NCJ Number
186722
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 62 Issue: 7 Dated: December 2000 Pages: 130-132
Date Published
December 2000
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article considers the question of whether prison cultures generate or exacerbate group bias and hate.
Abstract
The article concludes that all institutions contain some degree of bias and intolerance, as does society at large. While prisons may or may not breed bias and intolerance, they provide an environment and culture in which these attitudes can survive or even grow stronger. The article recommends that principles of acceptance and tolerance be integrated into existing programs and population management practices. The elements of a model policy might include: (1) commitment to an institutional culture of integration and tolerance for group and individual differences; (2) inclusion of that commitment in specific staff training and inmate orientation; (3) screening of inmates at admission to identify and control those who intimidate or recruit others through messages of hate or intolerance; (4) commitment to foster diversity in operational assignments; and (5) a collection of data on hate crimes within prisons. References