Скачать или смотреть Oregon women's prison report raises red flags; acting director, governor respond

The Oregon Department of Corrections' acting director and Oregon's governor are responding to issues raised in a report on the state's only women's prison, Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.

A Gender Informed Practices Assessment, commissioned by Oregon lawmakers in 2022 and released to the public Aug. 17 found numerous issues including burned-out staff, lack of training, a culture of silence among staff and complaints that women in custody who reported sexual assault were being retaliated against.

"Staff and residents reported that allegations of sexual misconduct (“PREAs”) are leading to punitive and retaliatory responses. For example, residents reported facing various forms of retaliation in the wake of reporting staff sexual misconduct, including mistreatment from staff, being placed in segregation, transferred from minimum to medium, and taken off jobs," the 200-page assessment reads.

Gov. Tina Kotek said during a news conference on Monday that she believes "she inherited" many of the issues "from the previous administration," but said change at CCCF is imminent.

"I will be supportive of the things that the Department of Corrections needs to make sure our women inmates are taken care of," she said.

The acting director of Oregon DOC, Heidi Steward, said the department has already hired an outside consultant to come up with a step-by-step plan on how to address the issues.

"That plan will be immediate action steps that we can take without any resources, and then there will be some strategies that are going to take some time and maybe some resources," she said. "That is when we are going to work really closely with the governor and with legislators to get what we need to be able to implement those recommendations."

The assessment was commissioned by lawmakers in light of national data showing an alarming increase in the rate of incarceration of women.

A 2018 report by the Prison Policy Initiative found that over the past 40 years nationwide, women’s state prison populations grew 834%. That is more than double the pace of growth in men's prison population. According to the Vera Justice Institute, Oregon's incarceration rate for women increased by 1,223% during that same time frame.

"Perhaps the most troubling finding about women’s incarceration is how little progress states have made in curbing its growth -- especially in light of the progress made to reduce men’s prison populations," the Prison Policy Initiative reports reads.

Full report from KATU's Christina Giardinelli: https://katu.com/news/local/oregon-de...
_______________
Stay up to date with our social media:

KATU on Facebook:   / katunews  
KATU on Twitter:   / katunews  
Subscribe to KATU on YouTube:    / @katunews  

Daily News Playlist:    • KATU Daily News Playlist  

For more information, visit https://katu.com/

Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:

Email us: newstips@katu.com
Call the Newsroom: 503.231.4222

KATU is a OR based station and a ABC Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today.

#KATU #news #Portland #oregon #prison