NCJ Number
179269
Journal
Corrections Management Quarterly Volume: 3 Issue: 4 Dated: Fall 1999 Pages: 30-42
Date Published
1999
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article describes the program established by the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) in December 1996, when it converted Taylorville Correctional Center (TCC) to a prison solely for non-gang members, and summarizes several findings from a 1998 evaluation of the program.
Abstract
The program aimed to create a setting in which inmates who were not affiliated with gangs could do their time without gang pressures or gang influences. The data sources included interviews with 42 personnel and contract staff of the IDOC, staff surveys at the TCC and three minimum-security prisons, information from the IDOC Offender Tracking System, TCC operational indicators related to discipline and good time revocation, agency reports and records, and observations of the inmate selection process at the IDOC Reception and Classification Centers. The population housed at the facility after the gang-free conversion included inmates who generally were older; had more medical conditions and mental problems; and were more articulate, especially about complaints. In addition, the proportion of white inmates, sex offenders, and inmates wanting to enter into programming increased considerably. Many of these changes resulted in subsequent management problems, but the gang-free inmates were quieter, more respectful, and better behaved. The TCC successfully implemented a program that paralleled its institutional mission. However, the needs of inmates involved with gangs have not been addressed; therefore, the IDOC is now considering the inclusion of a safe haven program into its continuum of gang management strategies. Tables, figures, and 14 references