Inmate Rights - Corrections Curriculum PDF

Unit 2 Legal Lesson 3 Inmate Rights Lesson Goal You will be able to respect and protect inmates through your actions. Think About This Many people believe that once a person has been sentenced to prison or jail, the person loses all rights. This is not the case; inmates do retain some rights....

Unit 2 Legal Lesson 3 Inmate Rights Lesson Goal You will be able to respect and protect inmates through your actions. Think About This Many people believe that once a person has been sentenced to prison or jail, the person loses all rights. This is not the case; inmates do retain some rights. If these rights are violated, it could cause harm to the inmates and staff, as well as open up the facility and governing body to lawsuits. For these reasons, you should understand which rights inmates have and how you can help protect those rights, while continuing to ensure the safety and security of the facility. Rights Retained by Inmates ✅ CO123.1. Know which rights inmates retain within a facility Inmates retain certain rights; however, in the correctional setting, inmates’ rights are restricted because of the need for safety and security of the facility. Some of the retained rights include freedom from excessive punishments; access to courts; legal counsel, including help from other inmates in preparation of writs, petitions, and other legal papers; and access to an adequate law library. Inmates also have the right to freedom of expression, freedom from overcrowded condi- tions, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, and freedom to worship and exercise religious beliefs. In addition, inmates have the right to exercise and fresh air; adequate medical treatment; correspondence through sending and receiving mail, including correspondence with the courts; and food that meets minimum nutritional standards. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets privacy standards that make it a violation to knowingly disclose the protected health information of inmates and detainees. Correctional officers and staff who knowingly violate this HIPAA restriction may be fined, impris- oned, or administratively disciplined. ✅ CO123.2. Understand how the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act operate in a correctional setting HIPAA requires that a correctional institution reasonably safeguard an inmate’s health informa- tion to limit incidental uses or disclosures, unless there is a health, safety, or security need. See s. 456.057, F.S. Chapter 1 Introduction to Corrections / 25 Inmate health information is confidential and may be shared only with people who have a need and right to know. You are prohibited from asking for inmate health information unless it is pertinent to your job or necessary to protect yourself or others or to assign work. For example, if an inmate has a contagious disease, such as tuberculosis, a transport officer needs to know so the officer can get the right personal protective equipment and take extra precautions. An inmate with diabetes may need a special meal and possibly a snack during work detail. The health information that is disclosed to an officer will be limited to a particular incident or health and safety issue. You will not be given complete inmate health information; however, relevant infor- mation for precautionary measures will be available. For example, a correctional officer injured after a fight with an inmate can receive information regarding the inmate’s bloodborne pathogens or transmittable disease status. The officer can be told if the inmate has HIV, hepatitis, or other communicable diseases. However, the officer will not know if the inmate has high blood pressure. Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) ✅ CO123.3. Know how PREA relates to your duties Congress enacted the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) to address the problem of sexual abuse of people in the custody of U.S. federal, state, or local correctional agencies; it was created to develop and implement national standards for the detection, prevention, reduction, and punish- ment of prison rape. The purpose of PREA is to make rape prevention and awareness in a correc- tional setting a top priority. There is a zero-tolerance standard for the incidence of rape in correctional facilities. PREA estab- lishes policy or procedures for increasing the accountability of officials who fail to detect, prevent, reduce, and punish prison rape and protects the Eighth Amendment rights of federal, state, and local prisoners. The increase of available data and information on the incidence of prison rape as a result of PREA improves the management and administration of correctional facilities. L Treat all allegations of prison rape seriously and take appropriate action when a com- plaint is made. Privileged Communication Although there is no expectation of privacy in a correctional facility, some relationships are considered protected, such as between an inmate and an attorney. This is considered privileged communication. ✅ CO123.4. Understand inmates’ rights to privileged communication Inmates maintain the right to certain confidential or privileged communication. The attorney-client privilege is based on the inmate’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Attorney-client phone conver- 26 / Florida Basic Recruit Training Program (CO): Volume 1 sations may not be recorded, visits do not have to conform to normal visiting hours, and visits may be within the sight of the officer but out of hearing. Other types of communication generally considered privileged outside of a correctional facility may have a diminished expectation of privacy and may be recorded for safety and security concerns in a correctional setting. Chapter 1 Introduction to Corrections / 27