The Linn County Correctional Center is the first jail in the State of Iowa to obtain full compliance under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed unanimously by the U.S. Congress and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on September 4, 2003. On June 20, 2012, the PREA national standards were published and became binding on correctional facilities. PREA is a federal law seeking to detect, prevent, and respond to incidents of sexual abuse and sexual harassment in correctional facilities.
The PREA onsite audit of the Linn County Correctional center was conducted by an independent auditor on April 6-7, 2015. The PREA Auditor (certified by the United States Department of Justice) spent two days at the Linn County Correctional Center reviewing documents, interviewing staff and inmates, and reviewing policies and procedures. The Auditor also spent numerous hours offsite reviewing policies and procedures as they related to the PREA standards. The final compliance report was received by jail administration on May 4, 2015.
The report advised that the Linn County Correctional Center met 39 PREA standards and exceeded 3 PREA standards, with 1 PREA standard not applicable.
“The Linn County Correctional Center is committed to ensuring that those in custody are protected from sexual harassment and abuse during their incarceration”, stated Major Peter Wilson, Jail Administrator for the Linn County Correctional Center.
Per standards, a re-audit of the Correctional Center will be required in 3 years.