longer exposure periods
(39.4 months and 7.9 months, respectively).

„„

About 5.4% of former state prisoners reported an incident
involving another inmate, and 5.3% reported an incident
involving facility staff.

„„

An estimated 1.2% of former prisoners reported that they
unwillingly had sex or sexual contact with facility staff,
and 4.6% reported that they “willingly” had sex or sexual
contact with staff.

„„

More than three-quarters of all reported staff sexual
misconduct involved a male inmate with female staff.

„„

Among former state prisoners, the rate of inmate-oninmate sexual victimization was at least three times higher
for females (13.7%) than males (4.2%).

BJS

„„

„„

Among heterosexual males, an estimated 3.5% reported
being sexually victimized by another inmate. In
comparison, among males who were bisexual, 34%
reported being sexually victimized by another inmate.
Among males who were homosexual or gay, 39%
reported being victimized by another inmate.
Rates of sexual victimization did not vary based on
commonly cited characteristics of facilities, including
size or age of facility, crowding, inmate-to-staff ratios, or
gender composition of staff.

„„

Among male former inmates, inmate-on-inmate and
staff-on-inmate victimization rates were higher in
facilities under a court order or consent decree, in
facilities reporting a major disturbance in the 12 months
prior to the most recent facility census, in facilities with
medium or greater security levels, and in facilities with
a primary function of housing general population than
rates in facilities without these characteristics.

„„

Among female former inmates, rates of inmateon-inmate victimization were lower in community
corrections centers, in facilities that permitted 50% or
more of their inmates to leave unaccompanied during
the day, in minimum or low security facilities, and in
privately operated facilities than in facilities without
these characteristics.

„„

Following their release from prison, 72% of victims of
inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization indicated they
felt shame or humiliation, and 56% said they felt guilt.
Seventy-nine percent of unwilling victims of staff sexual
misconduct said they felt shame or humiliation, and 72%
said they felt guilt.

National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC) provides
facility-level estimates of youth reporting sexual
victimization in juvenile facilities. The first NSYC (NSYC1) was conducted between June 2008 and April 2009. The
report, Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by
Youth, 2008-09, was released in January 2010. It was based
on 9,198 completed interviews with adjudicated youth in
166 state facilities and 29 large locally or privately operated
facilities.
The second collection (NSYC-2) is underway and will
be completed by September 2012. Based on feedback
from juvenile administrators and experts in investigating
allegations of child abuse and neglect, BJS modified the
survey. NSYC-2 included new items to measure the accuracy
of youth self-reports and new items to more fully understand
staff sexual misconduct. BJS also developed methods to
enhance response rates and expanded the sample to include
youth held in smaller facilities and facilities under contract
to state juvenile correctional authorities. Another new
component of NSYC-2 is the collection of information
about each facility and living unit. NSYC-2 will collect data
on facility staffing, use of video surveillance, characteristics
of youth held, and factors related to placement of youth in
different living units within the facility.
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Field operations for the NSYC-2, including recruitment,
Institutional Review Board processing, and site visit
planning, began in July 2011. Interviewing of youth began in
February 2012.
When the data collection is completed, BJS expects to have
conducted more than 11,000 interviews in 338 juvenile
facilities. NSYC-2 will provide national estimates, facilitylevel estimates for large facilities, and state-level estimates.
National Inmate Survey (NIS) gathers data on the
prevalence and incidence of sexual assault in adult prisons
and local jail facilities, as reported by inmates. The inmates
use ACASI technology with a laptop touch screen and an
audio feed to maximize inmate confidentiality and minimize
literacy issues. The first NIS (NIS-1) was conducted in
2007, producing two reports: Sexual Victimization in State
and Federal Prisons Reported by Inmates, 2007 and Sexual
Victimization in Local Jails Reported by Inmates, 2007. The
second NIS (NIS-2) was conducted between October 2008
and December 2009, producing a combined prison and jail
report: Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by
Inmates, 2008-09.
NIS-2 was conducted in 167 state and federal prisons, 286
local jails, and 10 special correctional facilities (operated
by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Indian
tribes, or the U.S. Armed Services). A total of 81,566
inmates participated in the survey, including 32,029 prison
inmates, 48,066 jail inmates, 957 ICE detainees, 399 inmates
in facilities operated by the U.S. Armed Services, and 115
inmates in Indian country facilities.
Rates of alleged sexual victimization were unchanged
between NIS-1 and NIS-2. In NIS-2, an estimated 4.4%
of prison inmates and 3.1% of jail inmates reported
experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization
by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or
since admission to the facility, if less than 12 months. In
NIS-1, 4.5% of prisoners and 3.2% of jail inmates reported
having been sexually victimized.
BJS used the NIS-2 to provide more in-depth analyses of
different types of victimization, inmate risk factors, and
circumstances surrounding victimization. To address PREA
requirements, BJS identified facilities as having high or low
rates based on each type of victimization, and statistical
criteria applied to the lower and upper bounds of confidence
intervals associated with the survey estimates.
Data collection for the third NIS collection (NIS-3) was
completed in May 2012. BJS modified the survey design
to provide the first national-level estimates of sexual
victimization for inmates under age 18 in prisons and jails.
The survey was also modified to include measures of mental
and physical health, as well as indicators of facility safety
and security. The first NIS-3 report, expected in January
2013, will provide facility estimates and rankings as required
under PREA.

PREA DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES, 2012

Survey of Sexual Violence (SSV) collects data annually
on the incidence of sexual violence in adult and juvenile
correctional facilities. This administrative records collection,
the first of a series of data collections implemented to
meet PREA mandates, began in 2004. The surveys include
measures of four different types of sexual victimization,
and it is administered to a sample of at least 10% of all
correctional facilities covered under the Act. Additional
detail is collected on the characteristics of substantiated
incidents of sexual violence.
The administrative records surveys provide a basis for
the annual statistical review required under the Act. The
surveys include all federal and state prison systems, as
well as facilities operated by the U.S. Armed Services and
ICE. The surveys also include representative samples of jail
jurisdictions, privately operated adult prisons and jails, and
jails in Indian country. Each year the SSV also includes all
state operated juvenile facilities and a representative sample
of locally and privately operated juvenile facilities.

The report, Sexual Victimization Reported by Adult
Correctional Authorities, 2007-2008, was released in January
2011. Results from the SSV for juvenile facilities are expected
in October 2012 and from the SSV for adult facilities in
December 2012.
Clinical Indicators of Sexual Violence in Custody (CISVC)
was conducted during 2010 and 2011. In collaboration with
the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), BJS conducted
a feasibility study using medical indicators and medical
surveillance methodologies. As part of routine medical
practice, medical staff in 19 prisons and 11 jails completed
a surveillance form for adult male inmates who either made
an allegation of sexual violence or displayed any of five
clinical conditions (i.e., unexplained rectal bleeding; rectal
or anal tears or fissures; bruises, scratches, or abrasions on
buttocks; genital bruising; or nipple injuries). Data collected
in the CISVC include victim age, height, weight, and race/
Hispanic origin; a general injury assessment; a mental
health assessment; and follow-up information. Results of the
12-month pilot study are expected in 2012.

UPCOMING REPORTS IN 2012
„„

Sexual Victimization Reported by Juvenile Correctional
Authorities, 2007-09 (October 2012).

„„

Sexual Victimization Reported by Adult Correctional
Authorities, 2009 (December 2012).

PREVIOUSLY RELEASED REPORTS
„„

Sexual Victimization Reported by Former State Prisoners,
2008, NCJ 237363, May 2012.

„„

Sexual Victimization in Local Jails Reported by Inmates,
2007, NCJ 221946, June 2008.

„„

Sexual Victimization Reported by Adult Correctional
Authorities, 2007-2008, NCJ 231172, January 2011.

„„

Sexual Victimization in State and Federal Prisons
Reported by Inmates, 2007, NCJ 219414, December 2007.

„„

Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by
Inmates, 2008-09, NCJ 231169, August 2010.

„„

Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities,
2006, NCJ 218914, August 2007.

„„

Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by
Youth, 2008-09, NCJ 228416, January 2010.

„„

Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities,
2005, NCJ 214646, July 2006.

„„

Sexual Violence Reported by Juvenile Correctional
Authorities, 2005-06, NCJ 215337, July 2008.

„„

Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities,
2004, NCJ 210333, July 2005.

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PREA DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES, 2012

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistics agency of the U.S. Department
of Justice. James P. Lynch is the director.
This report was written by Allen J. Beck, BJS statistician.
Catherine Bird and Jill Thomas edited the report and Tina Dorsey produced
the report, under the supervision of Doris J. James.
June 2012, NCJ 238640

NCJ238640
Office of Justice Programs
Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods
www.ojp.usdoj.gov

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PREA DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES, 2012