NCJ Number
163749
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 21 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1996) Pages: 1-3
Date Published
1996
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article, which provides an inmate's personal perspective on violence in prison, identifies three phases, or levels, of violence in the penitentiary and suggests how prison policies influence the level of violence in a prison.
Abstract
In the 1980's inmate life was governed by the convict code. There was a shared sense of unity and clear mores that provided a type of rational civilization in prison. There was violence, but it had a logic to it within the context of the inmate code. By the late mid-1980's, inmate-on-inmate violence had reached a plateau, and the focus shifted to inmate/staff conflict, with a series of riots and takeovers occurring. Near the end of the decade, life remained relatively quiet. Movement was more controlled, but the general population still intermingled during work lines. Violence among inmates and between inmates and staff seemed reduced. Killings were rare events, and assaults on guards were not serious. By the turn of the decade, however, the environment had begun to change. Juveniles from harder times and meaner streets arrived in prisons; they typically used violence to settle even minor disputes. These new criminals are engaged in a quest for respect, respect of others and of self. If the system will not provide the socially accepted options of education, training, and community involvement to achieve this respect, then those on the inside will do what they did on the streets when denied opportunities for constructive development.