Abstract
This paper considers the various likely causes of violence and violent behavior within prisons. The causes discussed include overcrowding, boredom, drugs, the gang culture within the prison population, and sexually-originated violence. In addition, the paper discusses two theories that suggest: 1. that the violence can stem simply from the inmate’s psychological reaction to being transported into the restrictive prison environment (the deprivation theory); and: 2. that individual prisoners bring their existing violent nature and characters in with them from their former existence in the community (the importation theory). In addition to discussing the causes of the violence, the paper discusses ways it could be prevented and reduced or eradicated. Whilst reducing overcrowding, better staffing and separating gang members are fairly obvious ways to reduce the prevalence of prison violence; the experiences of Michael Santos who spent 25years of his life in prison have suggested other methods that seemed to have been effective. They focus on a more “give and take” form of prison administration that shifts towards a regime offering incentives for good behavior instead of sanctions and punishment for those who step out of line. In his experience it worked very well and must be worth trying on a wider basis.
Introduction
This paper examines and discusses the various factors that might be the causes of prison violence, and the ways that such violent behavior can be reduced and/or eradicated. As stated by Homel and Thompson (updated 2010), “Prisons are not normal environments.” They are designed as places to confine and punish offenders, and rule the lives of the prisoners more comprehensively than any other social environment, compulsorily housing the inmates in closed communities. They are not in any sense natural situations. Relatively small numbers of staff have to maintain strict order and discipline, hence – as the authors stated – it is surprising that “there is not more violence in prisons.”
Principal Causes of the Violence
Deprivation and Importation Theories. According to Homel & Thompson, although there is no cause of prison viewed as the principal cause, but two important theories suggest major underlying reasons. The first is “deprivation”, which in summary suggest that when an offender is imprisoned in the restrictive and confined prison environment and thereby deprived of practically all personal freedom, the result is “deep psychological trauma.” As a consequence, a subculture develops within the prison in which, partly for self-preservation reasons, the prisoners tend towards violent behavior. The “importation” theory is based on the attributes, personal backgrounds and criminal contacts that the prisoners bring with them into prison from their former lives in the community.
Homel & Thompson stated that whilst both those theories have a degree of validity, recent thinking favors the cause of violence as being more associated with the actual prison environment and the depressing detail of the daily routine within those institutions. They also noted that poor management of a prison can exacerbate the problems of violence, and good management can conversely reduce the incidence of violent behavior within the prison.
Overcrowding. A Portland State University article “Prison overcrowding is a growing concern in the U.S.” (n.d.) discussed the cause of overcrowding and the effects including increased violence within the prison populations. Causes were cited as due to increased crime rates, harsher penalties for crimes, high rates of recidivism, and changes to laws affecting sentencing. Inmate violence was cited as having close correlation with overcrowding, possibly linked to less efficient prison management when faced with a reduced ratio of staff to prisoners
Boredom. Reed (June 2012), published an article for BBC News entitled “Tackling violence in Europe’s largest youth prison.” He reported on the youth prison at Hindley in the north-west of England. He reported on young prisoners who claimed to have become involved in violent acts triggered by boredom. The policy in that prison had been to remove the particularly disruptive inmates from the main body of the prison population, preventing them from inciting further violence, and housing them instead in a dedicated 11-bed unit within the prison, that has a much higher staff ratio and ready access to drug, alcohol and mental health treatment facilities. In return the young prisoners are allowed more time out of their cells and receive more individual attention than can be provided in the large main wings of the prison. The report shows that boredom can be a contributory cause of violent behavior, although other factors are involved.
Gangs. Garland (Sep 2006) reported in The Baltimore Sun on the growing problem of gang-initiated violence in the prisons of Maryland. The article reported that gang violence in the state’s prisons has been attributed to a combination of an increasing number of “tough, young gang members” in the prison populations and a shortage of the provision of educational and/or programs of a rehabilitatory nature for other prisoners. The acting commissioner of prisons, John Rowley, was quoted as stating that “We need to isolate these folks, and that's going to take some time.” The article mentioned the real need for more educational and rehab programs, but also cited the problems of gang members being able to smuggle forbidden cell phones into the prisons, noting that according to Senator DeGrange there are even some prison staff displaying gang membership tattoos.
Homosexual Violence. Wolff, Blitz, Shi, Bachman & Siegel published an article in the Journal of Urban Health (May 2006) entitled “Sexual Violence Inside Prisons: Rates of Victimization.” The article noted that not only does sexual violence within prison expose the victim to a traumatic experience and the risk of contracting a communicable disease, the consequences of that violence stay with the individual after their release into the community. In terms of the rates of sexual violence, it was interesting to find that from surveys undertaken, rates for women at 212 per 1,000 were circa four times greater than for men (43 per 1,000). The study found that abusive behavior such as touching was much more prevalent than actual rape, and that sexual violence was more widespread among younger prison populations. It was also found that the violence had an interracial bias – the victims more likely to be white and the perpetrators black.
Drugs. Bell (Dec 2007) reported for the BBC News on the problem of drug-incited violence in UK prisons. He stated that there is agreement between both prison staff and the prisoners that the presence of drugs and prison violence are linked. He noted that there are many who consider that the UK prisons “are awash with drugs.” He cited a recent case in which an officer at a prison in Warwickshire was convicted of helping prisoners there smuggle drugs into the prison and was sentenced to a prison term of four years. It transpired that he had helped the inmates acquire supplies of cannabis, ecstasy and heroin by advising them of the best times to have the drugs thrown over the walls and into the prison by accomplices. The drugs-related violence in the same prison was reported by another former staff member there. She related that in one instance, a prisoner – terrified by the threat from a dealer that he would have his eyes stabbed out – climbed up onto the roof of the prison to collect drugs thrown in from outside. Although he knew that he would have his imminent release from prison postponed as a consequence and would be put in isolation, he felt he had no option other than to comply. She also mentioned other incidents, such as a prisoner who had a lip virtually cut off, and another who was beaten with a sock stuffed with cans of fish and who was virtually unrecognizable. There was also the prisoner who had his throat cut and another who hid under the bed in another cell, frightened to return to his own cell because he had been threatened with stabbing over a drugs-related debt.
Bell stated that a report published by the UK Home Office in 2005 had estimated that in six prisons surveyed, between 30 and 60 percent of prisoners there were on heroin, and that “the majority of prisoner/ex-prisoner interviewees agreed with the statement that the trade in drugs is the major cause of violence between prisoners.” The article also included a really worrying statement made by Tom Robson of the Prison Officers’ Association: “At the moment we are so overcrowded and prison officers are so thin on the ground, that the policing of the situation becomes very difficult.” He cited drugs as – in his opinion – the major cause of violence in Britain’s prisons. Referring to his statement regarding the shortage of prison officers, he commented that as a result there is no time to talk to vulnerable prisoners. He added that “we have prison officers assaulted on a daily basis, and prisoner-on-prisoner assaults are going through the roof.”
Ian Smith, a 25 year old ex-prisoner who had spent much of his recent life in prison for crimes associated with his heroin addiction, related that getting access to drugs in prison is easy. He said that “It is literally just like going next door to the next cell.” He referred to the intimidation of newly-arriving prisoners that is routine. Existing inmates decide if a new arrival is vulnerable and then enter his cell in a mob and force the handing over of any drugs smuggled in by the new arrival. Smith related how when in prison in Nottingham, his newly-arrived cell mate attempted suicide on the first night there because of such intimidation. Smith supported the man’s weight when he tried to hang himself, but the shoelaces he had used had cut an inch into his neck when he was cut down. That individual then served the remainder of his sentence under suicide watch.
A telling statistic quoted by Bell in his article was that whilst the UK’s prison populations are “at record levels”, having risen by circa 30 percent in the previous 10 years, interpersonal assaults between prisoners have increased almost 500 percent in that same period.
Prevention
According to Homel and Thompson (modified 2010), there are various strategies that can minimize / prevent interpersonal violence within prisons. They suggest strategies such as better surveillance of prison locations considered to be higher risk, manipulating prisoner privileges, and better supervision techniques (applicable to prison staff as well as prisoners). They also cite special programs such as educational and therapy programs as possible measures, though reporting that evidence of their success is limited. Some of that success may be more to do with those programs temporarily removing the participants from the company of other non-participating prisoners, while engaged in the program activities.
Good prison management is seen as crucial by studies reported by Homel and Thompson. They suggest that poor management – especially where harsh punishments are a feature of the prison regime – promote a non-compliant attitude on the part of prisoners, even the older prisoners who generally tend to be of a more compliant nature. Conversely, a prison regime in which the management and staff are fair and there is a genuine and meaningful complaints procedure, seems to promote a more peaceful environment. All these factors are claimed to be important in reducing violence, as is involving prisoners in projects, having a system of incentives (and the reverse), and having staff with the needed skills and trained in the best approach to their roles. Other suggested measures to discourage violent tendencies included the dispersement / separation of known troublemakers, and as far as practicable avoiding overcrowding. The authors viewed the ideal management policy as one finding the right balance between excessive supervision, regulation and surveillance on the one hand and a regime that is too lax on the other. Whilst the stricter regimes can encourage violence as a reaction by some prisoners, they caution that one that is too liberal can result in prisoner victimization and cases of suicide.
Santos (Dec 2008) published an interesting article on the Prison News Blog, entitled “How to Reduce Violence in Prison.” As an ex-convict himself having been in prison from 1987 to 2012 (25 years!) he offered some insight into life in prison from an almost unrivalled duration of firsthand experience. He attributed the loss of hope as a major contributory factor that triggers violent behavior, because prisoners who have lost hope lose sight of potential reforming behavior and focus instead on improving his position within the hierarchy of the prison population, which naturally can lead to violent disputes and confrontations. To overcome that downward spiral of violence, Santos stated that prison administrations should replace sanctions, punishment and threats with a system of motivational incentives.
Santos recalled his time in a prison in Pennsylvania where the warden believed firmly in the use of incentives. Santos noted that whilst wardens cannot influence or affect release dates, they can offer incentives that won’t cost taxpayers anything but can improve the lot of the prisoners who choose to toe the line. The incentives Warden Luther made available included the opportunity to buy food from nearby restaurants or clothing from local stores. Inmates could also earn the right to privileges such as watching videos, listening to recorded music, additional visiting hours and use of the telephone. As a result, according to Santos, even prisoners having a history of violent behavior were seen to work for those benefits and privileges instead of being disruptive or violent. That warden’s regime was noted for the lack of violent incidents, no suicides and no attempts to escape. However, following his retirement, the new warden reverted to the traditional oppressive regime. Within six months there was a riot in that prison that resulted in damages that cost in excess of $1 million.
Conclusions
The research has shown that there is a multiplicity of causes of prison violence; all contributing to the overall situation that we have today, in which violent behavior in prisons is reluctantly becoming accepted as the norm. Sadly, it seems to be just as true that much of that violence could be eradicated, or at the very least drastically reduced. If prisons were less overcrowded, if all prison staff were appropriately trained and skilled, and were present in greater numbers, plus if drugs could be effectively barred from the prisons, the situation would be so much better. Prevention of the violence is possible – at least to a considerable extent – but the political will supported by the needed increased funding and staffing must be there to allow it to happen.
References
Bell, D. (Dec 2007). How drugs fuel violence in prison. BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7138324.stm
Garland, G. (Sep 2006). Prison officials discuss violence: Gang activity, lack of rehab programs called main causes. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved from http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-09-22/news/0609220246_1_prison-system-prison-officials-arundel-county
Homel, R., and Thompson, C. (Modified 2010). Causes and Prevention of Violence in Prisons. Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. Retrieved from http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/188706/causes2.pdf
Prison overcrowding is a growing concern in the U.S. (n.d.). Portland State University. Retrieved from http://online.ccj.pdx.edu/ccj-careers-resources/criminal-justice-resources/news/prison-overcrowding-is-a-growing-concern-in-the-u-s-800675443/
Reed, J. (June 2012). Tackling violence in Europe’s largest youth prison. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18166236
Santos, M. (Dec 2008). How to Reduce Violence in Prison. The Prison News Blog. Retrieved from http://prisonnewsblog.com/2008/12/how-to-reduce-violence-in-prison/
Wolff, N., Blitz,C., L., Shi, J., Bachman, R., & Siegel, J., A. (May 2006). Sexual Violence Inside Prisons: Rates of Victimization. The Journal of Urban Health 2006 September; 83(5): 835–848. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2438589/
