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- National Inmate Survey (NIS) - Prisons: Full Survey Respondents, [United States], 2011-2012
National Inmate Survey (NIS) - Prisons: Full Survey Respondents, [United States], 2011-2012
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The National Inmate Survey (NIS) is part of the Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) National Prison Rape Statistics Program, which gathers mandated data on the incidence and prevalence of sexual assault in correctional facilities under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA; P.L. 108- 79). Inmates are randomly assigned to receive either a survey of sexual victimization or a survey of criminal history, facility climate, and mental health. About 90 percent of the respondents completed modules through the survey of sexual victimization while the other 10 percent completed modules through the alternative survey. However, the data in this study focuses primarily upon criminal history, facility climate, and mental health. No respondent answered questions about sexual victimization.
Detailed Methodology
Between February 2011 and March 2012, 233 state and federal prisons were randomly selected across the nation. Of these 233 total facilities there were 164 state male facilities, 41 state female facilities, 21 federal male facilities, and 7 federal female facilities. A total of 73,873 inmates were selected during data collection. A total of 43,156 inmates ended up participating in the survey. Of that total, 41,822 completed the modules for criminal history, facility climate, and mental health. About 90 percent of the respondents completed the modules through the sexual victimization survey while the other 10 percent completed the same modules through the alternative survey. Please refer to the codebook for details about the study sampling provided by the Principal Investigator.