Society of Captives: The Defects of Total Power (From Criminal Justice System: Politics and Policies, Seventh Edition, P 420-434, 1998, George F. Cole and Marc G. Gertz, eds. -- See NCJ-185991)

• NCJ Number: 186010
• Author(s): Gresham M. Sykes
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Wadsworth Publishing Co
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Collected Work
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Selection from Gresham M. Sykes, The Society of Captives: A Study of a Maximum Security Prison (Princeton University Press, 1971), pp. 40--first 2 paragraphs p. 53. Also Crime and Society (New York: Random House, 1956).

Annotation

In theory, prisons are organized in an authoritarian manner; although many people believe there should be no question about how prisons are run because correctional officers have a monopoly on the legal means of enforcing rules, in reality the relationship between correctional officers and inmates is based on a more fragile foundation and there are limitations on the ability of correctional officers to use total power.

Abstract

The author examines forces undermining the power position of correctional officers in New Jersey's prison system and finds the power of correctional officers is not based on authority. He indicates power based on authority is actually a complex social relationship in which an individual or a group of individuals is recognized as having the right to issue commands and those who receive these commands feel compelled to obey by a sense of duty. In the prison setting, however, a sense of duty to obey commands is lacking in the general inmate population and the use of force by correctional officers may not be effective in securing obedience. In particular, punishments that correctional officers can inflict do not represent a major difference from the usual status of inmates. Moreover, the system of rewards and punishments in the prison setting is not effective because the reward side has largely been stripped away. Therefore, correctional officers in New Jersey's prison system are considerably weakened in their attempts to impose their authority on the captive inmate population. Facing demands from superiors that they achieve compliance yet stalemated by inmates, correctional officers find one of the most meaningful rewards they can offer is to ignore certain offenses. Explanations for the difficulties faced by correctional officers in imposing their regime on inmates are offered, with emphasis on the importance of understanding such significant aspects of inmate behavior as coercion of fellow prisoners, fraud, gambling, and homosexuality. 3 notes