Prison Rape Elimination Act

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In 2003, Congress enacted the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which set a zero tolerance standard for sexual abuse and sexual harassment of those criminally confined to a federal, state or local facility. National standards took effect in 2012, establishing clear requirements to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment in confinement.

DOC has zero tolerance for sexual abuse and sexual harassment.

The U.S. Department of Justice established federal standards for:

• Prisons and Jails​
  
• Juvenile Facilities
• Community Confinement
• Lockups

Executive Directive 72​ details our commitment to this policy. The PREA Office:

• Educates and trains offenders, staff, and community partners regarding PREA;​
  
• Reviews and conducts administrative investigations of sexual abuse and sexual harassment allegations;
• Provides technical assistance and interpretation of PREA standards;
• Coordinates PREA compliance and auditing; and
• Collects and analyzes data.
  

Community Members

Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) investigates all allegations of sexual abuse and sexual harassment of inmates and youth in our custody, past and present. To report sexual abuse or sexual harassment, an inmate or youth may:

• Tell, or write to, any staff member;
  
• Call the internal or external reporting hotline;
• File a grievance;
  
• Contact local law enforcement; or
• Tell any family member, friend or support person.

To notify DOC on behalf of an inmate or youth, a third party may complete a Report By Email. Please provide as much detail as possible, including:

• Inmate or youth full name
• Inmate or youth date of birth
• Inmate or youth DOC number
• Facility in which the incident occurred
• Facility in which the inmate or youth is currently housed (if different from above)
• Description of incident including date, locations, circumstances
• Suspect information
• Your contact information, if you wish to be contacted regarding this allegation

Reports from third parties may be discussed with the victim named in the report. Information related to the report will only be shared with those who need to know to ensure the victim's safety and begin an administrative investigation.

DOC refers all allegations that involve potentially criminal behavior to local law enforcement. DOC fully cooperates and collaborates with local law enforcement during an investigation to ensure that individuals involved are held accountable under criminal law and DOC administrative code.

Contracted Facilities

Agencies that are contracted by Wisconsin Department of Corrections to provide residential services must have policies and procedures in place to prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment of offenders. If your agency has a current contract with DOC for residential services and you wish to learn more about DOC's expectations and response procedure please review the following documents.

• Contracted Facility Response and Reporting Procedure
  
  
• PREA Overview for Contracted Facilities Video (approx. 1hr, 12 minutes)
  
  
• Contractual Overview for Contracted Facilities (approx. 14 minutes, 30 seconds)
  
  
• Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment Incident Reporting Form (DOC-2784)
• Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment Investigation Closeout Form (DOC-2785)

Volunteers and Contractors

Volunteers and contractors that perform services inside of a DOC facility shall understand their responsibilities to prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment. The level and type of training volunteers and contractors receive is dependent upon the service(s) they provide and level of contact they have with inmates. Below are documents that a volunteer or contractor may be directed, by their contract administrator or supervisor, to review and understand.

• Volunteer and Contractor Guide​ (Spanish)
  
• Volunteer and Contractor Training 
• DAI Contractor Acknowledgment Form
• DJC Volunteer and Contractor Training Acknowledgment Form

Note, Division of Adult Institutions (DAI) may provide alternate on-site training for volunteers. Volunteers will be given the opportunity to acknowledge the training they received following on-site training. 

 

PREA Education

The following resources are available to adults and youth upon entry into a correctional facility:

Inmate PREA Education Handbook​
Male Inmate PREA Education Video
Female Inmate PREA Education Video

Yo​​uth PREA Education Handbook​
Youth PREA Education Video

 

Data

Annual Reports

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections collects and aggregates incident-based sexual abuse data. After analyzing such data, DOC posts an annual compilation of findings and corrective actions:

• 2022 (Agency)​
  
• 2021 (Agency)​
  
• 2020 (Agency)​
  
• 2019 (Agency)​
  
• 2018 (Agency)
• 2017 (Agency)
• 2016 (Agency)
• 2015 (Juvenile Facilities)
• 2015 (Adult Facilities)
• 2014 (Adult Facilities)
• 2014 (Juvenile Facilities)
• 2012-2013 (1st quarter comparative)
• 2012
• 2011
• 2010

Survey of Sexual Victimization

The Survey of Sexual Victimization is an annual reporting requirement mandated by the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Agency surveys are collected and analyzed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

• 2021 Adult Summary Form​
  
• 2021 Juvenile Summary Form
  
• 2020 Ad​ult Summary Form​​
  
• 2020 Juvenile Summary Form​​​
  
• 2019 Adult Summary Form
  
• 2019 Juvenile Summary Form​
  
• 2018 Adult Summary Form
• 2018 Juvenile Summary Form
  
• 2017 Adult Summary Form
• 2017 Juvenile Summary Form
• 2016 Adult Summary Form
  
• 201​6 Juvenile Summary Form
  
• 2015 Adult Summary Form
  
• 2015 Juvenile Summary Form
  
• 2014 Adult Summary Form
  
• 2014 Juvenile Summary Form
  
• 2013 Adult Summary Form
  
• 2013 Juvenile Summary Form
  
• 2012 Adult Summary Form
• 2012 Juvenile Summary Form​
  
  

Audit Reports

In accordance with PREA standards, DOC complies with all auditing requirements. 

The federal Prison Rape Elimination Act requires one-third of DOC facilities to be audited each year, which results in every facility being audited every three years.

Black River Correctional Center 2016 2018 2022

Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility 2017 2018

Columbia Correctional Institution 2017 2019 2022​

Drug Abuse Correctional Center 2016 2018

Dodge Correctional Institution 2017 2019 2023

Felmers Chaney Correctional Center 2016 2018 2020 2022​​​

Flambeau Correctional Center 2016 2018 2019 2023​

Fox Lake Correctional Institution 2017 2018 2022​

Gordon Correctional Center 2016 2017 2020 2023

Green Bay Correctional Institution 2016 2018 2022

Grow Academy 2017 2019 2022

Jackson Correctional Institution 2016 2019 2022

John Burke Correctional Center 2016 2018 2022​

Kenosha Correctional Center 2016 2019 2023​

Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution 2016 2017 2020​

Lincoln Hills School/Copper Lake School 2016 2019 2022​

Marshall E Sherrer Correctional Center 2016 2019 2022​

McNaughton Correctional Center 2016 2018 2019 2023​

Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility 2016 2019 2022​

Milwaukee Women's Correctional Center 2016 2018 2021 

New Lisbon Correctional Institution 20162017 2023​

Oakhill Correctional Institution 2016 2019 2023

Oregon Correctional Center 2016 2019 2023​

Oshkosh Correctional Institution 2016 2019

Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution2016 2019 2022

Racine Correctional Institution/Sturtevant Transitional Facility 2016 (RCI)2016 (STF) 2019 2023​​

Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility 2017 2019 2023​​

Redgranite Correctional Institution2016 2017 2022​

Robert E Ellsworth Correctional Center 2016 2019 2023​

St. Croix Correctional Center2016 2018 2020 2023​

Sanger B Powers Correctional Center 2016 2018 2022​

Stanley Correctional Institution 2017 2019

Taycheedah Correctional Institution 2016 2018 2021

Thompson Correctional Center 2016 2018 2021

Waupun Correctional Institution 20172018 2022​

Winnebago Correctional Center 2016 2018

Wisconsin Resource Center 2017 2022

Wisconsin Secure Program Facility 2015 2018 2021​

Incidents

Overview

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections tracks all allegations of sexual abuse and sexual harassment. As noted above, all allegations are investigated and assigned one of the following administrative dispositions. Local law enforcement conducts criminal investigations when appropriate.

• Substantiated: Incident determined to have occurred.
• Unsubstantiated: The investigation produced insufficient evidence to make a final determination as to whether or not the incident occurred.
• Unfounded: Incident determined not to have occurred.

Incidents are listed below by the year in which they were reported. Incidents currently under investigation are not listed.

Sexual Abuse (Updated January 2nd, 2024)

	Substantiated	Unsubstantiated	Unfounded
2012	23	92	117
2013	36	135	161
2014	34	163	118
2015	49	163	103
2016	40	171	131
​2017	​36	​127	​87
​2018	27	​143	65
​2019	​24	​164	​51
​2020	​26	​131	​57
​2021	​39	​146	​35
​2022	24	184	​45
​2023	​17	​148	​27
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Sexual Harassment (Updated January 2nd, 2024)

​	Substantiated	Unsubstantiated	Unfounded
2012	10	26	39
2013	48	90	72
2014	39	144	73
2015	59	202	59
2016	62	281	108
​2017	​27	​102	​49
​2018	​30	​135	​34
​2019​	​49​	​136	​39
​2020	​60	​150	​​18​
​2021	​45	​128	​15
​2022	​55	​154	​​18
​2023	​48	​119	​10
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Resources

For additional information about sexual assault, sexual abuse in confinement and the Prison Rape Elimination Act, please explore the following resources.

• PREA Resource Center
• Just Detention International
• Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault
• Responding to Transgender Victims of Sexual Assault​
  

 

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