For The Prevention, Detection, Response, and Monitoring of
Sexual Abuse in:

Lockups

II. PREVENTION

(TR)

Training and Education (TR)

(TR1)

Employee and volunteer training

The agency trains all lockup employees and any volunteers who have contact with detainees to be able to fulfill their responsibilities under agency sexual abuse prevention, detection, and response policies and procedures; the PREA standards; and under relevant Federal, State, and local law. The agency trains all lockup employees and volunteers who have contact with detainees to communicate effectively and professionally with all detainees. Current lockup employees and volunteers are educated as soon as possible following the agency’s adoption of the PREA standards, and the agency provides periodic refresher information to all lockup employees and volunteers to ensure that they know the agency’s most current sexual abuse policies and procedures. The agency maintains written documentation showing lockup employee and volunteer signatures verifying that they understand the training they have received.

Assessment Checklist	YES	NO
(a) Do lockup employees and volunteers who have contact with detainees receive the training necessary to fulfill their responsibilities under agency sexual abuse prevention, detection, and response policies and procedures; the PREA standards; and relevant Federal, State, and local law?
(b) Does the agency train all lockup employees and volunteers who have contact with detainees to communicate effectively and professionally with all detainees?
(c) Does the agency provide periodic refresher training to ensure that all lockup employees and volunteers are educated on the agency’s most current sexual abuse policies and procedures?
(d) Following training, does the agency require lockup employees and volunteers to sign documentation stating that they understand the training they have received and maintain documentation of these signatures?

Discussion

To fulfill their responsibilities under agency sexual abuse prevention, detection, and response policies and procedures; the PREA standards; and relevant Federal, State, and local law, lockup employees and any volunteers who have contact with detainees will need the knowledge and skills to prevent sexual abuse from occurring, to identify signs that sexual abuse may be occurring, and to take the appropriate actions when they learn of recent or historical incidents of sexual abuse. Additionally, it is important that all lockup employees and volunteers who have contact with detainees are trained to communicate effectively and professionally with all detainees, including those of different races, ethnicities, cultural or religious backgrounds, ages, genders, and sexual orientations as well as detainees with differing cognitive abilities. Good communication encourages greater trust between employees and detainees as well as volunteers and detainees, which may remove one of the obstacles to detainee reporting of sexual abuse.

Employee training can take place in multiple venues, including roll calls, on-the-job training, new employee orientations, and pre-service or in-service academies. It is recommended that an agency’s sexual abuse training programs be accompanied by clear sexual abuse prevention policies developed with an eye toward overcoming any anticipated employee resistance to or concerns about such policies. When putting together a training plan for employees, agency administrators and/or PREA coordinators may find it helpful to consult the many resources and training materials already available, including those developed by other local, State, and Federal correctional agencies; the National Institute of Corrections (NIC); and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). A full list of suggested employee training topics and procedures is provided in Appendix A. Although Appendix A is not an exhaustive or exclusive list, agencies may wish to use these items as a starting point for developing their own employee training curriculum and programs.

Because volunteers may have frequent contact with detainees, it is important that any volunteers for the agency receive basic training on the PREA standards, the agency’s zero-tolerance policy, and their responsibilities for reporting sexual abuse to law enforcement staff. The agency may choose to provide more detailed training for all or some subset of volunteers in their facilities, including many of the same topics suggested for employee training in Appendix A.

Volunteers may be trained off-site by their volunteer organization as long as the organization’s training program meets the minimum requirements outlined in this standard. In these instances, the agency must verify that the off-site training meets the requirements of this standard and maintain documentation that volunteers have received and understand this training, as mandated by the standard. If the agency trains volunteers, agency administrators and/or PREA coordinators may find it helpful to consult the same resources listed above for employee training when developing its volunteer training plan.

(TR2)

Detainee, attorney, contractor, and inmate worker notification of the
agency’s zero-tolerance policy

Employees notify all detainees of the agency’s zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual abuse during intake. The agency ensures that attorneys, contractors, and inmate workers are informed of the agency’s zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual abuse upon entering the lockup.

Assessment Checklist	YES	NO
(a) Do employees notify all detainees of the agency’s zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual abuse during intake?
(b) Does the agency ensure that attorneys, contractors, and inmate workers are informed of the agency’s zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual abuse upon entering the lockup?

Discussion

Although the time an individual remains in a lockup varies widely, it is critical that every individual be notified of the agency’s zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual abuse as soon as possible upon entering the lockup. This notification should also include a description of prohibited detainee and staff behaviors and instruction on how to report an incident. Additionally, as required by this standard, in jurisdictions in which inmates are assigned to work in lockups, the agency must ensure that those workers receive the same information as the detainee population. The existing inmate workforce should be notified as soon as possible following the implementation of the PREA standards, and future workers should be notified prior to contact with the detainee population. Finally, because attorneys have frequent
contact with detainees and because contractors could come into contact with detainees, they should also be aware of the agency’s zero-tolerance policy. Attorneys should also know how to report any abuse disclosed to them.

The Commission encourages agencies to provide in-person verbal notification of this information to detainees, attorneys, contractors, and inmate workers. However, if this presents an undue burden for the agency, the agency may use passive learning tools, such as posters, flyers, videos, or brochures, to convey the information.

(TR3)

Specialized training: Investigations

In addition to the general training provided to all employees and volunteers (TR-1), the agency ensures that law enforcement staff who investigate sexual abuse in lockups have received comprehensive and up-to-date training in conducting such investigations in confinement settings. Specialized training must include techniques for interviewing sexual abuse victims, proper use of Miranda- and Garrity-type warnings, sexual abuse evidence collection in confinement settings, and the criteria and evidence required to substantiate a case for administrative action or prosecution referral. The agency maintains written documentation that investigators have completed the required specialized training in conducting sexual abuse investigations.

Assessment Checklist	YES	NO
(a) Does the agency ensure that law enforcement staff who investigate sexual abuse in lockups have received training in conducting such investigations in confinement settings?
(b) Does specialized training for sexual abuse investigators include the following?
• Techniques for interviewing sexual abuse victims
• Proper use of Miranda- and Garrity-type warnings
• Sexual abuse evidence collection in confinement settings
• Criteria and evidence required to substantiate a case for administrative action or prosecution referral
(c) Does the agency verify that investigators have completed specialized training in conducting sexual abuse investigations and maintain written verification?

Discussion

Substantiating and resolving incidents of sexual abuse in confinement settings requires highly competent investigations. Sexual abuse investigations in confinement settings are complicated, and an agency will not be successful in addressing abuse if it does not ensure that investigators are sufficiently trained.

Because the trauma of sexual abuse can be especially devastating to victims in custody who may already feel powerless and isolated, special care should be given to the quality and training of the investigator to ensure that victims and witnesses are treated in a manner that facilitates victims’ recovery and cooperation. It is critically important for sexual abuse investigators to be trained in how to interview sexual abuse victims and witnesses, who may be reluctant to speak to investigators or generally uncooperative. Such training may include strategies for communicating effectively and professionally with all types of detainees, but may also include simple ideas like making sure that victims and witnesses are interviewed in locations where they feel comfortable talking about the incident. Additionally, all investigators should know how and when to administer Miranda- and/or Garrity-type warnings to subjects of investigations.

Collecting evidence in a confinement setting requires that investigators understand where to look for evidence in these settings, including DNA evidence, and how security staff will secure and preserve crime scenes. Sexual abuse investigators should also know how and when to photograph injuries. In addition to knowing how to collect evidence in a confinement setting, investigators also need to know how to evaluate that evidence according to the different standards of proof required to substantiate a case for administrative action or prosecution referral. It may also be helpful for investigators to have an understanding of how cases are evaluated for prosecutorial merit.

When developing training curricula for investigators, the agency may find it helpful to consult training materials developed by other Federal, State, and local correctional agencies; NIC; and BJA. In the event investigators have previously received the comprehensive training described above, the agency does not need to re-train the investigators. In such instances, the agency will need to verify the investigators’ preexisting knowledge and understanding of the requirements listed in this standard and their responsibilities under agency policy; the PREA standards; and Federal, State, or local law.