Sykes argues that institutional aggression is a result of the environment, and that it is occurs within prison institutions because they experience deprivation on a daily basis. These include deprivation of liberty, where the prisoners are deprived of their freedom, deprivation of autonomy, where the prisoners are deprived of their independence by constantly being controlled by officers and loss of security, where many of the prisoners feel insecure of themselves. This is then supported by Sykes who found that the potential threat to personal security increased the anxiety levels in inmates, even if the majority of prisoners were not a threat to them. However, inmates may cope with these struggles in a number of ways, including some prisoners isolating themselves in their cells, whereas others choose to rebel by being violent towards staff. A study supporting the deprivation model was carried out by McCorkle et al who found that overcrowding, lack of privacy and lack of meaningful activities leads to peer violence which shows that the environment and place, could be a significant factor influencing aggression within prisoners.
These inmate subcultures contain distinctive languages and sets of informal norms, attitudes, beliefs, values, statuses, and roles that give prisoners a different perspective from people on the outside, or those of us in “the free world” (law.jrank.org, 2009). It is within these subcultures, that those who kill are respectable people and those who run drugs and partake in gang violence, are of important roles and statuses within the prison society. They have their own set of values known as an inmate code that those who belong to the subculture live by. This code alone depicts prison as a “chaotic, violent, and predatory jungle,” (Krestev, n.d.). Since many of the values held by the inmates of these subcultures, are much different than those held by society, many inmates find themselves attempting to adjust to new norms, rules, and expected patterns of behavior, which in many experiences, includes violent behavior.
Gangs function with the methodology of creating strategic allies that will help them further their own destructive agendas. Prison gangs have been around since the late 50’s and 60’s mainly for the reason of inmate security. Security became an increasing concern as the violence escalated in the prison systems. In reaction, groups became to form largely on the basis of race and creed. You have the Aryan Brotherhood or “AB” which consists almost
The threat of prison gangs Usually prison inmates join these gangs in order to protect themselves from other gangs and also to ensure some form of protection from the harsh conditions in prison. These conditions are usually wide ranging. Prison gangs have had a major impact on prisons in the United States, however, some states are more notorious for prison gangs. These states are as follows: California, Arizona, Texas and Florida. Over the years prison gangs have grown and spread throughout many of the states in the US.
Jennifer Walls Prison Overcrowdings One of the biggest issues facing the American correctional system is prison overcrowdings. Prisons all over the America have become so overcrowded that it’s affecting many. A lot of people think that overcrowded prisons affect the inmates, the guards and the system. Those are many that are affected by the overcrowdings, but this is not all. Little known, overcrowding of prisons affect the American people, our economy and our lives.
Many correctional facilities are operating under hazardous conditions, which include operating past the maxim capacity. According to (Stelloh, 2009). Overcrowding in prison inmate to inmate violence appears to be closely related as well as intolerable living conditions, which contribute too many of problems in prison, which seem to be unconstitutional. The issues of prison overcrowding can be solved in the future by giving judges greater discretion over sentencing and by allowing more prisoners to reduce their sentences through credit for good behavior. The government or the state can built more prisons in order not to have an overcrowded prison.
When these abuses took place at this prison, human rights activists cited human rights abuse. Because of these misfortunes, corrections professionals joined hands with these activists to condemn them in prisons. After the emergence of these events, critics and activists issued a sweeping allegation targeting American
Overcrowding aggravates the natural conflicts that rely within the prison walls which then escalate violence. When working with criminals on an ongoing basis, it may cause corruption to occur with some of the inmates within the institution that ends up allowing drugs and weapons into the facility degrading it’s performance. The internal environment of a prisons primary influence towards management and custody include the following, the inmate social culture, the prisons physical environment, and prison staff culture. Then the external environment interacts with the internal environment that also influences management and custody by the following, the civil service department, which makes the rules for employees, employee organizations, and unions, which represent their members interests, rehabilitation advocates, such as those sponsoring particular behavioral science, educational, or religious interventions inside the prison. Prison environment changes can be in the rational and economic view, in which material rewards controls are provided in the direction people are in need of it.
General Strain Theory “Strain theories state that certain strains or stressors increase the likelihood of crime. These strains lead to negative emotions, such as frustration and anger.” (Agnew& Scheverman, 2010) This theory really focuses on who someone deals with certain stressors happening in their life. If someone is angry will they handle the situation in a calm/ prosocial way or a violent/criminal way? I find this theory interesting because stress plays a role in everyone’s daily life, and I am a strong believer in there being a reason for everyone’s actions. I think that a lot of criminals engage in criminal behavior because they are dealing with some pretty intense stuff and they use crime as a way to handle the situation they are in.
Controlling Police Brutality The police have served an integral part in society as out protectors. Throughout the years, however, scholars as well as we citizens have begun to question the use of force, racism and internal corruption as well as other forms of misconduct by our officers of the law. The excessive use of force by police officers persists because of overwhelming barriers to their accountability. For instance, when police do get in trouble, it is normally a slap on the wrist, a lecture or loss of a vacation day as it stated in the article “Good Cop Bad Cop.” This fact makes it possible for officers who commit these violations to escape punishment and then often repeat their offenses. Every report of abuse is often met with denial or explanation of why the abuse was necessary instead of taking any real action like a suspension or removal of their badge in most cases.