Chapter 5 – Adult Custody and Security Operations

54040.17 Institutional PREA Review Committee

• The purpose of this section is to set forth California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) policy governing the sexual violence and staff sexual misconduct incident review process. The policy has its foundation in Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), tit. 28, Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) National Standards.
  

• Per 28 CFR, Standard §115.86, each Hiring Authority is required to conduct an incident review of every sexual violence or staff sexual misconduct allegation, including allegations that have not been substantiated. A review is not required for allegations that have been determined to be unfounded.
  

• The PREA Compliance Manager (PCM) shall make a good faith effort to reach a judgment on whether staff’s actions prior to, during, and subsequent to the reporting of the incident are in compliance with regulations, procedure, and applicable law and determine if follow-up action is necessary.
  

• The PCM shall normally schedule these PREA incidents for review by the Institutional PREA Review Committee (IPRC) within 30 days of the conclusion of the investigation or within 60 days of the date of discovery, whichever is sooner.
  

• A subsequent IPRC shall be completed whenever an initial IPRC was conducted prior to the completion of the investigation. A subsequent IPRC shall also be completed when the initial IPRC was unable to provide a thorough review, or if requested by the Hiring Authority.
  

• It shall be the responsibility of the IPRC to conduct the incident review for all allegations, which are alleged to have occurred at the institution, including those that were received from an institution or facility in accordance with Department Operations Manual (DOMDepartment Operations Manual) section 54040.7.4.

• Institutional PREA Review Committee
  

  • The IPRC is a committee of institution staff, chaired by the respective Institution Head, tasked with reviewing PREA related incidents except those determined to be unfounded.
    

  • The IPRC shall meet to review PREA incidents on at least a monthly basis, or on a schedule to ensure all cases are reviewed within 60 days of the date of discovery or within 30 days of the conclusion of the investigation. All PREA investigations shall have an IPRC conducted within 30 days of the date of closure of the investigation, even if the case had been reviewed initially upon 60 days of the date of discovery. The IPRC shall ensure the report of its findings and recommendation is completed within 30 days of the conclusion of the investigation.
    

  • The IPRC shall normally be comprised of the following staff:

    • Hiring Authority or designee, as chairperson and final decision maker.
      

    • PREA Compliance Manager.
      

    • At least one other manager.
      

    • In-Service Training Manager.
      

    • Health Care Clinician.
      

    • Mental Health Clinician.
      

    • Incident Commander or Investigative Services Unit Supervisor.
      

  • The IPRC shall: 

    • Consider whether the allegation or investigation indicates a need to change policy or practice to better prevent, detect, or respond to sexual abuse.
      

    • Consider whether the incident or allegation was motivated by race; ethnicity; gender identity; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex identification, status, or perceived status; or gang affiliation; or was motivated or otherwise caused by other group dynamics at the facility.
      

    • Examine the area in the facility where the incident allegedly occurred to assess whether physical barriers in the area may enable abuse.
      

    • If the staffing plan was not complied with, this fact shall be documented during this review and addressed in the corrective action plan.
      

    • Assess the adequacy of staffing levels in that area during different shifts.
      

    • Assess whether monitoring technology should be deployed or augmented to supplement supervision by staff.
      

    • Prepare a report of its findings and any recommendations for improvement.
      

    • Determine a plan to correct findings and document in the report.
      

    • Document implementation of the Action Plan or reasons for not doing so.
      

    • Submit the report to the Hiring Authority for final review.
      

• The facility shall implement the recommendations for improvement, or shall document its reasons for not doing so. The final report shall be provided to the appropriate Associate Director, upon approval of the Hiring Authority, if the findings require physical plant modification or other fiscal resource needs that cannot be addressed through their existing budget (i.e., staffing).
  

• Departmental PREA Coordinator
  

  • Title 28 CFR, Standard §115.88, requires the agency to review data collected pursuant to 28 CFR §115.87 in order to assess and improve the effectiveness of its sexual violence prevention, detection, and response policies, practices, and training.
    

  • On an annual basis:
    

    • The departmental PREA Coordinator shall forward to each institution, a data collection tool, which shall be utilized by the institutional PCM to summarize information gathered through the Institutional PREA Committee.

    • The institution shall complete the data collection tool and return it to the Departmental PREA Coordinator.

    • The Departmental PREA Coordinator shall review the information contained on the data collection tool.

    • The Departmental PREA Coordinator shall prepare an annual report of the findings and corrective actions for each facility, as well as the agency as a whole.

    • The report shall be routed through the chain of command to the Agency Secretary for review and approval.

    • Once approved by the Secretary, the annual report shall be forwarded to the Office of Public and Employee Communication for placement on the CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Website.

• Records Retention 

• All case records associated with such reports including incident reports, investigation reports, offender information, case disposition, medical and counseling evaluation findings, and recommendations for post-release treatment or counseling shall be retained in accordance with the CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Records Retention Schedule.