Congress to characterize prison rape as a national social problem that required substantive legislative intervention. As a result, President Bush signed into law and authorized significant federal funding to the tune of $60 million for the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in 2003 (Jenness & Smyth, 2011)
2. Abusive sexual contacts, including intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh or buttocks of any person (Beck et al
The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003. Sexual assault in the nation's prisons has plagued American correction facilities since the 19th century; while the incidence of prisoner sexual assault remains unclear, recent studies reliably suggest that the problem is widespread and frequently affects the most vulnerable prisoners (Dumond, 2003)
Unfortunately, prisoner demand continues to outpace prison supply and many corrections facilities across the country have become overcrowded and increasingly violent. In recent years, human rights advocates have increasingly reported that constitutional violations occur on a regular basis in United States prisons (Edney, 2004)
354). The legislation noted by Dumond was in response to the increasingly violent environment of many of the nation's prisons, on September 4, 2003, the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003 became law; PREA represents a broad commitment to zero tolerance for rape and sexual assault "in any confinement facility of a federal, state or local government whether operated by such a government or by a private organization to include local jails, police lockups and juvenile facilities" (Halley, 2005, p
Review and Discussion Background and Overview. Today, there are more people behind bars in the United States than at any time in history, and the nation leads the world in the percentage of citizens it incarcerates (Mccormick, 2000)
Just to maintain pace with an inmate population that grows by 50,000 to 80,000 a year, approximately, 1,000 new jails and prisons have been constructed since 1980, and approximately one new 1,000-bed facility needs to be added every week through most of this decade (Mccormick, 2000). At the same time, the costs of imprisoning adult offenders ranging from $25,000 to $70,000 a year, and the total bill for constructing each new cell climbing to $100,000, the yearly budget for building and maintaining existing prisons has increased over the last 20 years from $7 billion to almost $40 billion dollars (Schlosser, 1999)
The objectives of NIC's long-term distance learning initiative are to deliver timely and meaningful information to corrections professionals; to date, the NIC has provided up-to-date information through its satellite/Internet broadcasts. "Local classroom programs that use satellite and Internet technology make it convenient and less costly for thousands of professionals to participate at hundreds of sites across the country," the authors note, and "These broadcasts, most recently on the Prison Rape Elimination Act, are interactive and allow practitioners to learn from experts in the field" (Swisher and Whitfield 81)