NCJ Number
79867
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 43 Issue: 5 Dated: (September/October 1981) Pages: 58-60,62-63
Date Published
1981
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Ways in which prison administrators can support and benefit from the natural phenomenon of prisoners' groupings are described and illustrated using the experience of the Waupun Correctional Institution, the maximum security institution for males in Wisconsin.
Abstract
Groups naturally form within prisons with or without administrative approval. Prison administrators can take advantage of groups if they admit the groups' existence; develop a working knowledge based on group dynamics; and make a conscious decision to suppress, ignore, or support inmate groups. Administrators who support groups can both give the inmates some rewards and achieve in return their goals of control, a positive institutional climate, and a management model of inmate participation that works. The participation management model involves the members of the lowest parts of the hierarchy in the organization's decisionmaking process, although the top decisionmaker still makes the final decision. The program at the Waupun facility began after an inmate disturbance in 1976 and the resulting unease between inmates and staff. Although a formalized complaint investigation system existed, the warden felt the need to improve the handling of inmates' day-to-day problems. He decided to implement the process of participatory management by dealing with the only recognized resident groups at the prison: the lifers and members of Alcoholics Anonymous. Word spread so quickly that another group was soon formed. The prison now contains 11 recognized groups. To gain recognition, a group must submit a proposal containing goals and objectives. Each group meets weekly and has a staff member for an advisor. Many of the groups have established business ventures. Semiannual banquets to which family members are invited are a highlight of the year. The staff's initial apprehensions about the program have changed to support. The program provides a way both to maintain control and establish a positive atmosphere in which both inmates and staff have a voice in how they wish to be treated. One footnote and 13 references are provided.