Get tough on sex abuse in prisons

A disturbing new report about sexual abuse in Hawaii’s correctional facilities should force a closer evaluation of how such crimes are handled, and what resources should be brought to bear to address the problem.

In 2015, there were more substantiated cases of staffers sexually abusing inmates than inmates abusing one other, according to the Department of Public Safety’s most recent report to the Legislature. The same held true in 2014.

The number of substantiated incidents may seem small compared to the number of offenders jailed or imprisoned here and on the mainland — roughly 5,700. Of the 31 reported incidents involving staff in 2015, eight were substantiated; of the 33 involving only inmates, the number was four. The previous year, there were five substantiated reports of abuse by staff, three by inmates.

Nonetheless, it’s deeply troubling that such activity happens at all. Not only does DPS maintain a zero-tolerance policy for sexual contact between staff and inmates, such contact is a felony — no matter the circumstances.

Because prison guards and civilian staff wield such broad authority, inmates are considered incapable of giving consent to sexual activity with an officer. That imbalance of power leads criminal justice advocates who work with inmate victims to believe the actual number of sexual assaults and harassment incidents is probably much higher than reported by DPS.

Victimized inmates are easily intimidated into keeping quiet, they say, and the bleak prison environment can encourage such abuses.

An officer can withhold basic amenities or special privileges until an inmate complies with demands for sexual gratification. An inmate may willingly provide sexual favors in exchange for such coveted things as access to makeup, cellphones or drugs. Or the incidents simply can be a way to try to make life in prison a little less desperate, less grim.

“It’s inevitable people are going to want love and affection,” said Myles Breiner, a local attorney who has filed numersous lawsuits against the DPS on behalf of victims of sexual assault in correctional facilities.

“And it comes in different shapes and forms.”

There are no easy or cheap ways to erase this blight from the state’s correctional system.

It helps that state law requires DPS to report on sexual assaults each year, so trends can be identified. It also helps that DPS’s eight correctional facilities are in compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA), which sets standards for the detection, prevention and punishment of sexual abuse and harassment.

But obviously, there’s more to be done. A good reference point is an April 2016 report by the U.S. Justice Department, which compared correctional facilities with good records from those with bad ones and came up with recommendations. Among them:

>> Work closely with community-based organizations to provide services to victims.

>> Improve the quality and professionalism of corrections staff through better pay and working conditions, while setting higher standards for performance and weeding out the bad eggs, including those with a history of sexual misconduct.

>> Aggressively prosecute guards who commit sexual assault or harassment on the job.

>> Replace or upgrade outdated correctional facilities to improve visibility and make them more efficient and easier to supervise.

>> Provide thorough training for inmates on PREA topics and policies, and give them safe, reliable ways to report sexual abuse without fear of retribution.

Hawaii’s prison system shares some of the vulnerabilities of poorly performing facilities highlighted in the Justice Department report, including outdated and crumbling facilities. They will be expensive to fix.

Nonetheless, the work must be pursued. Justice and decency demand it. Moreover, the corrosive effects of these sexual assaults aren’t confined to prisons and jails; eventually, most inmates return to our communities, carrying the effects of incarceration with them.