Protecting inmates and safeguarding communitiesPrison Rape Elimination Act - protecting imates from rape while in prison, private prison and community corrections

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.

This supplement($3,805) will help to implement and complete the Colorado Department of Corrections project. The goals of the Colorado Department of Corrections, Prison Rape Program are:

1)Improve Data Collection and Analysis to support effective and responsive prevention efforts.
2)Enhance investigations and intelligence to increase prosecution rates.
3)Provide ongoing PREA advanced training and education.
4)Evaluate the effectiveness of the PREA program in delivering quality services, identifying victims and predators, and reducing sexual recidivism.
5)Coordinate appropriate services and treatment for both predator and victim that includes medical and mental health concerns.

CA/NCF