{"data":{"id":"us/28-cfr-115.5","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"28 CFR 115.5","heading":"General definitions.","body":"For purposes of this part, the term—\nAgency means the unit of a State, local, corporate, or nonprofit authority, or of the Department of Justice, with direct responsibility for the operation of any facility that confines inmates, detainees, or residents, including the implementation of policy as set by the governing, corporate, or nonprofit authority.\nAgency head means the principal official of an agency.\nCommunity confinement facility means a community treatment center, halfway house, restitution center, mental health facility, alcohol or drug rehabilitation center, or other community correctional facility (including residential re-entry centers), other than a juvenile facility, in which individuals reside as part of a term of imprisonment or as a condition of pre-trial release or post-release supervision, while participating in gainful employment, employment search efforts, community service, vocational training, treatment, educational programs, or similar facility-approved programs during nonresidential hours.\nContractor means a person who provides services on a recurring basis pursuant to a contractual agreement with the agency.\nDetainee means any person detained in a lockup, regardless of adjudication status.\nDirect staff supervision means that security staff are in the same room with, and within reasonable hearing distance of, the resident or inmate.\nEmployee means a person who works directly for the agency or facility.\nExigent circumstances means any set of temporary and unforeseen circumstances that require immediate action in order to combat a threat to the security or institutional order of a facility.\nFacility means a place, institution, building (or part thereof), set of buildings, structure, or area (whether or not enclosing a building or set of buildings) that is used by an agency for the confinement of individuals.\nFacility head means the principal official of a facility.\nFull compliance means compliance with all material requirements of each standard except for de minimis violations, or discrete and temporary violations during otherwise sustained periods of compliance.\nGender nonconforming means a person whose appearance or manner does not conform to traditional societal gender expectations.\nInmate means any person incarcerated or detained in a prison or jail.\nIntersex means a person whose sexual or reproductive anatomy or chromosomal pattern does not seem to fit typical definitions of male or female. Intersex medical conditions are sometimes referred to as disorders of sex development.\nJail means a confinement facility of a Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency whose primary use is to hold persons pending adjudication of criminal charges, persons committed to confinement after adjudication of criminal charges for sentences of one year or less, or persons adjudicated guilty who are awaiting transfer to a correctional facility.\nJuvenile means any person under the age of 18, unless under adult court supervision and confined or detained in a prison or jail.\nJuvenile facility means a facility primarily used for the confinement of juveniles pursuant to the juvenile justice system or criminal justice system.\nLaw enforcement staff means employees responsible for the supervision and control of detainees in lockups.\nLockup means a facility that contains holding cells, cell blocks, or other secure enclosures that are:\n(1) Under the control of a law enforcement, court, or custodial officer; and\n(2) Primarily used for the temporary confinement of individuals who have recently been arrested, detained, or are being transferred to or from a court, jail, prison, or other agency.\nMedical practitioner means a health professional who, by virtue of education, credentials, and experience, is permitted by law to evaluate and care for patients within the scope of his or her professional practice. A “qualified medical practitioner” refers to such a professional who has also successfully completed specialized training for treating sexual abuse victims.\nMental health practitioner means a mental health professional who, by virtue of education, credentials, and experience, is permitted by law to evaluate and care for patients within the scope of his or her professional practice. A “qualified mental health practitioner” refers to such a professional who has also successfully completed specialized training for treating sexual abuse victims.\nPat-down search means a running of the hands over the clothed body of an inmate, detainee, or resident by an employee to determine whether the individual possesses contraband.\nPrison means an institution under Federal or State jurisdiction whose primary use is for the confinement of individuals convicted of a serious crime, usually in excess of one year in length, or a felony.\nResident means any person confined or detained in a juvenile facility or in a community confinement facility.\nSecure juvenile facility means a juvenile facility in which the movements and activities of individual residents may be restricted or subject to control through the use of physical barriers or intensive staff supervision. A facility that allows residents access to the community to achieve treatment or correctional objectives, such as through educational or employment programs, typically will not be considered to be a secure juvenile facility.\nSecurity staff means employees primarily responsible for the supervision and control of inmates, detainees, or residents in housing units, recreational areas, dining areas, and other program areas of the facility.\nStaff means employees.\nStrip search means a search that requires a person to remove or arrange some or all clothing so as to permit a visual inspection of the person's breasts, buttocks, or genitalia.\nSubstantiated allegation means an allegation that was investigated and determined to have occurred.\nTransgender means a person whose gender identity (i.e., internal sense of feeling male or female) is different from the person's assigned sex at birth.\nUnfounded allegation means an allegation that was investigated and determined not to have occurred.\nUnsubstantiated allegation means an allegation that was investigated and the investigation produced insufficient evidence to make a final determination as to whether or not the event occurred.\nVolunteer means an individual who donates time and effort on a recurring basis to enhance the activities and programs of the agency.\nYouthful inmate means any person under the age of 18 who is under adult court supervision and incarcerated or detained in a prison or jail.\nYouthful detainee means any person under the age of 18 who is under adult court supervision and detained in a lockup.","path":["Title 28—Judicial Administration","CHAPTER I—DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE","PART 115—PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION ACT NATIONAL STANDARDS"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-28.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:25:14Z","sha256":"8e14d4a4672461a74c5f500443eceaf7650f09979b4eaeef145133104a8b35a4","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/28-cfr-106.5","next":"us/28-cfr-115.6"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}