ShareThisWASHINGTON - More than 88,000 inmates in the nation's prisons and jails have reported being sexually victimized by another inmate or corrections staff member during 2008-09, according to a new study by the Department of Justice.
The survey of 463 local, state and federal corrections facilities nationwide found about 4 percent of prison inmates and 3 percent of those in jails said they had been the victim of at least one incident of sexual misconduct.
White or mixed-race inmates were victimized the most by other inmates, as were those with college degrees. Staff misconduct was also more prevalent against better-educated inmates. Female prisoners were more than twice as likely as males to report sexual victimization by another inmate.
Overall, the use or threat of force was reported to be generally low, occurring in only about 1 percent of incidents, the study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics said.
U.S. combat operations in Iraq may officially be over, but the 50,000 American troops still deployed there will not take a pay hit. The Defense Department says those serving in "Operation New Dawn," as the new phase has been dubbed, will continue to get combat pay.
Those deployed to Iraq will receive the full menu of special remuneration: hostile-fire/imminent-danger pay, hardship-duty pay, extra bucks for incidental expenses and, for some, family-separation allowances.
Added bonus: the pay is tax-exempt for enlisted service members and warrant officers. In all, some troops can pocket an extra $680 a month.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, a little-noticed federal agency, and the nonprofit group MyGoodDeed are pulling out the stops to turn the 10th anniversary of 9/11 next year into the biggest day of volunteering in U.S. history.
In April 2009, President Barack Obama proclaimed every Sept. 11 to be a National Day of Service and Remembrance, when Americans are encouraged to volunteer and do good deeds as a way to pay tribute to those who died or were injured, and to remember how the nation came together in the aftermath of the terror attacks.
For 9/11/11, the goal is to engage as many as 100,000 organizations -- nonprofits, faith-based groups, businesses -- in sponsoring service projects in towns and cities nationwide, the agency said.
Older Americans are filing for bankruptcy at a rate that may alarm public-policy planners and others.
A recent study by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which keeps track of trends in federal bankruptcy court filings, found that the percentage of filers aged 55 and over soared 61 percent between 2002 and 2007 -- before the collapse of the housing market and recession kicked in.
In 2007, baby boomers -- those born between 1946 and 1964 -- accounted for nearly half of all bankruptcy filers. That indicates a possible financial crisis ahead for these aging Americans as they approach retirement, the researchers said in their study, published in the September issue of the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal.
(E-mail Lisa Hoffman at hoffmanl(at)shns.com. For more columns, go to www.scrippsnews.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Washington Calling
