Survey of prisoners finds assault rate above average

CARSON CITY -- A U.S. Department of Justice survey has found that inmates in two Nevada prisons report they have been victims of sexual assault more often than the national average.

The survey, released Sunday, found 7.7 percent of the female inmates at the Nevada Women's Correctional Center and 5.8 percent at the male inmates at the Southern Desert Correctional Center said they were sexually assaulted in the last year.

That compares with a national 4.5 percent average. More than 10 percent of inmates at two prisons in Texas reported they had been rape victims. That was the highest percentage in the country.

Inmates were given a chance to remain anonymous when they reported whether they were sexually assaulted by other inmates or members of the prison staff.

Nevada Corrections Department spokesman Greg Smith said the incidence of rape in the survey is much higher than the number of cases reported to prison officials.

"We cannot tell if inmates are under-reporting to us because of fear or over-reporting to the commission (Justice Department) because they are not identified," he said.

Any sexual misconduct in a prison is a felony crime, and all allegations are investigated by the attorney general's office, he said.

Smith said the department recognizes it must improve its efforts to stop prison rape.

American Civil Liberties Union lawyers said Monday the survey results were troubling because they come at a time when Gov. Jim Gibbons' wants to cut prison spending by $24 million.

They said the cuts could lead to more sexual assaults of inmates and even poorer inmate medical care.

"This occurred before they were talking about budget cuts," said Lee Rowland, an ACLU lawyer in Reno. "The atmosphere that allows this to happen is linked to the lack of staff and resources."

Gibbons late Friday ordered prison spending cut by 4.5 percent because state tax revenues are expected to fall $440 million short of projections by June 30, 2009.

Less than two weeks ago, the ACLU issued a report that accused the Nevada prisons system of failing to provide adequate medical care to inmates at the Ely State Prison. The group also reported female prisoners in North Las Vegas do not receive proper medical care.

Corrections Director Howard Skolnik questioned the report and said the medical care meets constitutional standards, but he agreed to meet with the ACLU.

Maggie McLetchie, who worked on the medical report for the ACLU's National Prison Project, said Skolnik was receptive to their concerns in a Friday teleconference meeting.

"We were encouraged that the NDOC is finally taking some of these issues seriously," she said.