This hunger strike was directly related to the 2000 riot followed by recurring violent attacks on inmates. Because of this violence, all of the gang leaders were placed into the Secure Housing Unit, otherwise known as the SHU or Isolation. These gang leaders have remained in the SHU since the riot of 2000. Other prisoners have also been added to this list for their involvement in gang activity, violent acts, and serious rule violations. During these hunger strikes, the prisoners were attempting to get their gang leaders removed from the SHU and placed back into general population.
Lastly, the social labeling theory view is when people are being labeled as criminals, they begin to take on that identity, and end up as criminals (Siegel, 2000). An example of social labeling would be a person goes to prison, serves his/her time and gets out. Due to incarceration, this person is then labeled by society as being deviant. When the person tries to get a job, no one will hire him/her because of that social label. They establish a poor employment record
Gangs in prison There are gangs in every prison and the guards have to keep a look out for them; recruiting new inmates “fresh meat” as the inmates call them. They victimise an inmate to join their gang. Gangs are viewed as a means of survival in a prison starved of any morals, and murder and violence is just normal routine. Many prisons are let off with being the worst prisons in the world due to the upkeep of the prison not through the violence decreasing. Venezuela’s prison La Sabeneta is one of the worst prisons due to that they have one guard to every 150 inmates.
Prison officials are trying to fight back at the leaders, yet there is no good progress. The prison was made to keep the gang members and leaders from continuing such activity of the violence of crime on the streets along with putting some type of scare in them, but the gang members and leaders come to the Pelican Bay State Prison to master their skills. This Pelican Bay State Prison is basically a true war zone, with there being violence in every part of the prison along with leaders making orders for outside
stretching from the leaders of countries all the way down to local security guards. The most common of type of abusive power holders is the police. Cases of police brutality can be traced back to centuries ago. A very well known case would be the beating of Rodney King in witch the 31 year old African-American was killed, due to unnecessary acts of several police officers. Police violence is an unnecessary act carried out all over the world.
Prevention and Mitigation Analysis Theresa L. Redden CJA/560 October 24, 2011 Steven Schneider, Instructor Prevention and Mitigation Analysis Violence and disturbances are not uncommon occurrences in prisons across the United States and probably throughout the world. The prison system is full of individuals who although generally may not have been what society would consider violent people, but at some point in their life, they made a decision to commit one violent act, if not many, that landed them in the penal system. The incident on January 18, 2004 at the Arizona Lewis Prison Complex historically was one of the worst altercations to happen within the walls of a prison in the United States of America. With a lot of idle time
Aryan Brotherhood, Black Guerilla Family, Mexican Mafia, La Nuestra Familia, Texas Syndicate, and Neta Association. These are the six largest prison gangs in the United States of America. Although a few benefits do exist, prison gangs mostly contribute to a threatening and unsafe atmosphere in today’s penitentiary system. There are hundreds of gangs throughout the system, but only a select few that actually have some sort of pull large enough to garner attention. These main gangs are known for a reputation of murder and assault of fellow inmates, many times with their targets being outside prison walls.
Attica Prison Riot Assignment After reading about the riot at Attica Prison I knew that it was a terrible riot where many inmates and guards were injured and over 40 were killed. I pictured the riot as one from a movie or television show where there was an uprising, a short stand still, then the police force ending it in a massacre. What the movie showed me was that this was not a movie or TV show and all the people involved, both inmate and guard, were a part of a civil war. These casualties I read about in the book weren’t just numbers but real people that if treated better could have avoided the riot all together. The Attica Prison is an old maximum security prison located in New York and housed mainly African American (54%) and Hispanic (9%) inmates that grew up in the inner cities and poorer parts of the state.
This theory focuses on the lack of social control, gang activity, disadvantaged neighborhoods and the many conflicting social values as factors that cause people to commit crime. When people are living in a gang infested neighborhood with gang violence, it is tough for them to imagine getting out of that neighborhood. When people become accustomed to a situation, it becomes normal for them to think it is o to live where they are. There is little to no structure or organization in some of these deteriorated neighborhoods and some look forward to this activity in their lives. Conflicting social values contribute to the gangs and gang violence we see in society.
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.