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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SETTLES LITIGATION TO END SEXUAL MISCONDUCT AND INVASIONS OF PRIVACY IN ARIZONA STATE WOMEN'S PRISONS

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Female inmates housed in Arizona prisons will now be protected from rapes and sexual assaults, under an agreement reached between the Justice Department and the State of Arizona.

The agreement, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, resolves a complaint brought by the Justice Department in March 1997, alleging that inmates at the Arizona Center for Women and state prison facilities in Alhambra, Perryville and Tucson were subjected to sexual misconduct and unlawful invasion of privacy, including viewing during showering, toileting and dressing.

"Nobody should be exposed to the risk of sexual assault anywhere, especially by individuals sworn to protect them," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "We hope this agreement will help to ensure that every inmates' rights will be protected."

The Justice Department began looking at Arizona's facilities in February 1995, after receiving complaints about alleged misconduct by staff. During the investigation that followed, the state refused to allow the Department to interview staff and prisoners concerning the complaints, and extensive discussions between the two parties failed to resolve the allegations.

The Justice Department filed suit on March 10, 1997 under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), enacted in 1980 to protect the rights of people housed in state and local governmental institutions, including state prisons.

Since then, Arizona has provided over 120,000 pages of documents, the Justice Department has interviewed almost 200 inmates, and both parties took depositions from more than 200 inmates and employees.

Under the agreement, Arizona will:

• ensure that non-correctional staff undergo the same rigorous preemployment screening as correctional staff;

• revise employee preservice and inservice training to increase discussion of sexual misconduct and inmate privacy and educate inmates about sexual misconduct with staff and inmate privacy rights;

• hire a Female Programs Administrator, who will deal exclusively with female offender issues, including sexual misconduct and invasions of privacy and will conduct random interviews with inmates regarding sexual misconduct and invasions of privacy;

• strengthen its investigative techniques, including additional training for investigators, quicker investigations, interviewing all potential witnesses, and searching for past allegations of misconduct;

• require all staff who may be alone with an inmate to notify a supervisor so their behavior can be monitored;

• offer psychological services to all inmates alleged to have been subject to staff misconduct, whether or not force was used;

• institute two fifteen minute periods per day at the Arizona women's prison where only female staff are present (that facility is dormitory style, as opposed to individual cells, which raises unique privacy issues) so inmates can dress or shower in privacy;

• require male officers, absent reasonable suspicion of inappropriate behavior, to announce their presence when entering areas in which female inmates may be undressed;

• establish a quality assurance program to monitor the quality of preemployment background investigations, inmate understanding of sexual misconduct and privacy issues, and the quality of investigations.

  Under the terms of the settlement agreement, a mutually agreed upon expert will review Arizona's implementation of the settlement agreement in six months. If Arizona has substantially complied with its terms, the Justice Department will dismiss its complaint.

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