Sens. Ossoff, Blackburn Launch Inquiry to Protect Federal Prison Staff from Sexual Assault and Harassment

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Marsha Blackburn are launching a bipartisan inquiry to protect Federal prison staff from sexual assault and harassment.

Today, Sens. Ossoff and Blackburn, Chairman and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Human Rights Subcommittee, launched a bipartisan inquiry with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) into recent reports of inmate-on-staff sexual assault and harassment.

According to a February 2023 report by the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG), 40% of 7,000 BOP surveyed staff stated they had been sexually harassed by an inmate.

As part of their inquiry, the Senators requested that BOP release information about their inmate-on-staff sexual assault and harassment reporting procedures, correctional methods, and staff assistance programs, including statistics and data from FCI Atlanta, formerly USP Atlanta, and Federal prison facilities around the country.

"The DOJ OIG report, as well as personal testimony BOP staff has provided to my office, strongly suggest that BOP's reporting and corrective procedures for inmate-on-staff sexual assault/harassment are inadequate, creating an institutional culture that lacks accountability and endangers BOP employees," the Senators wrote to BOP Director Colette S. Peters.

Sen. Ossoff continues working to strengthen safety in Federal prisons.

In August, Sens. Ossoff and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the bipartisan Female Officers Ballistic Protection Act to ensure women across Federal law enforcement agencies have improved ballistic body armor that keep them safe on the job, including for female BOP officers.

In July, President Biden signed into law Sen. Ossoff's bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act, historic prison reform legislation to overhaul independent oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prison's 122 facilities nationwide.

In April, Sens. Ossoff and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introducedThe Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act to crack down on the smuggling of contraband cellphones into Federal prisons.

This February, Sen. Ossoff pressed BOP Director Peters in a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on the steps she's taking to crack down on the contraband flowing through BOP facilities that threaten public safety, including at FCI Atlanta.

In 2023, Sen. Ossoff and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced the bipartisan Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2023, which would make the BOP Director a U.S. Senate confirmed position.

In December 2022, Sen. Ossoff's bipartisan Prison Camera Reform Act was signed into law, requiring the Federal Bureau of Prisons to upgrade outdated and broken security camera systems, ensuring all facilities have the coverage necessary to protect the safety of incarcerated people and staff.

Click here to read Sens. Ossoff and Blackburn's inquiry.

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