S-307 — Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

Workers & JobsCriminal Justice & Due ProcessTransparency & Accountability

Prison workers would get national rules on inmate sexual assault — plus a watchdog count of how often it happens.

Workers & Jobs

Safety rules for federal prison workers — national standards required

The Attorney General would have to set national standards for preventing and cutting down sexual assault and harassment of prison staff by inmates. There are no such national rules today.

Criminal Justice & Due Process

Punishments for inmates who assault staff — national standards set

The same national standards would cover how inmates are punished for these acts. The watchdog would first study what punishments prisons hand out now, using five years of records.

Transparency & Accountability

Watchdog review of assaults on prison staff — four years of data

The Justice Department watchdog would collect and analyze incident numbers from 2022 through 2025, then report to Congress and the Attorney General on whether the Bureau is doing enough.

Explanation owed to Congress if the deadline slips — 90 days

The Bureau has not carried out the watchdog's 2023 recommendations. If it still has not done so 90 days after this became law, it would owe Congress an explanation and a schedule.

More about this bill

If you work in a federal prison, new national rules would cover sexual assault and harassment of staff by inmates. A 2023 watchdog report found the problem is common and poorly tracked. The Bureau of Prisons would get 90 days to carry out that report's fixes. If it missed the deadline, it would have to tell Congress why, and give a date. The watchdog would then pull four years of case data and study it. That study would cover how such cases get punished now. The new rules would follow within a year.

Congressional Summary

Prison Staff Safety Enhancement ActThis bill establishes requirements for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and component agencies to assess and respond to incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault by incarcerated individuals against Bureau of Prisons (BOP) staff.Specifically, the bill requires DOJ to adopt national standards for the prevention, reduction, and punishment of sexual harassment and sexual assault by incarcerated individuals against correctional officers or other employees of the BOP.Additionally, the bill requires the BOP to fully implement the recommendations of the DOJ Inspector General contained in the report titled Evaluation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Efforts to Address Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Committed by Inmates Toward Staff.

Legislative Subjects

Administrative law and regulatory proceduresAssault and harassment offensesCongressional oversightCorrectional facilities and imprisonmentData collection, sharing, protectionDepartment of JusticeGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel managementGovernment studies and investigationsSex offenses

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: Senate
Status: summarized
Action: Held at the desk.
Action Date: 2025-05-05
Date Added: 2026-08-26
Source: Congress.gov →

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