Gangs are dangerous groupings aimed at committing crimes on the territory of the country. Many people are sure that when a gang is imprisoned, its activity is finished. In many cases it is so, but there are cases when gangs which were active at freedom may continue their activities in prison. Prison gangs are special gangs which operate on the territory of prisons.
Their main activities are limited by the territory, but their affect is great. These gangs protect its members and have the power to punish those who committed unethically in relation to prison norm of morality. Drug, tobacco, and alcohol are the issues controlled by the prison gangs. Such activities are illegal and should be punished. Much has already been done in order to limit the activities of gangs on the territory of prisons, still, there is much to be done in order to make corrections safe and protected from lawlessness.
Prison gang members are usually organized around one leader. This person is usually responsible for discipline inside the gang. A leader runs all the affairs of a gang and makes necessary decisions. As it has already been said prison gangs run alcohol and drug business in prisons. Violence in prison is also the result of the activities of these gangs. It is obvious that if there are two or more gangs on the territory of a prison they are going to fight for the sphere of influence. Drugs and alcohol also promote violence which leads to lack of discipline and other specific law violations. Crimes and murders in prisons also happen and this is one of the worst outcomes of the gangs’ activities.
There are a lot of activities which are taken in order to prevent gang crimes. In many prisons there are gang intelligence officers who are “a prison staff charged with collecting intelligence and advising administrators regarding strategies to manage and contain prison activity” (Seiter, 2011, p. 365). These structures are responsible for identifying the prison gang members, calculating their influence and making sure that all the channels are monitored. Many prisons do not expose these channels as they are sure that the new ones are going to be organized, but when the channels of drug and alcohol supply are known it is easier to follow and predict the further crimes. Correction activities should also be based on teaching prisoners. It is proved that educated people commit fewer crimes, therefore, the possibility for prisoners to read should be offered. Fleisher and Scott (2001) offer to send a leader of the gang in another prison outside of the state in order to limit his/her communication with criminals he/she knows.
Therefore, it may be concluded that the control of the gangs’ activity and on time reaction to the crimes are the best strategies used by the prison government. Educating criminals and trying to change their actions is also useful, but if a criminal has just appeared in a prison and the correctional influence has not affected him/her, it is better to follow his/her actions and to monitor the channels and connections he/she has. This strategy is effective as it is based on the controlling issues.
Education is also effective but in a long term period. There are many cases when education affected criminals in a long term period. Education is not that simple as it may seem. Many people feel the influence of studying after they manage to understand the information, to experience some events with knowledge. Therefore, there is no need to wait for immediate result from studying.
Reference List
Fleisher, M. S., & Scott, S. H. (2001). An Overview of the Challenge of Prison Gangs. Corrections Management Quarterly, 5(1), 1–9.
Seiter, R. P. (2011). Corrections: An introduction (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.