DOC and Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Cooperate to Improve Offender Safety at Women’s Prisons

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                    June 12, 2009

The Department of Corrections and attorneys representing female offenders who allege that they were victims of sexual misconduct by prison staff filed a stipulated stay today, postponing the trial date in a class-action lawsuit until March 2010. 

This stay is the culmination of almost two years of work, which started when female offenders filed a lawsuit against DOC claiming that they were victims of sexual misconduct by staff members. During the stay, DOC will maintain the changes that were made at the women’s prisons since the filing of the lawsuit. This includes maintaining the security cameras as well as the office and storage windows that were added at the women’s prisons, and keeping procedural changes implemented to prevent favoritism and over familiarity.  DOC will also continue to fund the position it created in 2008 that is dedicated to looking at the agency’s response to allegations of staff sexual misconduct.

Along with maintaining the changes that were already made, DOC will continue to work with plaintiffs’ counsel and other stakeholders during the stay to take aggressive steps to address allegations of staff sexual misconduct. DOC will add more investigators and provide a victim advocate to female offenders who allege they were victims of sexual assault in the women’s prisons. DOC also plans to add additional training for staff members who work in the state’s three women’s prisons, and will continue to improve and enhance the investigations process. The plaintiffs’ attorneys will monitor the agency’s progress as it works to adopt and implement revised procedures and make the improvements called for in the agreement. DOC will also pay the individual plaintiffs a combined total of $1 million for compensation to resolve the damage claims.

“We are working closely with the attorneys representing the offenders and other stakeholders to find ways to prevent these acts from occurring,” Assistant Secretary Scott Blonien said. “The stay allows us to focus our efforts on implementing changes that will be effective and address concerns of the female offenders as well as our other stakeholders, rather than on litigation and trial of this lawsuit. This is a problem that is best addressed through a collaborative effort, and we are committed to that approach.”

Blonien added that sexual misconduct is an issue at all prisons across the country, which is why Congress in 2003 passed the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act.

“We’ve done as much over the years as any DOC in the country to address this issue, but we’re always looking for ways to improve,” Blonien said.


-30-


Contact:  Chad Lewis, Communications Department (360) 725-8817



 


Divider image - horizontal green bar