North Carolina Department of Correction Protecting Inmates Grant Program

The Protecting Inmates and Safeguarding Communities Discretionary Grant Program was created as a result of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (the Act), Public Law 108-79. The goal of the Act is to eradicate sexual assaults in all of the correctional facilities in this country, be they federal, state, or local in nature. Nevertheless, the statutory focus for this grant program is state and local correctional facilities. This program is divided into two parts: (1) Protecting Inmates and (2) Safeguarding Communities. The Protecting Inmates part focuses on providing funding to state and local agencies for the costs of personnel, training, technical assistance, and data collection in the areas of prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment of victims of inmate on inmate sexual assault in a correctional facility. The Safeguarding Communities component of the program focuses on assisting the states in developing and implementing strategies when making release decisions for sexual aggressors without compromising public safety and addressing the needs of the victims after release.

The North Carolina Department of Correction will take a multifaceted approach to address the issue of inmate safety by including all disciplines such as custody, human resources, inmate orientation and education, victim support and counseling, medical and mental health, training, sanctions/classification/false reporting, electronic tracking/data collection/audits, investigation, prosecution and prevention. The Department of Correction will use its FY06 Protecting Inmates and Safeguarding Communities grant to accomplish the following goals: 1) Eliminate sexual assaults/sexual misconduct through enhancements to the Department's prevention practices; 2) Enhance the existing system of investigation through Partnerships with Stakeholders and through training; and 3) Supplement Victim Services & Counseling by including an inmate sexual assault component. These goals will be achieved through a) reviewing and enhancing current policies and procedures that will include clear definitions and expectations of a zero tolerance standard; b) increasing staff by hiring a State-wide Administrator, 2 Regional Coordinators, Administrative Secretary II and specialized contract trainers dedicated completely to PREA; c) improving investigative techniques through collaboration with the State Bureau of Investigation and the Conference of District Attorneys; d) collaborating with the medical community and law enforcement on appropriate investigative protocols; and e) installing a digital video cameras with a digital still-frame to correctly identify predator and victim and record visual evidence of sexual assault.

CA/NCF