Existing law establishes the state prisons, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Existing law requires the department, when establishing inmate classifications and housing assignment procedures, to take into account risk factors that can lead to inmates and wards becoming the target of sexual victimization.

This bill would prohibit male correctional officers from conducting a pat down search of a female inmate unless the prisoner presents a risk of immediate harm to herself or others or risk of escape and there is not a female correctional officer available to conduct the search. The bill would also prohibit a male correctional officer from entering an area of the institution where female inmates may be in a state of undress, or from being in an area where they can view female inmates in a state of undress, unless an inmate in the area presents a risk of immediate harm to herself or others or if there is a medical emergency in the area and there is not a female correctional officer who can resolve the situation in a safe and timely manner without his assistance. The bill would require staff of the opposite sex to announce their presence when entering a housing unit. The bill would require documentation of a male correctional officer conducting a pat down search or entering a prohibited area within 3 days of the incident and would require that the documentation to be reviewed by the warden and retained.