NCJ Number
83420
Date Published
1981
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This manual discusses the causes, prevention, and methods of controlling riots and disturbances in correctional institutions, emphasizing organization and training of corrections staff.
Abstract
Overcrowding, inmate idleness, understaffing, severe budget constraints, and other issues endemic to the management of contemporary corrections create potential riot situations. Decisionmakers in crisis situations must use a previously developed, thorough plan that integrates the emergency needs of the particular institution with other criminal justice agencies. The management response plan needs to address preriot and postriot exigencies as well. It is imperative that institutions establish policies on due process, preservation of evidence, evacuation, security, appropriate public and press access, and liaison with other State, local, or Federal agencies for normal times as well as for emergency settings. Above all, the response to a riot must be decent and humane. A riot or disturbance is one form of communication, albeit a dramatic one, resorted to when other forms have failed. Thus, open channels of communication are crucial to a preventive policy. The manual addresses specifics of staffing and training; inmate programming; communications equipment; information gathering and interpretation; facility design and security, interior and exterior; and various types of equipment, weapons, and techniques of riot control. Photographs and 72 references are supplied. Appendixes contain a list of indicators of prison tension, guidelines for hostages, a sample riot and disturbance plan, and American Correctional Association standards related to riots and disturbances in correctional institutions.