National Prison Rape Elimination Commission - History

History

The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC) was established when President George W. Bush signed the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) on September 4 of that year. The commissioners were appointed in June 2004. The commission was a major component of the PREA legislation and it was given subpoena powers as well as authorization to conduct a broad based study of prison rape in the United States. In 2005 the commission received a federal earmark of US$987,000 to begin the implementation of the mandated provisions of the 2003 law that established the panel.

The panel obtained information from a variety of sources, including a round of public hearings in locations nationwide. The first public hearing was held in Notre Dame, Indiana on March 31, 2005. Hearings continued into at least late 2007 in other locations, including Boston, New Orleans, and San Francisco, where commissioners heard from victims of prison rape as well as federal lawmakers.

After seeking outside input from aforementioned sources and others the commission announced the release of "draft standards for the reduction of prison rape" on May 5, 2008. Following a public comment period the standards were eventually incorporated into the final report.

The panel's original period of existence was until three years after its inception, when it would release its report. The miscellaneous provisions the Second Chance Act of 2007, largely a law designed to help reintegrate criminal offenders into the community, extended the existence of the NPREC from 3 years to 5 years after its inception date. Per the legislation that established the commission NPREC sunsetted sixty days after the report was released, which was August 22, 2009.