John Oseguera
CJ 1010
May 1, 2014
Correctional Institution Violence
Law enforcement uses many resources to solve crimes, reduce criminal activity
and help keep the public safe. Some of these resources are attorneys, correction officers,
police officers, the community, etc. The final destination for most criminals that have
been sentenced will find themselves in a rehabilitation clinic or a correctional institution
otherwise known as a prison.
Lawful citizens live their lives very carefully. They have families to worry about
feeding, a job to keep, a mortgage payment on a nice home to keep their families
protected. Their only worry is to make sure that their children get a good education and
raise their children in a good way to respect others. They wake up every morning with a
goal set in mind and that goal is to make sure their families are safe and making sure
everything is right in order to keep their jobs and be able to provide.
However, when it comes to inmates who are inside the prison system, they do not
think like a lawful citizen would. Their mindset consists of what do I need to do to
survive? Do I need to join a gang so that I have protection and that could prevent me
from being harmed? Do I need to hide and hope someone does not want to physically
assault me? Do I beat someone up hoping that maybe that will intimidate the other
inmates? Should I sleep with one eye open, hoping that my cellmate wont attempt to kill
me in my sleep?
Violence is everywhere. It could be in your backyard, it could be in your schools,
it could potentially be anywhere. However, in prisons violence could be used for multiple
reasons including: a possible debt that is owed to a certain individual or a group, a threat
amongst a friend, family member, or gang, not following through on a assignment that
might have been passed on by a fellow inmate, or a fellow gang member may want to
assault or kill you because you are a rival gang member. According to Morgan, “the
prison gang will usually operate in secrecy and has as its goals to conduct gang activities
by controlling their prison environment through intimidation and violence direct towards
non-members.” (Morgan 64).
Inside a correctional institution, violence can happen for any reason. A large
factor of violence in prison is gangs. Gangs look for control, power, economic reasons
and psychological reasons to control the atmosphere of a prison. Gang members are held
to a different standard than inmates that are not involved with gangs; gang members must
earn their membership within the gang, meaning, the gang may need you to bring drugs
into the prison, the gang may ask you to pretend you are sick so that you are transported
to another area of the prison to attack or kill another inmate, the gang or the leader of the
gang may even ask you to get sexually involve with a officer, inmate, or fellow gang
member regardless of the gender.
Most gangs have a goal in mind when they give a fellow gang member an
assignment, violence may be needed to send a message to staff, rival gang members or
just regular inmates. There is normally a reason behind this aggression.
I have
personally witnessed inmates use aggression and violence on staff because they may have
felt disrespected by something staff may have said or done. Witnessing this type of
behavior personally showed me that even if a gang member or inmate is in prison, they
are still human and deserve respect like anyone else.
In most correctional institutions, segregation from other inmates is needed due to
violence or fear. Some of the most violent inmates will be placed in an area called Max or
Supermax. It is a location where inmates that are violent and/or extremely disruptive are
housed. Protective custody inmates that fear for their safety in the general population
areas of a correctional institution can or will be housed in Supermax as well.
“The crux of the supermax facility is the reduction in violence within the
correctional facility from violent and predatory inmates. A criticism of the
supermax facility is that it does not stop gang activity, predatory behavior, or
violence. Conversely, the supermax facility is not designed to stop system wide
disorder, but to take the worst of the worst offenders in jails and prisons and
selectively incapacitate or segregate them. A peripheral benefit is the general
deterrence to the general inmate population to the consequences of the violent
behavior.” (Morgan 66).
In my research, I have found that besides gangs membership, there are other
factors that bring out violence within correctional institutions. Some of them being age,
overcrowding, race and medications. Facilities may lack proper care and proper security
to protect inmates or staff from potential threats. When inmates are not given proper
resources such as trade schools, fitness programs and organized activities; they become
dormant and this results in poor or illogical behavior. According to Morgan, “the
institution must make accommodation for crowding, such as an increased use of inmate
grievance procedures, and increase in staffing, and tighter institutional controls.”
(Morgan 65).
For example, in California there have been a significant rise in aggressive and
violent behavior in county jails and statewide prisons. Inmates are being forced to sleep
in close proximity and share things they are not accustomed to and the lack of proper
housing/space has led to tensions being high. Tartado and Levy stated that, “eighty-four
percent of the respondents agreed with the statement that jail crowding resulted in
increased acts of violence between inmates; eighty-one percent agreed that it contributed
to violence between inmates and staff.” (Tartaro and Levy 12).
In addition to overcrowding, age is another contributor to violence in prisons.
Younger inmates feel that they need to prove themselves to avoid appearing weak or
being used for sexual acts, bringing in or taking out contraband, and being force into
activities they do no want to participate in. Statistically, younger inmates will show more
aggressive behavior so that they will appear to not be weak, and so they are not viewed as
a push-over. Some will use violence therefore they will be housed in a more secure
facility this way they will avoid further contact with potential threats. According to
Morgan, “the age of inmates is a good predictor of violent conduct and calculation risk
taking. Young people tend to engage in risk-taking behavior.” (Morgan 63).
Race is another significant factor in prison violence, a large percentage of gangs
use race as part of their recruiting process. Most of the time for inmates to become a
member of a gang the assignment involves violence. Typically races stick together, for
instance white supremacist gangs are usually all Caucasian, it is very rare to see a Latin
or African American in this group. Latin gangs (MS-13 or Surenos) are the most
violent gangs. In order to join these types of groups, there is an initiation process. This
can range from violent assignments to being jump into the gang, etc.
For a lawful citizen, currency is measured by dollars, although in prison, currency
is measured by commissary, clothing, food, and especially medications. As you know the
cost of medication has gone up significantly, and by law inmates need to receive proper
medical care from their correctional institution. Before inmates are incarcerated, they
may have significant injuries, a disease or some type of mental disorder. Due to these
unfortunate issues, inmates become addicted to medications and will do whatever is
necessary to obtain more. Most of the time this results in manipulation and violence
In conclusion, violence inside correctional institutions is inevitable. In the prison
system, it is incredible how diverse violence can be and what triggers violence within
these correctional institutions. In corrections, the most common method used to control
violent behavior, is to segregate the violent inmates by placing them in supermax. I
believe over time we will be able to further understand how the criminal mind works and
implement new strategies/knowledge in the future. Unfortunately, many inmates have
received significant injuries or even death from these type of behaviors. The violence
inside correctional institutions is a epidemic, it is an on going battle that we do our best in
public safety to prevent.
Citations
Morgan Jr., William J. “Major Causes of Institutional Violence.” American Jails.
November/December2009, Vol. 23 Issue 5, p62-70. 9g. Accessed 4/26/2014
Tartaro, Christine and Levy, Marissa P. “Crowding, Violence and Direct Supervision:
Jails.” American Jails. September/October2008, Vol. 22 Issue 4, p12-22. 8p.
Accessed 4/26/2014