Carceral safety in a post-PREA era: An examination of perceptual indicators of safety among incarcerated persons in four southeast prisons

Abstract

Since the inception of the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), its reception has been notably ambivalent among practitioners and scholars. While this policy was promoted as a means of enhancing safety in carceral facilities, some view it as a superfluous inconvenience. Unfortunately, the intended beneficiaries of PREA have been largely excluded from this discourse. The current study addresses this gaping oversight by examining perceptual predictors of safety among those housed across four prisons in a southeastern state. Using survey data collected from more than 1500 incarcerated men, this study examines the relationship between self-reported safety indicators and a variety of policy compliance proxies, facility resource measures, interpersonal relationships between staff and inmates, and other relevant themes. The results of this study reveal that some measures of PREA compliance, specifically investigation efficiency and knowledge of the reporting process, are positively related to the respondent's sense of safety from inmate violence as well as safety from staff violence. Prison resources, staff interactions, exposure to violence, and other notable predictors are also significantly related to safety perceptions. These findings underscore the importance of the quality of PREA implementation in conjunction with resource sufficiency and constructive interactions with staff.

A Mixed-Methodological Inquiry of Correctional Population Responses Toward the Prison Rape Elimination Act

“…However, recent scholarship has argued that because correctional institutions are sometimes slow to embrace change (see Ferdik & Pica, 2024), they often remain locked in a cycle of older customs and traditions. As an illustration to this point, results from the current study seem to mirror those of more recent scholarship that found how carceral samples continue to express concern over their safety from sexual violence (see Ledet et al, 2024;Rudes et al, 2020;Smith et al, 2023).…”

“…In another study, multivariate estimations using survey data from 1,500 incarcerated men revealed how higher self-reported knowledge of PREA was significantly associated with increased perceptions of safety from sexual violence. In addition, study participants who perceived staff as respectful were statistically more likely to comply with PREA regulations, a finding that underscores the importance of courteous treatment in promoting the success of PREA (Ledet et al, 2024). After interviewing 385 correctional officers, Rudes et al (2020) found how an overwhelming majority (288; 74.9%), viewed PREA as interfering with their "real" custody-oriented job.…”

“…To date, only a handful of studies have evaluated how incarcerated persons and corrections staff are interpreting and responding to the Prison Rape Elimination Act (krienert & Walsh, 2023;Ledet et al, 2024;Rudes et al, 2020;Smith, 2021;Smith et al, 2023). In one of these studies, krienert and Walsh (2023) examined the readability of PREA handbooks for custodial populations, noting that they surpassed the average reading levels of both IPs and staff.…”