Chapter 8 The Prison Experience: Males 1

Entering Prison  Total Institution – control over all aspects  No-frill policies  Initial orientation and Classification – assessing risk and inmates needs External classification: risk Internal classification : housing and programs Evaluation of classification 2

Entering Prison  Advantages of Classification: Reduces institutional tension Improves safety for staff and inmates Avoids placing inmates in more secure and expensive environment than they need Contains gang activity Improves access to services for inmates with special needs

The Difficulties of Adjustment  Inmates go through a variety of attitude and behavior changes  Initial treatment may seem harsh and inhuman  Learning to survive  Depression and coping skills 4

The Big House Era  Large fortress like prisons dominated corrections in the early part of the twentieth century  Old “cons” informed new prisoners that the guards were in control  Convicts developed their own social roles, informal codes of behaviors, and language. The inmate code of behavior dominated the inmate culture The process of learning and internalizing the code is termed prisonization 5

The Big House Era  Sykes’ typology of inmate social roles: Rats and center men Gorillas and merchants Wolves, punks, and fags Real men Toughs Hipsters

Inmate Social Code  Don’t interfere with inmate interests  Never rat on a con  Do your own time  Don’t exploit fellow inmates  Be tough, be a man, never back down from a fight  Don’t trust the “hacks” or the things they stand for

Prisonization  The term, coined by Donald Clemmer, marks the inmate giving up his or her identity and became dependent on the system Deprivation model Importation model Situational model Administrative control model  Unique language or argot in prison 8

Contemporary Male Prison Culture  Near the end of the twentieth century, prison culture took on new structure, language, and mores  Prison Gang Structures Also called security threat groups, they exist in at least forty states and the federal system; often the dominant force in inmate life Origins in the 1960s and 1970s Usually specialize in economic victimization High levels of violence when gangs are in conflict with one another 9

Contemporary Male Prison Culture  Changing racial patterns By the 1990’s prisons were more racially polarized than ever before Today, much attention is being paid to the racial integration of inmates  Prison contraband Any unauthorized item possessed by an inmate Introduction by visitors or staff 10

Sex in Prison  Typically occurs in three contexts Consensual sex Coercive sexual behavior Sex for hire  The violence and brutality of inmates toward other inmates is expressed in sexual victimization 11

Sex in Prison  The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) established three new programs: A program to collect national prison rape data A program dedicated to the dissemination of information and procedures for combating prison rape A program to assist in funding state programs

Expressions of Prison Violence  Riots and other major disturbances  The two most well known riots are Attica (1971) and the riot at the New Mexico State Penitentiary in Santa Fe (1980)  Riots require inmate solidarity  Riots can be spontaneous or planned 13

Expressions of Prison Violence  Inmate assaults on staff  Themes include: Officer’s command Protest Search Inmate’s fighting Movement Contraband

Expressions of Prison Violence  Inmates versus inmates Homemade weapons  Staff assaults on inmates Most violence occurs in high-security units  Self-inflicted violence: Prison suicide The prison environment, marked by isolation and deprivation leads to increased risk

Expressions of Prison Violence  What Causes Individual violence? A history of prior violence Psychological factors Prison conditions Lack of dispute-resolution mechanisms Basic survival

Expressions of Prison Violence  What Causes Collective Violence? Inmate-Balance Theory Administrative-Control Theory Overcrowding

Guarding the Prison  Correctional Officer Duties: Housing Unit Officers Work Detail Supervisors Industrial Shop and School Officers Yard Officers Perimeter Security Officers 18

Guarding the Prison  Changing role of correctional officer  Conflicting goals and expectations  Female officer in male prisons  Officers’ response to problems on the job  Job enrichment: A challenge for administrators