Note:
This awardee has received supplemental funding. This award detail page includes information about both the original award and supplemental awards.
Award Information
The National Prison Rape Statistics Program, developed upon passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, entails the collection of both administrative and self-report data on sexual violence from State and Federal prisons, locally-operated jails, and public and private facilities for juvenile offenders in the nation. One of the data collection efforts that support the NPRS includes the National Inmate Survey for Prisons (NIS-4). In 2007, 2008-09 and again in 2011-12, BJS collected data from inmates in prisons using an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI), wherein inmates heard questions and instructions via headphones and entered their responses using a touch screen. Previous iterations of the National Inmate Survey were conducted in state and federal prisons, local jails, and special confinement facilities operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. military, and correctional authorities in Indian country. The data collected in NIS-1, NIS-2, and NIS-3 were used to develop national- and facility-level (for large facilities) estimates of sexual victimization. Data from the surveys were included in three previous reports from the Attorney General, which were submitted to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Review Panel on Prison Rape, as specified under the Act.
Under this award, Research Triangle Institute (RTI) will carry out the fourth National Inmate Survey in Prisons (NIS-4). NIS-4 will build on past surveys by obtaining more details on specific incidents of sexual violence in prisons. This supplement is to support all activities in the initial award, specifically allowing RTI to increase the number of facilities sampled to improve precision of the facility-level estimates.
(CA/NCF)
The National Prison Rape Statistics Program, developed upon passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, entails the collection of both administrative and self-report data on sexual violence from State and Federal prisons, locally-operated jails, and public and private facilities for juvenile offenders in the nation. One of the data collection efforts that supports the NPRS includes the National Inmate Survey for Prisons (NIS-4). In 2007, 2008-09 and again in 2011-12 BJS has collected data from inmates in prisons using an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI), wherein inmates heard questions and instructions via headphones and entered their responses using a touch screen. The NIS-3 was conducted in 233 state and federal prisons, 358 local jails, and 15 special confinement facilities operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. military, and correctional authorities in Indian country. A total of 92,449 inmates age 18 or older participated in NIS-3, including 38,251 prison inmates, 52,926 jail inmates, 573 ICE detainees, 539 inmates in military facilities, and 160 inmates in Indian country facilities. The survey was also administered to 527 youth ages 16 to 17 held in state prisons and 1,211 youth ages 16 to 17 in local jails. The first report from NIS-3 was Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 201112. The data collected in NIS-1, NIS-2 and NIS-3 were used to develop national- and facility-level (for large facilities) estimates of sexual assault. Data from the surveys were included in three previous reports from the Attorney General, which were submitted to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Review Panel on Prison Rape, as specified under the Act. The reports provided detailed results from the surveys, including facility rankings and summary findings. They identified facilities with the highest and lowest rates of sexual violence, which the Review Panel on Prison Rape used to solicit testimony from correctional administrators of these facilities. Under this award, Research Triangle Institute (RTI) will carry out the fourth annual National Inmate Survey in Prisons (NIS-4). NIS-4 will build on the past surveys by obtaining more details on specific incidents. During 2016, BJS undertook a comprehensive assessment to examine the substantive gaps in the NIS-3 sexual assault questionnaires, and BJS intends to obtain more details on specific incidents in the NIS-4. NIS-4 will include new measures with special emphasis on the nature and circumstances surrounding staff sexual misconduct and boundary violations, collusion among inmates and staff surrounding victimization, impact on victims, and other factors related to facility climate, institutional culture, and correctional leadership. In addition, BJS intends to improve the measurement of facility characteristics that may co-vary with sexual victimization. This assessment also included a review of the NIS-3 survey protocol, sampling methodologies, and analytical products to develop an optimal design to provide reliable facility-level estimates for prison facilities. The NIS-4 will incorporate the recommendations from this critical assessment for achieving greater efficiency and cost savings for this round of data collection and to ensure that the survey will maximize data quality and minimize burden on sampled facilities. (CA/NCF) Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law.
The National Inmate Survey (NIS) is one component of the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Prison Rape Statistics (NPRS) Program. This BJS program was instituted to meet the reporting requirements of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003 (P.L., 108-79). The NIS is designed to collect direct reports of sexual violence from inmates held in federal and state prisons and jails. The NIS-4 will be the fourth time these data have been collected. As with the prior rounds of the NIS, the NIS-4 is designed to meet the specific requirements of the PREA legislation namely that the study provide a comprehensive statistical review of the prevalence and associated effects of being sexually victimized while incarcerated. Significant tasks associated with conducting the NIS-4 in prisons include design and programming of the survey instruments, preparation of materials to secure all necessary research approvals, frame updates, sample design and selection, logistics coordination with sampled facilities, data collection, data processing and data delivery. Analytic support will also be provided to BJS as they prepare a report documenting NIS-4 facility-level estimates of sexual victimization for submission to Congress. The funding associated with this supplement will be used to increase the total sample of prisons (and inmates) included in the NIS-4 to improve the precision of the key estimates and the utility of the facility rankings.
NIS data are collected using an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) in which inmates hear the survey questions read through headphones and use a touchscreen computer to enter their answers. The ACASI interview is approximately 35 minutes in length. An alternative questionnaire, that includes questions unrelated to sexual victimization, is administered to a random subset of the sampled inmates. Use of this alternative questionnaire provides an additional layer of privacy protection to inmates by masking to anyone other than the inmate, which questions he or she is answering. A shorter paper-and-pencil questionnaire is available for inmates who cannot participate in the ACASI interview. Interviews are conducted in English and Spanish. All interviews take place in a private interview setting where none of the inmates answers are visible to facility staff.
The NIS-4 will also include a short survey to collect administrative information about each sampled facility. These data will be helpful in modeling a more complete picture of inmate sexual victimization.
Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law.
(CA/NCF)
The National Prison Rape Statistics Program, developed upon passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, entails the collection of both administrative and self-report data on sexual violence from State and Federal prisons, locally-operated jails, and public and private facilities for juvenile offenders in the nation. One of the data collection efforts that supports the NPRS includes the National Inmate Survey for Prisons (NIS-4). In 2007, 2008-09 and again in 2011-12 BJS has collected data from inmates in prisons using an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI), wherein inmates heard questions and instructions via headphones and entered their responses using a touch screen. The NIS-3 was conducted in 233 state and federal prisons, 358 local jails, and 15 special confinement facilities operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. military, and correctional authorities in Indian country. A total of 92,449 inmates age 18 or older participated in NIS-3, including 38,251 prison inmates, 52,926 jail inmates, 573 ICE detainees, 539 inmates in military facilities, and 160 inmates in Indian country facilities. The survey was also administered to 527 youth ages 16 to 17 held in state prisons and 1,211 youth ages 16 to 17 in local jails. The first report from NIS-3 was Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 201112. The data collected in NIS-1, NIS-2 and NIS-3 were used to develop national- and facility-level (for large facilities) estimates of sexual assault. Data from the surveys were included in three previous reports from the Attorney General, which were submitted to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Review Panel on Prison Rape, as specified under the Act. The reports provided detailed results from the surveys, including facility rankings and summary findings. They identified facilities with the highest and lowest rates of sexual violence, which the Review Panel on Prison Rape used to solicit testimony from correctional administrators of these facilities. Under this award, Research Triangle Institute (RTI) will carry out the fourth annual National Inmate Survey in Prisons (NIS-4). NIS-4 will build on the past surveys by obtaining more details on specific incidents. During 2016, BJS undertook a comprehensive assessment to examine the substantive gaps in the NIS-3 sexual assault questionnaires, and BJS intends to obtain more details on specific incidents in the NIS-4. NIS-4 will include new measures with special emphasis on the nature and circumstances surrounding staff sexual misconduct and boundary violations, collusion among inmates and staff surrounding victimization, impact on victims, and other factors related to facility climate, institutional culture, and correctional leadership. In addition, BJS intends to improve the measurement of facility characteristics that may co-vary with sexual victimization. This assessment also included a review of the NIS-3 survey protocol, sampling methodologies, and analytical products to develop an optimal design to provide reliable facility-level estimates for prison facilities. The NIS-4 will incorporate the recommendations from this critical assessment for achieving greater efficiency and cost savings for this round of data collection and to ensure that the survey will maximize data quality and minimize burden on sampled facilities.
(CA/NCF)
Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law.
The National Inmate Survey (NIS) is one component of the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Prison Rape Statistics (NPRS) Program. This Bureau of Justice Statistics program was instituted to meet the reporting requirements of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003 (P.L., 108-79). The NIS is designed to collect direct reports of sexual violence from inmates held in federal and state prisons and jails. The NIS-4 in Prisons (NIS-4P) is the fourth time these data have been collected in state and federal prisons. As with the prior rounds of the NIS, the NIS-4P is designed to meet the specific requirements of the PREA legislation—namely that the study provide a comprehensive statistical review of the prevalence and associated effects of being sexually victimized while incarcerated. Significant tasks associated with conducting the NIS-4P include survey instrument design and programming; materials preparation to secure Office of Management and Budget approval as well as all necessary jurisdiction research approvals and train logistics coordinators and field staff; frame updates and sample design and selection; logistics coordination with sampled facilities; data collection; and data processing and data delivery. Support will also be provided to BJS to produce statistical products and reports. At the conclusion of the project, all study materials will be delivered to BJS, and the data files will be archived in the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data.
NIS-4P data are collected using an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) in which inmates hear the survey questions read through headphones and use a touchscreen computer to enter their answers. The ACASI interview is approximately 35 minutes in length. An alternative questionnaire, which includes questions unrelated to sexual victimization, is administered to a random subset of the sampled inmates. Use of this alternative questionnaire provides an additional layer of privacy protection to inmates by masking to anyone other than the inmate, which questions he or she is answering. A shorter paper-and-pencil questionnaire is available for inmates who cannot participate in the ACASI interview. Interviews are conducted in English and Spanish. All interviews take place in a private interview setting where none of the inmate’s answers are visible to facility staff.
The NIS-4P also includes a short, self-administered survey to collect administrative information about each sampled facility. These data will be helpful in modeling a more complete picture of inmate sexual victimization.