Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2008-2009

Between October 2008 and December 2009, BJS completed the second National Inmate Survey (NIS-2) in 167 state and federal prisons, 286 jails, and 10 special confinement facilities operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Military, and correctional authorities in Indian country. The survey, conducted by RTI International (Research Triangle Park, NC), was administered to 81,566 inmates ages 18 or older, including 32,029 inmates in state and federal prisons, 48,066 in jails, 957 in ICE facilities, 399 in military facilities, and 115 in Indian country jails.

The NIS-2 is part of the National Prison Rape Statistics Program, which collects administrative records of reported sexual violence, and allegations of sexual victimization directly from victims, through surveys of adult inmates in prisons and jails and surveys of youth held in juvenile correctional facilities. Administrative records have been collected annually since 2004. Reports by victims of sexual victimization have been collected since 2007...

New Directions A blueprint for reforming California’s prison system

A blueprint for reforming California’s prison system to protect the public, reduce costs and rehabilitate inmates

California Correctional Peace Officers Association 

January 2010

CALIFORNIA’S PRISON SYSTEM is failing at every level. The cost to taxpayers and public safety for this failure is staggering. More than 170,000 inmates are now being warehoused in facilities designed to accommodate 80,000 inmates. Coupled with severe staff shortages, this overcrowding is inordinately jeopardizing the safety of inmates and correctional officers, while straining prison resources and infrastructure to the breaking point. Today, an average of nine correctional officers are assaulted every day inside California prisons, while tens of thousands of inmates are being denied the help and incentives needed to help make them productive citizens.

Inmate rehabilitation programs are failing, turning prison gates into revolving doors, giving California one of the nation’s highest recidivism rates. Thousands of inmates who have served their sentences are being released without the education, job training or basic life skills needed to function in society. With few chances to succeed, they have little choice but to return to crime.

California’s parole policies are also failing. Parole officers are overworked and overwhelmed. Parolees are receiving neither the services nor support they need to find jobs, deal with substance abuse or resolve psychological issues. This is wasting their lives, bankrupting taxpayers and endangering public safety

Following is our blueprint for fixing California’s broken prison system — a plan that offers relevant reform at multiple levels. Together, these reforms will save billions of tax dollars, protect the public and help inmates turn their lives around.

MIKE JIMENEZ, President 

California Correctional Peace Officers Association  

Survey: Education Programs at Level IV Institutions, CDC

This report presents the results of a survey conducted by the Office of the Inspector General of inmate participation in education programs at the state's Level IV correctional institutions.

The survey was performed under the Inspector General's oversight responsibilities under California Penal Code Section 6126.

The purpose of the survey was to determine the extent to which institution lockdowns have affected academic and vocational education programs at Department of Corrections Level IV institutions. 

The survey was prompted by management review audits conducted by the Office of the Inspector General showing that inmates at state correctional institutions receive only limited classroom instruction because classrooms are closed for significant periods as the result of lockdowns, teacher vacancies, and other program disruptions.

The survey was conducted from January 2003 through June 2003.

Survey: California Dept of Corrections Pharmaceutical Expenditures

The survey revealed that despite a two percent decrease in inmate population between fiscal years 1999-00 and 2002-03, the pharmaceutical expenditures of the Department of Corrections increased 111 percent, from $63 million in 1999-00 to $133 million in 2002-03. During the same period, the national consumer price index for pharmaceutical drugs increased only 22 percent.

The Office of the Inspector General found that the department's pharmaceutical expenditures are also significantly higher than those of two prison systems comparable in size - the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the Texas state prison system - and have increased at a much faster rate.