Sec. 609. Gender-responsive discipline policies
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/bill/117/hr/7394/ih/section-609·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Director, in consultation with the Director of the Women and Special Populations Branch, the Director of the Health Services Division, and in consultation with experts in correctional standards for gender-responsive sanctions, shall develop gender-responsive policies for discipline, which shall— include a review of the existing Bureau of Prisons’ discipline and sanctions policies to evaluate where policies are not gender-responsive, and to include gender-responsive mission statements and goals and revise all policies and standards to be gender-responsive; ensure that revised policies focus on safety, motivation of incarcerated person behavior, and incarcerated person self-management, including through methods to teach incarcerated persons alternatives to rule violating behaviors before such behaviors are displayed; include an understanding of gender-based peer dynamics and relationships; acknowledge trauma, and how many rule violating behaviors have roots in traumatic experiences; address gender-responsive and trauma-informed approaches with female incarcerated persons; review common incarcerated person violation behavior based on gender, and determine what sanctions and supports are available to respond to the range of common behaviors, based on gender; determine which sanctions can be reduced or eliminated based on research and best practices, and which sanctions can be added to achieve better outcomes with female incarcerated persons, with a focus on sanctions that reinforce motivation and rehabilitation rather than a punitive response; and eliminate the use of extremely punitive sanctions, including shackling and segregated housing, except in circumstances when an incarcerated person presents a severe danger to other staff or incarcerated persons, and create gender-responsive policies for the use of such sanctions.
The Director shall ensure that loss of visitation privileges, including in-person, video, electronic, phone, and physical mail opportunities, is reserved as a sanction in only high and greatest severity level offenses by incarcerated persons. Beginning on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this title, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit a report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives that contains the following information for the previous calendar year:
The number of incarcerated persons who are sanctioned for prohibited acts, disaggregated by race, gender, and age. The number of incarcerated persons who are sanctioned for greatest severity level offenses, high severity level offenses, moderate severity level offenses, low severity level offenses, disaggregated by race, gender, and age. The number of incarcerated persons who lose good conduct time as a sanction, the reason for loss of good conduct time, and the amount of good conduct time lost, disaggregated by race, gender, and age.
The type of sanctions imposed for all greatest level severity offenses, disaggregated by race, gender, and age of the incarcerated person. The type of sanctions imposed for all high level severity offenses, disaggregated by race, gender, and age of the incarcerated person. The type of sanctions imposed for all moderate level severity offenses, disaggregated by race, gender, and age of the incarcerated person. The type of sanctions imposed for all low level severity offenses, disaggregated by race, gender, and age of the incarcerated person.
All sanctions imposed on mentally ill incarcerated persons, disaggregated by race, gender, and age of the incarcerated person.