CHAPTER 7
Jail and Prison Inmates
Learning Objectives
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To give you a sense of who are the nation’s jail and prison inmates
To acquaint you with the culture and everyday life of those imprisoned by local, state, and federal
authorities
To give you a framework for understanding the violence found in many correctional institutions,
from the exploitation of individual inmates to prison riots
To provide you with a baseline understanding of the breadth and depth of issues confronting
those who work on a daily basis with prison and jail inmates
Chapter Outline
I.
II.
Characteristics of Jail Inmates
A. Local Jail Inmates
1. Over 38 percent of all local jail inmates are not convicted of a crime
2. Witness or persons of interest may be temporarily confined
3. Mentally ill persons
4. Individuals convicted of misdemeanors
5. Convicted felons awaiting transfer to prison
6. Midyear 2010, the nation’s local jails held an estimated 748,728 inmates
B. Federal Jail Inmates
1. In 2006—BOP (Bureau of Prisons) operated 12 jails
2. Metropolitan correction centers, metropolitan detention centers, and federal detention
centers
3. Held about 13,000 inmates
4. About three-fourths of the inmates were not convicted of any crime
5. Vast majority are male inmates
6. Two-thirds of the inmates were white; just under one-third were black
Characteristics of Prison Inmates
A. State Prisoners
1. In 2010, non-Hispanic blacks accounted for nearly 38 percent of all state prison inmates
2. Non-Hispanic whites made up over 32 percent of the state prison population
3. Disproportionately male (over 93 percent)
4. Private-sector prisons
a. 415 in 2005
b. Housed 128,195 inmates in 2010
c. 94 percent were male
5. Average state inmate is a black male aged 32
6. 57 percent have never been married
7. 26 percent are divorced, separated, or widowed
8. Inmates have on average of 12 years of schooling
9. Over 56 percent report alcohol or drug use in the month of their offense
10. 33 percent were using drugs at the time of their arrest
11. Imprisonment binge—results from an increased incarceration level, crowding, and new
construction
B. Federal Prisoners
1. Less than 40 percent were non-Hispanic blacks
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
III.
About 57 percent were white
About 93 percent were male
Average age—37 years old
26.7 percent were noncitizens
Drug offenses have played a primary role in the population growth from 2000–2012
Factors for the increase in the federal prison population
a. The War on Drugs
b. Nation’s courts began getting tough on drug offenders in the 1980s
c. Violators of the nation’s immigration laws constitute a unique offender group
Jail and Prison Culture
A. Prisonization—the in which inmates adapt the folkways, mores, customs, and culture of the
penitentiary
B. Prisonization is highest among:
1. Inmates with long sentences
2. An unstable personality that was present before incarceration
3. No positive relationships outside prison
4. A readiness and capacity for integration into the inmate subculture
5. Acceptance of the inmate code
6. Living in the same cell or close to others of a like persuasion
7. Participation in gambling and homosexual behavior
C. Characteristics of the Inmate Subculture
1. Subculture—a social group that exhibits unique characteristics, including norms, rules,
and regulations, that distinguish it from, and often place it in conflict with, the larger
society
2. Prison subculture—negative, its animosity is directed equally at the prison staff and free
society
3. Fish—inmates new to prison life; these inmates have a low status and are easily exploited
D. The Inmate Code—attitudinal and behavioral norms of prison subculture
1. Never interfere with the interests of other inmates
2. Don’t lose your head
3. Don’t exploit other inmates
4. Don’t be weak
5. Punish violators quickly and severely
E. Inmate Roles and Adaptive Behaviors
1. Right guys—rare inmates who follow all of the precepts of the code; the most prisonized
of all inmates
2. Con-politicians—inmates with money and influence with both guards and inmates.
3. Outlaws—inmates who rely on force and physical violence to obtain what they want
from other inmates
4. Square Johns—inmates who follow the prison’s official rules, take part in institutional
programming, and ignore all but the snitching provision of the inmate code
5. Doing time—inmates view the prison experience as a break in their careers
6. Jailing—prisoners who do not think about the outside world as home; they usually grew
up in institutions
7. Gleaning—getting as much out of prison as possible
F. Sex and Institutional Life
1. Punks—the more passive participant; experience a low status
2. Wolves—the aggressors who rarely view themselves as homosexuals
3. Sex can be a consensual act, an economic exchange, or a forced act of violence
4. Sex among female inmates is usually voluntary
5. Studs, butches, or pimps take the masculine role
IV.
6. Femmes, broads, or foxes take the feminine role
G. The Origins of Inmates’ Social Organization
1. Deprivation hypothesis—a major function of the inmate subculture’s normative system is
to prevent the internalization of social rejection and its conversion into self-rejection
2. Pains of incarceration—the inmate’s emotional reaction to the loss of: liberty; goods and
services; heterosexual relationships; autonomy; freedom of movement; and security
3. Solidary opposition—inmates attempt to neutralize imprisonment’s emotional
consequences by forming their own community
4. Cultural importation hypotheses—inmates enter prison with values and experiences that
conflict with the culture
H. Prison Culture in the Twenty-first Century
1. The black market has everything from drugs to sex for purchase or barter
2. Racial tension is associated with gang culture and has ties to outside of the prison
3. Violence is committed by inmates and staff
4. The goal for inmates is just to survive
Violence in Correctional Institutions
A. Inmate Violence
1. Physical Violence
a. Jails
i.
In 2008—local jails experienced 960 deaths
ii.
Jailhouse suicide—leading cause of death
iii.
Murders in jails is small
iv.
Fights were numerous among inmates younger than age 25
v.
In 2005—local jails reported 1,700 allegations of sexual violence
vi.
Jail inmates assault staff
b. Prisons
i.
In 2009—prisons reported 3,408 inmate deaths
ii.
Prison deaths—nearly 88 percent from illness
iii.
In 2000—34,000 assaults on inmates reported
2. Psychological Victimization—the threat of physical harm
a. Inmates are often terrorized by other inmates
b. Many inmates live in fear of other inmates
c. Some inmates request segregation
d. Others inmates lock themselves in their cells
e. Some inmates are hermits to protect themselves
f. Crowding is a contributing factor to victimization
3. Economic Exploitation—another form of violence against inmates on inmates
c. Legitimate inmate economy—the facility’s store, commissary, or canteen
d. Sub rosa inmate economy—an underground marketplace that exists outside the
legitimate inmate economy
B. Riots and Other Disturbances
1. Prison riot—a collective attempt by the inmates to overtake the prison
2. A History of Contemporary Prison Riots
a. 1946—takeover of Alcatraz, called the Rock
b. 1971—Attica Prison
c. 1980—Penitentiary of New Mexico
3. Explaining Prison Riots
d. Frustration riots
e. Race riots
f. Political riots
g. Rage riots
V.
Inmate Issues
A. Prison Gangs—cliques and informal groups organized principally or even exclusively on racial or
ethnic lines
B. Security threat groups—gangs found in 40 state systems and the District of Columbia and in the
US Bureau of Prisons
C. The Threat to Prison Safety and Security
1. Prison gangs create problems for prison authorities
2. Gangs are the source of much prison violence
3. Riots and other disturbances often create a power vacuum that new gangs are too ready to
fill
4. Building tenders—inmates tacitly acknowledged by prison administers to have informal
social control of a given inmate area
D. Responding to Prison Gangs
1. Close-custody unit—a form of administrative segregation
2. Prison classification system to break up gangs
3. Unit management approach—helps break up existing ties based on race, ethnicity, or
gangs
4. Create gang-free facilities (GFFs)
E. Jailhouse Suicide
1. Refers to suicides occurring in jails and prison
2. Jails—often by hanging; second leading cause of death, after illnesses
3. Prisons—most (over 52 percent) occurred after 23 months of confinement
Key Terms
building tenders—inmates who were tacitly acknowledged by prison administrators to have informal
social control of a given inmate area
close-custody unit—a form of administrative segregation
con-politicians—inmates with money and influence: through skill and manipulation, with enough money
to pay they obtain goods or services
cultural importation hypothesis—inmates enter prison with values and experiences that rival others within
the prison
deprivation hypothesis—a major function of the inmate subculture’s normative system is to prevent the
internalization of social rejection and its conversion into self-rejection
doing time—inmates who view the prison experience as a short break in their criminal career
drug offenses—clearly played a primary role in the overall growth of the prison population during the
period from 2000 to 2010
economic exploitation –inmates are taken advantage of within prisons and jails because of the
monopolistic prices they must pay for goods and services in the inmate sub rosa economy
fish—inmates new to prison life
frustration riots—during the 1940s and 1950s, dozens of prisons in the nation experienced these types of
riots between a unified inmate subculture and prison authorities
gleaning—inmates who adapt to prison life by getting as much out of prison as possible through programs
and self-improvement
imprisonment binge –due to increased incarceration levels, crowding, and new construction
inmate code—attitudinal and behavioral norms of prison subculture
jailing—inmates who adapts to prison life by not thinking of the world outside as home
legitimate inmate economy—the facilities store, commissary, or canteen
outlaws—inmates who rely on force and physical violence to obtain what they want from other inmates
pains of imprisonment—term used to describe the inmate’s emotional reaction to the loss of: liberty;
goods and services; heterosexual relationships; autonomy; freedom of movement; and security
political riot—a riot where inmates make demands submitted to prison officials
prison gangs—not a part of the traditional prison culture; cliques and informal groups organized
principally or even exclusively on racial or ethnic lines
prison riot—a group attempt by inmates to take over part or all of the prison
prison subculture—the negative, animosity directed equally at the prison staff and at the free society
prisonization—the mechanism through which one becomes a member of that subculture—prison inmates
adapt to the general culture of the penitentiary
psychological victimization—the threat of physical harm
punks—inmates who passively participate in homosexuality in prison or jail
race riots—apolitical racial conflict was a crucial factor in these types riots
rage riots—often spontaneous, an expression of real or perceived inmate frustration with mistreatment
right guys—those rare inmates who follow all of the precepts of the code; the most prisonized of all
prison or jail residents
security threat groups—prison gangs are found in 40 state prison systems, the District of Columbia and in
the US Bureau of Prisons;
solidary opposition—the inmate’s collective response to the pains of imprisonment
Square Johns—inmates who follow the prison’s official rules, take part in institutional programming and
generally ignore the inmate code apart from the snitching provision
sub rosa inmate economy—an underground marketplace that exists outside the legitimate inmate
economy
unit management—to create small, semiautonomous self-contained institutions of approximately 50 to
100 inmates to break up existing ties based on race, ethnicity, or gangs
wolves—the aggressor of sex in prisons or jails who does not view themselves as homosexual
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we explored the residents of the nation’s prisons and jails. What we have learned is that
these populations are heavily minority in composition. Today’s inmate shares much in common with his
or her predecessor of 25, 50, or even 100 years ago because many of the challenges—deprivations—they
face have not changed; however, in other important ways, prisoners are changing to meet a new prison
world. Key points of interest to consider in this chapter are as follows:
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Prisoners today face many of the same pains of imprisonment and deprivations that confronted
those confined in jails and prisons 50, 75, even 200 years ago.
What is different about jails and prisons today is that the populations are far less cohesive than
they were just 30 years ago.
Although the demise of inmate solidarity can be good from an administrative perspective, for
example, there is less organized inmate resistance to prison rules and regulations, it can also have
less positive effects.
Inmates have become far less predictable: the instances of their responding to real or imagined
insults with violence have increased dramatically.
The strict enforcement of restrictive and sometimes meaningless rules that define what inmates
can and cannot do to embellish their living spaces has led to a prison environment that is more
drab and monotonous than ever.
Never a pleasant living environment, current conditions in the nation’s jails and prisons may be
worse than they were in the 1950s, largely because of what has been described as an
imprisonment binge.
References
Clemmer, Donald. 1940/1958. The prison community. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Clemmer, Donald. 1951. Observations on imprisonment as a source of criminality. Journal of Criminal
Law and Criminology 41: 311–19.
Kerbs, John J., and Jennifer M. Jolley. 2007. Inmate-on-inmate victimization among older male prisoners.
Crime and Delinquency 53: 187–218.
Pollock, Joycelyn. 2004. Prisons and prison life: Costs and consequences. Los Angeles: Roxbury.
Discussion Topics
1. Who is the typical local jail inmate? What distinguishes this individual from those incarcerated in
state prisons? In federal prisons?
2. What are the characteristics of the inmate code? What does the inmate code represent? What are
the repercussions of violating the inmate code?
3. What are the various types of violence in correctional institutions? Is violence committed more
against staff or inmates and by whom?
Web Activities
1. Go to the YouTube Video: VIDEO from US prison shows inmate held down, pepper sprayed at close
range
Write an essay about whether you think this is appropriate treatment of an inmate or torture. Does this
violate the rights of the inmate?
2. Read the publication: Jail Inmates at Midyear 2012 – Statistical Tables
Generate a class or online discussion as to what the statistics mean regarding the nation’s jails.
3. Read the article: Educating Juveniles in Adult Jails: A Program Guide
Write a reflection paper concerning the use of Adult Jails for Juvenile Offenders. Should these offenders
continue their education while being incarcerated?