PREA demonstration project

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Program provides funding to state governments for demonstration projects within local adult and juvenile confinement settings, including jails and juvenile detention facilities, law enforcement lockups and other temporary holding facilities, and tribal detention facilities. Funding is awarded to states that successfully communicate a comprehensive approach to the prevention, detection, and response to the incidence of sexual abuse and clearly prioritize gaps which are as of yet unaddressed, either programmatically or through changes in policy and procedures, as it relates to implementation of the PREA standards. The goal of this program is to assist local adult and juvenile facilities in implementing prevention, identification, and response mechanisms that will reduce the incidence of sexual abuse in confinement facilities.

The Middlesex Sheriff's Office operates and administers two jail facilities. The Middlesex House of Correction is located in the town of Billerica and houses an adult male population who have been sentenced to serve up to 2.5 years by the judiciary. The Middlesex Jail is located in the city of Cambridge and houses an adult male population who are awaiting trial. It is the intent of the Middlesex Sheriff's Office to create a climate and culture that encourages and supports detection, reporting, investigation, and prosecution of sexual assault and sexual misconduct; to sustain a movement toward a safe, humane environment based on an institutional culture of zero tolerance; to develop the capacity to provide rape crisis intervention, appropriate and effective medical and mental health responses, and follow-up services to victims; to educate staff and offenders regarding sexual assault and sexual misconduct; to develop more effective measures to predict predatory and victim profiles and modify classification and housing assignments to reduce the likelihood of sexual assault and sexual misconduct; to develop more effective measures to assess potentially problematic staff profiles; and to conduct a comprehensive process and outcome evaluation of all PREA activities. The Middlesex Sheriff's Office is committed to furthering the intent of PREA in its adult male correctional facilities.

CA/NCF