Transcript Document

Chapter 11
The Prison
Experience
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
The Prison Experience
 Prison Society
 Norms and Values
 Prison Subculture:
Deprivation or
Importation?
 Adaptive Roles
 The Prison Economy
 Violence in Prison
 Violence and Inmate Characteristics
 Prisoner-Prisoner Violence
 Prisoner-Officer Violence
 Officer-Prisoner Violence
 Decreasing Prison Violence
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“Inmate code”
a
set of rules of conduct that
reflect the values and norms
of the prison social system
and help to define (for
inmates) the image of the
“model” prisoner
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“prisonization”
(Donald Clemmer)
 the
process by which a new
inmate absorbs the customs
of prison society and learns to
adapt to the prison
environment
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“degradation
ceremony”

a conspicuous ritual that is played
out in various stages of the criminal
justice process that is designed to
degrade, dehumanize, & humiliate an
individual. By design or effect, it
informs an inmate/criminal that s/he
is “outside” of & beneath society,
that s/he is no longer regarded as
honest, honorable, trustworthy,
upright, & good.
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
adjusting to prison society
values
roles
inmate
“subculture”
customs
language
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Gresham Sykes’ inmate code
don’t
interfere with
inmate
interests
inmate
code
don’t quarrel
with inmates
don’t trust
the guards
don’t weaken;
be tough
don’t exploit inmates
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
inmate social system:
prison roles
‘right guy’
‘square John’
upholder of
inmate values
non-criminal
self concept
‘punk’
passive
homosexual
basic
inmate
roles
‘hustler’
entrepreneur,
supplies goods
& services
‘rat’
squeals or sells
out to
authorities
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Sexual Violence
 The
Myth: Because state prisons are filled
with predatory, violent offenders who are
deprived of heterosexual relationships,
sexual violence happens with great
regularity.
 The
Reality: In 2005, there were 1,865
allegations of inmate-on-inmate sexual
violence in state prisons holding nearly
1.26 million inmates. Put differently, the
rate of prisoner-prisoner sexual assault is
approximately 1.5 attacks per 1,000
inmates.
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
how inmates “adapt” to prison
“gleaning”
exploit prison programs &
opportunities; try to succeed
doing time”
prison = brief
interruption in
criminal
career; stay
comfortable
adaptive
roles
“jailing”
cut selves off from
outside; develop a
life, power,
influence in prison;
“disorganized criminal”
can’t develop any of the other
three roles; often disabled; cannot
adjust to prison life; develops
emotional disorders
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
major prison gangs
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
prison subculture:
where does it come from?
Indigenous or
Imported?
behavior is a response subculture is
to pains &
“indigenous”
deprivations of
imprisonment
Explanation
Sykes
Irwin &
Cressey
behavior is a
combination of 3
subcultures
 convict
 thief
 straight
Zamble & behavior is a product
Proporino of how different
inmates cope in
prison, based on who
they are
subculture is
“indigenous”
& “imported”
involvement in
subculture
varies
according to
the makeup of
the individual
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Bases of inmate violence
AGE
youth,
machismo,
identity
ATTITUDE
subculture of
violence
key
factors
RACE
convict code,
gangs
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
causes of prison violence
inadequate
supervision by
staff & inmatestaff relations
architectural
design, including
size & condition
main
causes
easy
availability of
deadly
weapons
high level of
tension caused
by close
quarters
housing
dangerous &
nondangerous
inmates together
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
strategies for reducing violence in prison
 improve
classification

separate violence-prone inmates from others


improve surveillance; eliminate ‘blind spots’
use smaller institutions
 create
opportunities for fearful inmates to seek
staff assistance
 increase custody staff size, diversity, training
 redesign facilities
 install grievance mechanisms or ombudsman
 augment rewards system to reduce pains of
imprisonment
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“unit management”
 organizational
tactic for
reducing prison violence by
dividing facilities into a
number of small, selfcontained, semi-autonomous
‘institutions’
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th