Department of Criminal Justice
California State University - Bakersfield
CRJU 100
Introduction to Criminal Justice
Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali
The Contemporary
Prison
Intro:
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Prison Life: Erving Goffman called it a “total
institution”
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Purpose: order and efficiency
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Gresham Sykes: The Soc of Captives. Argued that
max security is painful because it deprives inmates
from freedom, destructs their psyche, personality
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Described 5 pains of imprisonment: 1) deprivation
of liberty, 2) dep of good and services, 3) dep of
heterosexual relationships (rape), 4) dep of
autonomy (rules and regulations), 5) dep of security
(most disturbing)
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Inmate Subculture: developing “argot” roles
1) Rats (betray inmates) and Center men (will not betray)
2) Gorillas (take good by forces) and Merchants (trades for goods)
3) Wolves (masculine roles), Punks (weaker, forced to engage in
homo acts) and Fags (feminine)…relieving lack of heterosexual
behavior
4) Ball-busters (disobedient to admin), and real men (respected by
other inmates, dignity)
5) Toughs (violence for the sake violence) and Hipsters (talk the talk
but don’t walk the walk)
The above mentioned “argot” roles are ideal type roles created by Sykes
PRISON GANGS:
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Primary focus on the California prison gangs because
they have been the most serious
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Structure primarily based on race
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1) Mexican Mafia 1950s groups of Mexs from LA
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2) La Nuestra Familia: at odds with MM, code of honor,
street recruitment when releases
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3) Black Guerilla Family 1960s: political ideologies,
Marxists views and perspectives
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4) Aryan Brotherhood: white gang members, among most
violent, sometimes join La Nuestra Familia against MM
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH THE GROWING PRISON
GANGS? HOW SHOULD THE AMDIN DEAL WITH THEM?
ETC…
 One
response to prison gangs in California was to
build expensive prisons where inmates were
separated from one another
 Pelican Bay State Prison
 Max-sec in Crescent City, CA
 Sep-silent systems
 Inmates suffer depression, suicidal attempts, etc…
 Escorted to perform certain activities
 Advantages: safety for society, locking dangerous
offenders up
 Applies technology to maintain order, but it’s
expensive to operate, and have long term
psychological consequences
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Prison Riots and Violence:
Frustration and isolations: writing letters, etc…
Collective behavior in prison
What do we as members of soc do when we are
frustrated versus prison inmates
ATTICA PRISON RIOTS 1971:
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Investigated primarily by McKay Commission.
Interviewed guards, inmates, state police, reporters
and former Governor Nelson Rockefeller
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It was in upstate NY 1931
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Many social movements taking place outside of
prison
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Some concerned with civil rights, women’s liberation, family
values. Government being challenged by people
Also inmates felt that incarceration conditions were unjust and
unconstitutional protested
NEW MEXICO STATE PENITENTIARY RIOT 1980
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33 inmates died in a riot at New Mexico State Pen in Santa Fe
12 guards severely beaten/raped
NM riot: inmates had no social cohesion
Some inmates took advantage of other inmates, raped them,
etc…
Today its easier to separate inmates who cause problems. e.g.
some prisons have SORT (special operation response team)
unit similar to SWAT (special weapon and tactics) in LE
WORKING IN PRISON
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Guards, medical techs, admins, secretaries
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Most problematic is correctional officer: Lombardo (scholar
of prison, lists 7 variations of CO job assignments)
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1) Block officers: security, order, feeding inmates, mail
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2) Work detail supervisors: supervising inmate activity
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3) industrial shop and school officers: perform security and
order maintenance functions, supervise inmates engaged in
school act
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Yard officers: most problems with inmates may occur here
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Administrative building assignments: little contact with
inmates, supervise visitations, etc..
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6) wall posts: watching from tower on top to make
sure everything is in order
7) relief officers: fill in for officers who take off,
subs
OVERALL FUNCTIONS OF CO:
1)
Human services: referral agents
2)
Order maintenance: trust and cooperation
3)
Security: inmates in control
4)
Supervision: efficiency and safety
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Courts and the Prison:
Should inmates have legal rights while they are
incarcerated? Controversial because they have
forfeited their rights as citizens
Prior to 1960s courts had a “hand off doctrine”
towards inmates’ rights because
1) confinement was technical matter that judges
were not educationally equipped to consider
2) because of separation of powers, decisions
about prisons considered matter of executive
branch of government not judicial
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3) public did not care about what went on in prison
4) treatment of prisoners was a product of
privileges rather than legal rights
THEN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN 1960s ONWARD:
 people became more aware of their rights
 Inmates allowed to sue for civil rights
th Am: “….no cruel or unusual punishments be
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inflicted”. But what is cruel and unusual
th Am: due process…when inmates are
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segregated, should this concern the courts?
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14th Am equal protection………to help define
inmates’ rights, racial and gender based
discrimination in the prison, religious freedom
PRIVATE PRISONS:
Interest in privatizing prisons began in mid-1970s
and the first modern private prisons opened in early
1980s
U.S. was suffering from gas and oil shortages,
increase in crime rate, economic recession
Therefore government not as popular, inefficient
even in running prisons
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Idea was that private firms can handle prisons
more efficiently
1) corrections corporation of America (CCA)
1983 services
Government cant do anything very well
2003: operated 60 U.S. jails and prisons, 53,000
inmates. Revenues in 2002 $962.8 mil
2) Wackenhut corrections corporation (WCC) 1984
Runs 35 facilities in U.S. and internationally in
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, England
Designs, builds, finances and manages prisons
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Provides immigration and detection services to
U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security and U.S.
Marshalls.
Revenues 2002 $568.6 mil
3) Correctional services corporation (CSC) 1993
Operates 11 adult correctional facilities
18 juv facilities
2002 revenues $160.4 mil
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Arguments for private prisons:
1) money (efficiency)
2) Better employee control (hiring and firing)
3) Flexibility and accountability
Arguments Against:
1) Money: what about inmate welfare v. profit
2) Labor: threaten jobs of public employees
3) Control: weakening parole alternatives, and
control over human beings