---
kind: "section"
citation: "34 U.S.C. § 30301"
title: "34"
title_heading: "Crime Control and Law Enforcement"
number: "30301"
heading: "Findings"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/34/30301"
units:
  - "Subtitle III — Prevention of Particular Crimes"
  - "Chapter 303 — Prison Rape Elimination"
---

# §30301. Findings


Congress makes the following findings:

- (1) 2,100,146 persons were incarcerated in the United States at the end of 2001: 1,324,465 in Federal and [State](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4) [prisons](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) and 631,240 in county and [local](/usc/34/30502.md?p=3) [jails](/usc/34/30309.md?p=3). In 1999, there were more than 10,000,000 separate admissions to and discharges from [prisons](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) and [jails](/usc/34/30309.md?p=3).
- (2) Insufficient research has been conducted and insufficient data reported on the extent of [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8). However, experts have conservatively estimated that at least 13 percent of the [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) in the United States have been sexually assaulted in [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7). Many [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) have suffered repeated assaults. Under this estimate, nearly 200,000 [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) now incarcerated have been or will be the victims of [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8). The total number of [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) who have been sexually assaulted in the past 20 years likely exceeds 1,000,000.
- (3) [Inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) with mental illness are at increased risk of sexual victimization. America’s [jails](/usc/34/30309.md?p=3) and [prisons](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) house more mentally ill individuals than all of the Nation’s psychiatric hospitals combined. As many as 16 percent of [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) in [State](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4) [prisons](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) and [jails](/usc/34/30309.md?p=3), and 7 percent of Federal [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2), suffer from mental illness.
- (4) Young first-time offenders are at increased risk of sexual victimization. Juveniles are 5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in adult rather than juvenile facilities—often within the first 48 hours of incarceration.
- (5) Most [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) staff are not adequately trained or prepared to prevent, report, or treat [inmate](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) sexual assaults.
- (6) [Prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8) often goes unreported, and [inmate](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) victims often receive inadequate treatment for the severe physical and psychological effects of sexual assault—if they receive treatment at all.
- (7) [HIV](/usc/34/30309.md?p=4) and AIDS are major public health problems within America’s correctional facilities. In 2000, 25,088 [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) in Federal and [State](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4) [prisons](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) were known to be infected with [HIV](/usc/34/30309.md?p=4)/AIDS. In 2000, [HIV](/usc/34/30309.md?p=4)/AIDS accounted for more than 6 percent of all deaths in Federal and [State](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4) [prisons](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7). Infection rates for other sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, and hepatitis B and C are also far greater for prisoners than for the American population as a whole. [Prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8) undermines the public health by contributing to the spread of these diseases, and often giving a potential death sentence to its victims.
- (8) [Prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8) endangers the public safety by making brutalized [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) more likely to commit crimes when they are released—as 600,000 [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) are each year.
- (9) The frequently interracial character of [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) sexual assaults significantly exacerbates interracial tensions, both within [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) and, upon release of perpetrators and victims from [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7), in the community at large.
- (10) [Prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8) increases the level of homicides and other violence against [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) and staff, and the risk of insurrections and riots.
- (11) Victims of [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8) suffer severe physical and psychological effects that hinder their ability to integrate into the community and maintain stable employment upon their release from [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7). They are thus more likely to become homeless and/or require government assistance.
- (12) Members of the public and government officials are largely unaware of the epidemic character of [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8) and the day-to-day horror experienced by victimized [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2).
- (13) The high incidence of sexual assault within [prisons](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) involves actual and potential violations of the United States Constitution. In Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994), the Supreme Court ruled that deliberate indifference to the substantial risk of sexual assault violates prisoners’ rights under the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment rights of [State](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4) and [local](/usc/34/30502.md?p=3) prisoners are protected through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Pursuant to the power of Congress under Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment, Congress may take action to enforce those rights in [States](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4) where officials have demonstrated such indifference. [States](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4) that do not take basic steps to abate [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8) by adopting standards that do not generate significant additional expenditures demonstrate such indifference. Therefore, such [States](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4) are not entitled to the same level of Federal benefits as other [States](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4).
- (14) The high incidence of [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8) undermines the effectiveness and efficiency of United States Government expenditures through grant programs such as those dealing with health care; mental health care; disease prevention; crime prevention, investigation, and prosecution; [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) construction, maintenance, and operation; race relations; poverty; unemployment and homelessness. The effectiveness and efficiency of these federally funded grant programs are compromised by the failure of [State](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4) officials to adopt policies and procedures that reduce the incidence of [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8) in that the high incidence of [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8)—
  - (A) increases the costs incurred by Federal, [State](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4), and [local](/usc/34/30502.md?p=3) jurisdictions to administer their [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) systems;
  - (B) increases the levels of violence, directed at [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2) and at staff, within [prisons](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7);
  - (C) increases health care expenditures, both inside and outside of [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) systems, and reduces the effectiveness of disease prevention programs by substantially increasing the incidence and spread of [HIV](/usc/34/30309.md?p=4), AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, and other diseases;
  - (D) increases mental health care expenditures, both inside and outside of [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) systems, by substantially increasing the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicide, and the exacerbation of existing mental illnesses among current and former [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2);
  - (E) increases the risks of recidivism, civil strife, and violent crime by individuals who have been brutalized by [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8); and
  - (F) increases the level of interracial tensions and strife within [prisons](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) and, upon release of perpetrators and victims, in the community at large.
- (15) The high incidence of [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8) has a significant effect on interstate commerce because it increases substantially—
  - (A) the costs incurred by Federal, [State](/usc/34/30502.md?p=4), and [local](/usc/34/30502.md?p=3) jurisdictions to administer their [prison](/usc/34/30309.md?p=7) systems;
  - (B) the incidence and spread of [HIV](/usc/34/30309.md?p=4), AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, and other diseases, contributing to increased health and medical expenditures throughout the Nation;
  - (C) the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicide, and the exacerbation of existing mental illnesses among current and former [inmates](/usc/34/30309.md?p=2), contributing to increased health and medical expenditures throughout the Nation; and
  - (D) the risk of recidivism, civil strife, and violent crime by individuals who have been brutalized by [prison rape](/usc/34/30309.md?p=8).

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 108–79, § 2, Sept. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 972.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 15601 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Short Title

For short title of Pub. L. 108–79, which is classified to this chapter, as the “Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003”, see section 1(a) of Pub. L. 108–79, set out as a Short Title of 2003 Act note under section 10101 of this title.

### Executive Documents

### Implementing the Prison Rape Elimination Act

Memorandum of President of the United States, May 17, 2012, 77 F.R. 30873, provided:

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

Sexual violence, against any victim, is an assault on human dignity and an affront to American values. The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) was enacted with bipartisan support and established a “zero-tolerance standard” for rape in prisons in the United States. 42 U.S.C. 15602(1) [now 34 U.S.C. 30301(1)].

My Administration, with leadership from the Department of Justice, has worked diligently to implement the principles set out in PREA. Today, the Attorney General finalized a rule adopting national standards to prevent, detect, and respond to prison rape. This rule expresses my Administration’s conclusion that PREA applies to all Federal confinement facilities, including those operated by executive departments and agencies (agencies) other than the Department of Justice, whether administered by the Federal Government or by a private organization on behalf of the Federal Government.

Each agency is responsible for, and must be accountable for, the operations of its own confinement facilities, and each agency has extensive expertise regarding its own facilities, particularly those housing unique populations. Thus, each agency is best positioned to determine how to implement the Federal laws and rules that govern its own operations, the conduct of its own employees, and the safety of persons in its custody. To advance the goals of PREA, we must ensure that all agencies that operate confinement facilities adopt high standards to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse. In addition to adopting such standards, the success of PREA in combating sexual abuse in confinement facilities will depend on effective agency and facility leadership and the development of an agency culture that prioritizes efforts to combat sexual abuse.

In order to implement PREA comprehensively across the Federal Government, I hereby direct all agencies with Federal confinement facilities that are not already subject to the Department of Justice’s final rule to work with the Attorney General to propose, within 120 days of the date of this memorandum, any rules or procedures necessary to satisfy the requirements of PREA and to finalize any such rules or procedures within 240 days of their proposal.

This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with the requirements of Executive Order 13175 of November 6, 2000 (Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments).

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.