IJIS Institute Working Group Tackles PREA Information Sharing Challenges

Ashburn, VA, June 22, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The IJIS Institute—a nonprofit organization that focuses on mission-critical information sharing for justice, public safety, and homeland security—announces the formation and convening of a new Working Group to address the information sharing challenges that arise from the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). The PREA Working Group (PWG), funded through a grant from the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, held its first meeting in Ashburn, Virginia, on June 10 – 12, 2014.

The PWG’s primary goal is the creation of a consensus-based national PREA Data Standard using the Global Standards Package and leveraging the Global Privacy Technology Framework to address concerns inherent to PREA victimization. The data standard will provide consistent details about the victim, perpetrator, and circumstances surrounding an incident, which will exponentially improve overall information sharing, data analysis, and data quality and inform the need for corrective action by correctional and other confinement administrators. The PREA data standard will use an agency’s existing technology infrastructure and allow individual agencies to decide what, how, and with whom information is shared.

The IJIS Institute’s PWG consists of representative of the American Correctional Association (ACA), the American Jail Association (AJA), the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), the Corrections Technology Association (CTA), the Council of State Governments Justice Center, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC). The PWG is also supported by practitioner advisors from six state corrections agencies and other PREA experts who will help evaluate PWG work products. IJIS Institute members representing industry on the PWG are Fred Roesel from Marquis Software and Bob Slaski from Open Networks.

The IJIS Institute’s executive director, Steve Ambrosini, noted, “This PWG contains a very high caliber of experienced individuals who have volunteered to be part of this important effort. Putting these people on this critical task is going to result is fantastic work in overcoming PREA information sharing obstacles.”