The Bureau of Justice Statistics released a summary of efforts during 2017 and 2018 to collect data and report on the incidence and effects of sexual victimization in correctional facilities as required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA). The report shows nearly triple the number of reported allegations of sexual victimization, 24,661 in 2015, as compared to 8,768 in 2011. Substantiated allegations rose form 902 in 2011 to 1,473 in 205 (up 63%).
Among the 24,661 allegations of sexual victimization in 2015, a total of 1,473 were substantiated, 10,142 were unfounded, 10,313 were unsubstantiated, and 2,733 were still under investigation. The sharp rise in unfounded or unsubstantiated allegations of sexual victimization coincided with the release of the National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape in 2012. It reflects improvements in data collection and reporting by correctional authorities, and increased reporting of allegations by inmates.
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services 2015 PREA Annual report for the Division of Juvenile Justice, (DJJ), also reflects an increase in the report of allegations since PREA standards were released in 2012. In 2011, DJJ reports seven allegations (one substantiated) and in 2015, 28 allegations (eight substantiated) - four times as many.
The Alaska Department of Corrections 2016 and 2017 PREA annual reports earliest numbers are from 2014, making it difficult to track the impact of the 2012 national standards on reporting of allegations. In 2014, there were 42 allegations (13 substantiated) and in 2017 there were 36 allegations (five substantiated).
