Chilling Findings in Report on Prison Sex Abuse

Prisoners don't command much respect. Those who steal, rape and murder make life miserable for the rest of us and should pay for their actions.

But when society puts them away, they must be treated decently, humanely and in accordance with the law.

So a report last week from the Justice Department's inspector general was particularly troubling because it detailed crimes by an unexpected group: federal employees who work in the prisons.

Inspector General Glenn A. Fine calls it "staff sexual abuse of federal inmates." The document paints a disgusting picture of federal employees who have disgraced themselves, shamed their professions and dishonored the federal service.

As my colleague Carrie Johnson reported Friday, the inspector general found that allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct had more than doubled from fiscal year 2001 through 2008.

"These allegations increased at a faster rate than either the growth in the prisoner population or the number of BOP [Bureau of Prisons] staff," the IG's report says. "BOP officials told us they believe this increase is due to the BOP's efforts during this time period to educate and encourage staff and inmates to report abuse."

Fine also was critical of the U.S. Marshals Service, which takes charge of prisoners arrested by all federal agencies and is responsible for their housing and transportation from the time they are taken into custody until they are released or sent to prison.

But the Marshals Service doesn't even have a sexual abuse prevention program, according to Fine: "USMS has not established a zero-tolerance standard for staff sexual abuse . . . and it has not taken action to make the deterrence of staff sexual abuse a management priority."

To their credit, the bureau and the Marshals Service didn't try to duck Fine's conclusions. They agreed with almost every finding. A letter from bureau Director Harley G. Lappin says the agency is "fully committed to a zero-tolerance standard for the incidence of staff sexual abuse." The Marshals Service said it is developing a zero-tolerance policy and will require all employees to complete an online training course.

It is not uncommon for officials to explain away bad news, as the bureau did, with its own efforts to better report it. And any effort to educate employees and encourage better reporting is appreciated as much as it is overdue.

But there's also the possibility that the problem is even worse than the report indicates. The practice of segregating victims and transferring them to another facility for their safety "can reduce their willingness to report and to cooperate in investigations," the inspector general found.

Workers accused of sexual abuse aren't just the guards; in fact, they aren't at the top of the list. Allegations were spread across 15 of 16 occupational categories -- only those in human resources did not make this list of ill repute. Those with the highest rates of allegations were in food services, recreation, education and vocational training.