Chapter 1 – General Administration

14020.4 Restrictions

• No biomedical research shall be conducted on any inmate under the jurisdiction of the Department.

• Specific kinds of behavioral research on inmates are permitted and governed by the Penal Code. The kinds of behavioral research that may be conducted on inmates are limited to:

  • Studies of prisons as institutional structures.

  • Studies of prisoners as incarcerated persons who present minimal or no risk and no more than mere inconvenience to the subjects of the research.

  • Studies of the possible causes, effects, and processes of incarceration.

• The use of behavioral modification techniques in research on inmates is authorized by the Penal Code only if such techniques are a medically and socially acceptable means by which to modify behavior and if such techniques do not inflict permanent physical and psychological injury on inmates.