How do subcultures affect life in prison?
For many people, their lives in prison are greatly affected by the subcultures that are impressed upon people who are incarcerated. These subcultures actually act as a sort of unwritten rulebook that must be strictly adhered to by the individuals. Clemmer (1940) claims that “prisons are isolated institutions and a set of unique norms and rules have developed in response to the extreme control and deprivations associated with this total institution” (p. 35). Several factors influence the lives of prisoners such as the language as well as the attitudes and the roles that a person encounters during their stay in prison.
The main point of these elements is to try to teach the prisoners quite a number of aspects, which are meant to extol the virtues of being in a reform institution. The prisoners are taught not to be hyperactive or to panic in situations that may be deemed out of control in other places. This implies that they are taught how to maintain their cool and think with level heads in various situations. They are also taught how to avoid exploiting other inmates. The point of this is to ensure that once they have been rehabilitated and released into the free world, they may be able to cope with life once more in the same way that they were taught in prison.
How are they formed?
Prison subcultures are formed when the relevant individuals concerned realize that there is the need to address certain issues that may affect the lives of the inmates within and outside the institution. There are many claims that quite a number of the components of conduct, as well as the language prototypes within the subcultures of inmates, are modeled to act as a response to the various deficits that are affected in life, in prison.
Several other elements are encoded into the subcultures that are derived from the streets to maintain some element of semblance of reality to the inmates. It has been noted “especially with regard to drug use and distribution, there are direct links between street culture and prison culture” (Schrag, 1954, p.39).
What causes prison violence?
A number of features may be considered as the main causes of violence within the walls of rehabilitation centers. One of the main features that may be considered as being among the greatest causes of violence in prisons is gang affiliation. As is the same on the streets, there are quite a number of gangs in prisons. These gangs may have some elements of rivalry due to different issues that may affect their lives directly or indirectly. Another aspect is overcrowding. This may cause violence among the prisoners since they may feel as if there is no room for them to carry out certain activities in private. This may eventually turn into a potentially dangerous situation for everyone.
One other interesting aspect is the fact that the staff who cater for the interests of the prisoners may behave in a manner that may be likely to cause unrest among the inmates. They may mistreat the prisoners leading to unrest and eventual violence. Lack of proper training for the staff may act as one of the leading causes of violence since they may be unable to handle certain situations adequately. The lack of proper equipment to handle their duties may also play a major role in the eruption of violence. It is also interesting to note that the architectural designs of certain prisons may influence the inmates to cause violence. Some prison facilities may have flaws in their designs that may easily abet in the eruption of violence among the prisoners. Pre-existing prisoner attitudes may also play a major role in the eruption of violence within these correctional institutions.
How are prison subcultures related to violent behavior?
The issue of violent behavior is commonly associated with life in prison, and many inmates try to exhibit violent tendencies in a bid to ensure their survival. Prison subcultures are directly related to violent behavior in that there may be situations. One example is a situation whereby the gangs that have been formed in prison may not relate to one another and a rivalry that may already be in existence may cause violence to erupt.
There are different causes of violence and these are all relating to the subcultures that have been developed within the institution. Most gang members may believe that the only method of survival is to exhibit violent tendencies. This may not be entirely true although most individuals believe that once incarcerated, the only method of surviving is to exhibit elements of harshness, which may deter others from getting near them. This may be interpreted in turn, into violent tendencies, which have been carried forward from the lives that the people were living in outside of prison.
What are the issues facing today’s prisons in terms of dealing with special populations such as homosexuals, females, geriatrics, or mentally ill prisoners?
Generally, there is increased tension in correctional institutions that entail catering for prisoners with special needs. Some of the crosscutting issues that are facing today’s prisons concerning special prisoners may encompass the following:
- Some people consider that imprisonment ought to be used as a last resort for these categories since the consideration of the circumstances should be taken into account. The fact that not all petty offenders are considered dangerous and life threatening to everyone is definitely a factor to consider.
- The rule of equality still applies to the offenders as much as they may be categorized against in the criminal justice structure. Their rights do not have to be infringed upon since they are also considered as human beings who require to be recognized.
- The prisoners with special needs ought to be protected since they may be considered as being vulnerable. The system ought to work efficiently in terms of prisoner with special needs when it comes to justice and fairness.
- The fact that there are multiple needs for certain groups of individuals such as the gender-specific needs of females ought to be considered. This is applicable to people who may be belong to more than one group of individuals who may require special attention, care, as well as treatment.
- It is crucial to carry out serious risk assessment in order to determine the needs of prisoners when they are entering the prison. This will go a long way in ensuring their safety once they are within the confines of the correctional facilities. They may be considered for places in higher security zones within the prison in order to ensure that other prisoners do not take them advantage of them.
- The issue of the basic right to health that is the same as the general community is also fundamental.
- Prisoner transition is also another major issue that is mostly overlooked. This transition from prison to the outside world is one of the most crucial stages of rehabilitation, yet it is grossly ignored. The prisoners to be released require the services of counselors to help them understand how to cope with the outside world after being incarcerated in prison for a long time.
References
Clemmer, D 1940, The prison community, Christopher Publishing, Boston, MA.
Schrag, C. (1954). Leadership among prison inmates. American Sociological Review, 19(1), 37-42.