Prisoner Rape Elimination Act

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed in 2003. The law created the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC) and charged it with developing standards for the elimination of sexual abuse in confinement. The law required the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review the NPREC standards, make revisions as necessary, and pass the final standards into law.

The final rule was published in the federal register on June 20, 2012, and became effective on August 20, 2012.

PREA standards apply equally to locally operated facilities, such as lockups, jails, juvenile detention centers, and locally operated residential community confinement facilities. The statute imposes certain financial consequences on states that do not comply with the standards. However, for local facilities or facilities not operated by the state, PREA provides no direct federal financial penalty for not complying.

If a local facility has a contract to hold state or federal inmates, however, it may lose that contract if it does not comply with PREA standards. If a governor should certify compliance, he/she must certify that all facilities under the state’s authority, including all local facilities the state contracts with to hold inmates, are in compliance. Furthermore, states that operate unified systems must demonstrate that all state-operated facilities, including jails, comply with the PREA standards.

Finally, all agencies, state or local, have obligations under federal and state constitutions to provide safety for individuals in their custody. While PREA does not create any new cause of action, private civil litigants might assert noncompliance with PREA standards as evidence that facilities are not meeting constitutional obligations.

For information on the PREA standards, training, inspection toolkits, frequently asked questions , news and events go to the National PREA Resource Center .

Information shall be provided to inmates about sexual abuse/assault including:

(a) Prevention/intervention;

(b) Self-protection;

(c) Reporting sexual abuse/assault; and,

(d) Treatment and counseling.

This information shall be communicated in writing or electronically, in a language clearly understood by the inmate, upon arrival at the facility.  Rules of the Tennessee Corrections Institute, Rule 1400-1-.13(31).