U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Possible Solutions for Preventing Inmate Sexual Assault: Examining Wardens' Beliefs

NCJ Number
199519
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: Fall 2002 Pages: 19-33
Author(s)
Christopher Hensley; Robert W. Dumond; Richard Tewksbury; Doris A. Dumond
Date Published
2002
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Using data collected from 226 wardens in 2001, this study examined wardens' beliefs about the impact on inmate sexual assaults of institutional policies and procedures, staff training, and increased staff supervision of inmates.
Abstract
Survey responses indicate that prison wardens generally believe that institutional policies and procedures, staff training, and increased staff supervision of inmates are effective means of preventing inmate sexual assaults. In comparing wardens' responses by race, white wardens were significantly less likely than their nonwhite counterparts to believe that increased levels of supervision will successfully deter sexual assaults among inmates. This may be due to research that has suggested that sexual assaults in prisons have been racially motivated and have typically involved African-American aggressors and white victims (Carroll, 1977; Hensley, Tewksbury, and Castle, in press; Toch, 1977). Also, wardens who believed that they were aware of the sexual assault incidents that occurred in their institutions were more likely to believe that additional and enhanced staff training can effectively prevent inmate sexual assaults. Further, wardens who believed that consensual sex among inmates was not a common occurrence in their institutions were more likely to believe that rules discourage and deter sexual assault. The authors caution, however, that the independent variables selected to reflect warden traits, institutional characteristics, and warden perceptions in this survey explained little of the variation in what wardens think can effectively deter sexual assault among inmates. 2 tables and 39 references