Theories of Prison Violence

1
Theories of Prison Violence

• CJ 365, Summer 2001
• June 14, 2001

2
Models of Prison Misconduct

• Deprivation
• Prison Environment
• Importation
• Individual Characteristics of the Inmate
• Administrative Control
• Management Style

3
Deprivation

• Assumption
• Behavior is a function of the prison environment
• Clemmer the prison environment itself condones
  deviant behavior
• Sykes pains of imprisonment
• Powder Keg -if the pains get to severe you are
  likely to have an explosion by the inmates.
• Variables
• Overcrowding, custody level, time outside of
  cell, visiting patterns, size of the facility
• The evidence linking all these variables is
  unclear
• Overcrowding and custody level have been the most
  consistent predictors

4
Importation

• Assumption Inmates do not come into the prison
  as a blank slate instead they bring in culture
  and expectations into the prison environment
• Irwin pre-prison social experiences dictate how
  one copes with imprisonment
• Jacobs Examined the effects of macro-social
  movements on behavior.
• (civil rights movement)

5
Importation

• Inmate behaviors are a result of cultural
  histories and traits.
• Gang membership
• Variables
• Age, gender, military involvement, prior arrests,
  employment, marital status
• Overall the validity of this model has been
  maintained. This model has low predictive power.

6
Administrative Control

• Assumption Administration Matters
• Administration of the prison plays a role in
  prison disorder over and above individual and
  institutional characteristics.
• DiIulio
• Studied three prisons Texas, California,
  Michigan
• Texas Very control and bureaucratic
• California Human Relations model
• Michigan In between hybrid model

7
Administrative Control

• DiIulio
• Findings
• Prisons with a strict division of labor, detailed
  rules and routines, and a consummate leader at
  the top of the organization will have less
  disorder.
• His models emphasized traditional management
  bars, locks, etc.
• Comment Supermax prisons have prison management
  problems.

8
Administrative Control

• Useem and Kimball
• Administrative Breakdown slow process
• The organizational structure of the prison is in
  some way eroded, security measures break, down,
  prison conditions and services deteriorate, and
  inmate deprivation increases above tolerable
  levels.
• Collective prison misconduct is a result of
  gradual organizational breakdown.

9
Types of Control

• There has been little consensus on the best type
  of control.
• Coercive Control (Stick)
• Physical sanctions solitary confinement, loss
  of privileges
• Remunerative controls (Carrot)
• Incentive - job placement, bingo, weight room,
  educational programming
• Institutions that have been able to balance
  remunerative with coercive controls have had less
  prison misconduct.

10
Discussion Questions

• Do you agree with DiIulio?
• Should we abolish TV?
• Is it in the wardens best interest to have Jerry
  Springer on 24/7?
• Can we abolish prison riots, or are they just the
  nature of the beast?