NCJ Number
182016
Journal
CTM - Corrections Technology & Management Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 2000 Pages: 22-25
Date Published
March 2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes how corrections management copes with prison gangs.
Abstract
Some not familiar with inmate culture believe that a “soft” approach--including providing TV and other forms of entertainment to keep them occupied and contented--is the way to manage inmates and reduce gang problems. This viewpoint ignores the fact that outside life, with many more amenities than any prison could provide, did not prevent inmates from committing crimes that got them sentenced, and that the inmate culture perceives any kindness as weakness. Alternative measures to deal with prison gangs may include: (1) transferring gang members to maximum-security facilities; (2) limiting inmates’ access to money, which often plays an important part in the prison’s underground economy; (3) placing the most violence-prone offenders in special facilities; (4) developing gang intelligence; (5) recruiting informers; and (6) observing inmates’ daily routine activities to build up a pattern of associations between group members. The article describes a proactive approach to developing informers that includes behavior modification to induce inmate cooperation.