California
- State Policy: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Operations Manual 62080.14. Title 15, Sections 3269, 3375.2
- Language:
- Inmates who have been diagnosed as transgendered, as documented on the CDCR Form 128-C3, shall be referred to a classification committee for review of all case factors and determination of appropriate institutional placement and housing assignment
- Transgendered inmate-patients will be housed in specific institutions as defined in 62080.14.
- As a response to PREA, California enacted the Sexual Abuse in Detention Elimination Act (“SADEA”) in 2005. In order to prevent the incidents of sexual violence and promote inmate safety, SADEA requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) to establish policies and procedures to address the sexual abuse of inmates. Such policies and procedures include taking into account certain risk factors during inmate classification and housing assignments, such as age, violent offender status, repeat offender status, and history of mental illness. It also provides protection for any inmate that alleges he has been a victim of sexual abuse from retaliation, and requires that prison officials investigate the claim, and provide safe housing to inmates who have experienced repeated abuse. Additionally, staff may not discriminate in their response to inmates who are gay, bisexual, or transgender who experience sexual aggression, or report that they have experienced sexual abuse.
- Policy:
- Transgender California prison inmates would be allowed to have bras, cosmetics and other personal items corresponding to their gender identities under proposed rules file. The state corrections department is seeking the changes in response to a federal lawsuit that earlier led California to become the first state to provide taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgery to an inmate.
Local
Los Angeles
- Policy: Los Angeles Police Department Pre-Arraignment Detention
- Language:
- Separate holding facility will be made available where transgender inmates will be able to receive male and female clothing and special medical treatments like hormones.
- Also see Recommended Model Policies and Standards: For the LA Police Department’s Interactions with Transgender Individuals.
San Diego
- Policy: San Diego County Probation Department Institutional Services, Facility Operations, Sect. 5, Authority: Articles 3, 5, and 10, Sections 1324, 1326, 1350 - 1362, 1411, 1413, 1430 - 31, 1433, 1437, 1480, and 1486, Title 15; Sections 171b, 296 and 298, Penal Code; Sections 207, 300, 602, 625 - 630, 777 and 871.5, Welfare and Institutions Code; Prison Rape Elimination Act
- Language:
- Placement decisions for LGBTQI youth shall occur as soon as possible after intake so the youth is not at risk while awaiting a decision regarding placement.
- All classification and placement decision for confined youth shall be individualized, based on good juvenile correctional practices, and shall prioritize the youth's physical and emotional wellbeing.
- Youth shall not be prohibited from having a roommate based on a youth's actual or perceived sexual orientation.
- If a youth is fearful of rooming with a particular youth, he or she will be provided a different roommate or a single room, if available.
- This assignment will be made in accordance with classification procedures (see Manual Section 5.2 Classification and Segregation), facility safety and security needs and the physical plant lay out. LGBTQI youth shall not be placed in isolation or segregation as a means of keeping them safe from discrimination, harassment, or abuse.
- Transgender youth shall not automatically be housed according to their birth sex. Facility staff shall make housing decisions for transgender youth based on the youth's individualized needs and should prioritize the youth's emotional and physical safety taking into account the youth's perception of where he or she will be most secure, as well as any recommendations from the youth's health care provider.
- Generally, it is most appropriate to house transgender youth based on their gender identity.
- If necessary to ensure their privacy and safety, transgender youth shall be provided a single room, if available.
- 5.4.5.6 Bathrooms and Showers Consistent with the facility's reasonable and necessary security policies, employees shall provide transgender youth with safety and privacy when using the shower and bathroom and when dressing and undressing. Transgender youth shall not be required to shower or undress in front of other youths and shall be permitted to use single occupancy bathroom and showers, if available.
- Placement decisions for LGBTQI youth shall occur as soon as possible after intake so the youth is not at risk while awaiting a decision regarding placement.
- Policy: Model Protocols On The Treatment Of Transgender Persons By San Francisco County Jail
- Language: These protocols are based on research by the National Lawyers Guild and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. These model protocols are intended for the treatment of transgender people by San Francisco County jail personnel and are intended to help jail staff prevent discrimination against transgender inmates by articulating rules that are both respectful of transgender inmates' needs and administrable. The protocols will also bring San Francisco County Jail into compliance with local anti-discrimination laws. These protocols are to be used by jail staff as a supplement to the existing jail protocols in order to protect the rights of transgender inmates.
- Housing: According to California law, a jail must implement a classification plan that includes segregating inmates on the basis of sex. The regulation requiring the classification plan does not define “sex”. At the time of the creation of these protocols, if jail staff determined that an inmate had “male” genitalia, that inmate was assigned to the men’s housing. If the jail staff determined that the inmate did not have “male” genitalia, then the inmate was assigned to the women’s housing.
- Assigning Transgender Inmates to Housing:
- All transgender inmates in San Francisco County jails will be assigned housing based on their gender identity, not their genitalia.
- Housing status will be determined first by referring to the inmate’s official identification (e.g., driver’s license), and the inmate will be housed according to the gender marker if the official identification is consistent with the inmate’s gender presentation.
- If there is no updated or consistent I.D., then jail staff will ask the inmate whether she or he is female or male, and house accordingly. If the transgender inmate identifies as male and has had genital surgery, he will be housed in the male unit.
- For those transgender men who have not had genital surgery, the county will house them in a vulnerable male unit.
- If the transgender inmate identifies as female, she will be housed in the female section. For those transgender women who have not had genital surgery, the county is allowed to house them in a vulnerable female unit.
- If the inmate expresses uncertainty about her or his gender, then that inmate will be evaluated by a social worker or psychologist to determine appropriate housing.
- When assigning the inmate to housing during the intake process, the jail will NOT use a strip search simply to determine genitalia.
- The County jail is not allowed to house any transgender inmate in a unit based solely on the inmate’s birth-identified gender. Likewise, it is against good practice to force a transgender inmate into solitary housing.
- Housing and Vulnerability: An individualized assessment for appropriate housing will be made for each inmate, and reviewed periodically thereafter.
- Intake staff should assess the transgender inmate for potential vulnerability in the general prison population.
- As part of the housing assessment for vulnerability, jail staff will ask the inmate his or her own opinion of his or her vulnerability in the general jail population.
- To solicit this information, the assessing staff member may ask questions such as:
- Have you been attacked before?
- Have you been in jail before? If so, how were you treated by other inmates?
- Do people call you names, intimidate, or harass you?
- Do you think other people might harm you because of the way you look?
- Among whom would you prefer to be housed (males, females, vulnerable unit)?
- Inmates not suited to placement with a vulnerable population: As with all other inmates, a transgender inmate will be assessed for factors that indicate the inmate would be an unusual security risk.
- Protective Custody: A transgender inmate will be housed in Protective Custody or Administrative Confinement ONLY when there is reason to believe the inmate presents a heightened risk to himself or herself or to others, and only for that limited period of time during which the heightened risk exists. Grounds for Protective Custody may also exist if a transgender inmate has been, or fears they will be, vulnerable to victimization in any other housing setting, including shared vulnerable inmate housing.
- To guard against arbitrary confinement, all inmates in Protective Custody have a right to:
- A written statement explaining the reason for the confinement;
- A brief plan for returning the inmate to less restrictive housing;
- Approximate time period for returning the inmate to shared housing units.
- To guard against arbitrary confinement, all inmates in Protective Custody have a right to:
Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department
- Policy: Best Practices Concerning Housing Of LGBTI Inmates (In progress)
- History:
- In August 2012, the Sheriff’s Office implemented a PREA policy and began implementing PREA stipulations.
- In March 2015, the Board approved the creation of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs. In late January 2016, staff members were hired to begin reviewing County policies and services to increase the level of LGBTI cultural competency.
- In fall 2016, the Manager of the Office conducted introductory presentations to Sheriff’s Office Custody Bureau personnel during staff briefings (5:45am/5:45pm), reaching almost 800 custody staff, as a means to set a foundation for any subsequent work with the Sheriff’s Office. Also, the Office of LGBTQ Affairs Manager toured jail facilities including Main Jail North, Main Jail South and the men’s and women’s areas of the Elmwood Complex.
- Language:
- The Programs Unit has a standard LGBTI resource file that is maintained. If necessary, additional research is done in order to provide appropriate resources to address the specific needs of the individual. At times, when an individual resides outside of our county, we provide resources to him/her in the county of residence using internet information or by making a referral to partner agencies.
- When discussing LGBTI classification and housing, the Sheriff’s Office and County Administration recommend that comprehensive policies include sections that address clothing, grooming, make-up, access to commissary items, and medical and mental health services. Additionally, issues of identification, privacy, complaint procedures and staff training may also be included. The Transgender, Gender Variant, Intersex Justice Project, an advocacy organization for TGI inmates, expands on these key areas in their publication Still We Rise, A Resource Packet for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People in Prison.
- The Sheriff’s Office and the Office of LGBTQ Affairs are working to ensure these areas are incorporated into the revised Inmate Rulebook.
“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”
Fyodor Dostoevsky