LAWTON – The Comanche County Facilities Authority has hired an auditor to check the Comanche County Detention Center’s compliance with a federal law aimed at eliminating sexual assaults and misconduct in correctional facilities.
The authority, which is made up of the three Comanche County Commissioners, voted unanimously March 31 to approve a contract with lead auditor Marc L. Coudriet. The county will pay $4,000 for the audit, which is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 8-10.
The audit will focus on the jail’s compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act, a 2003 federal law that mandates zero tolerance for sexual abuse and harassment. The law established the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission and charged it with drafting standards for eliminating prison rape, which were published in the Federal Register in June 2012 and took effect that August, according to the National PREA Resource Center.
The law requires jails to adopt policies for responding to and investigating allegations of sexual assault and harassment, CCDC administrator David Weber said in an April 3 email to a Southwest Ledger reporter. Jails must also educate staffers and inmates about the process, provide annual training and conduct assessments to identify people who may be at risk of either committing abuse or becoming a victim.
“It is very in-depth, and there are 42 standards to comply with,” Weber said.
He said the law requires jails to undergo an audit every three years.
“During our last audit, I was the PREA program manager and we were found in compliance with all of the standards,” Weber said.