Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA)

Sherburne County Corrections - Prison Rape Elimination Act

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed in 2003 with unanimous support from both parties in Congress.

The purpose of the act was to "provide for the analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape in Federal, State, and local institutions and to provide information, resources, recommendations and funding to protect individuals from prison rape." (Prison Rape Elimination Act, 2003). In addition to creating a mandate for significant research from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and through the National Institute of Justice, funding through the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Institute of Corrections supported major efforts in many state correctional, juvenile detention, community corrections, and jail systems.

The act also created the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission and charged it with developing draft standards for the elimination of prison rape. Those standards were published in June 2009, and were turned over to the Department of Justice for review and passage as a final rule. That final rule became effective August 20, 2012.

In 2010, the Bureau of Justice Assistance funded the National PREA Resource Center to continue to provide federally funded training and technical assistance to states and localities, as well as to serve as a single-stop resource for leading research and tools for all those in the field working to come into compliance with the federal standards.

The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse and sexual harassment and will take appropriate affirmative measures to protect all inmates/detainees from sexual abuse and sexual harassment. 

SCSO will ensure that an administrative and/or criminal investigation is completed for all allegations of sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Allegations involving potentially criminal behavior will be referred to the SCSO Investigations Division for criminal investigation. All reports and referrals of allegations of sexual abuse and sexual harassment will be documented and maintained for a minimum of five years. (28 CFR 115.11, 115.22)

If an ICE detainee is a victim, suspect, or witness to any possible PREA incident, the Jail Commander will ensure that the incident is promptly reported to the Sheriff, Joint Intake Center, the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility, or the DHS Office of Inspector General, as well as to the appropriate ICE Field Office Director.

If someone from the public wishes to file a report, they are encouraged to call Jail Administration at (800) 433-5245 or the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Line at (800) 237-5090.

PREA Annual Review

On Jan. 4, 2023, a PREA incident review team comprised of Jail Commander Brian Frank, PREA Coordinator Chris Hansen, Assistant Jail Administrator Dave Isais and Jail Captain Tom Zerwas conducted an annual review of all PREA incidents that occurred in 2022 to assess current procedures and look for ways to improve sexual abuse and intervention, prevention, and response efforts. The team reviewed different areas of the facility that are accessible to inmates/detainees and discussed improvements that have been made to facility operations. The most notable improvements are, the addition of two social workers assigned to the facility, and a change in contracted health services which is offering enhanced mental health services for inmates/detainees. At the conclusion of the annual review, the team found no deficiencies and no corrective action was recommended.