Introduction
Prison gangs are organized types of criminal movements that are run either by or in coordination with those who are in prison. According to the gang investigator in the United States, they are more organized than the street gangs. Communication is made in or to the prison through several means, namely, telephone in some states, coding where the mail is monitored, and even artwork or visits. Carlson has pointed out that some of these gangs depend on the street contacts with family members, girlfriends, and neighborhood. Smuggling of contrabands and other crimes may be hard to counteract and may not come to an end shortly unless stringent measures are adopted, because some of the channels of distribution and activity such as connecting with family members may be nearly impossible to eliminate. Those in prison sometimes recruit companions still on the streets to smuggle drugs into visiting rooms, and young women who often were former lovers of inmates and who they fathered children with (according to street-level gang research; qt. in Carlson & Garret (1999)). These women, jobless and in need of money to pay for expenses and livelihood, are threatened by the inmates (who may be backed into a corner to repay gambling and drug debts) in case of failure. Higher prices for drugs in prison (5-10 times) than the price at the street may also make dealers be encouraged to take the risk.
Evolution and Existence
Prison gangs emanated as a need for “protection against predatory inmates” although “racketeering, black markets and racism became factors” according to Danitz (1998). These gangs also may exist to control the illegal economy of the prison and as a way to respond to exigencies of prison life according to Conly, National Institute of Justice (U.S.), and Abt Associates (1993). Prison gangs develop in prison environments and sore of increase in disturbances in prison such as that experienced in the United States in the early 1990s (soar by 400% in the disturbances) may point to more prison gang activity, according to authorities of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Those gang members who are formerly street gang members come out from prison “more sophisticated and more dangerous because they aren’t as easily detected” according to Buentello (qt. in Danitz, 1998). Drug gangs have participated in the growing hostility between the police and the criminal groups and this may result in the exposure of police to attacks. For example, according to Bolm, 55 police officers were killed in 2005 while in the line of duty.
While some prison gangs like the Texas Syndicate can protect their members from attack by other members, some others are friendly and have formed alliances. Prison officials have indicated that they identify gang members by concentrating on inmate behavior and do not let the groups perceive much credibility by singling out gang leaders to strike any deals with them. Countermeasures have been induced against prison gangs, for example, the isolation and lockdown for the members in the Texas state to discourage membership. The implementation of this policy led to a decline in homicide from 1985 onwards. Prison gangs have been used in history to hit inmates who did not pay the drug and gambling debts, hit at perceived enemies, smuggle drugs in prison, and engage in violence supporting this crime according to Carlson & Garret (1999). The aforementioned author has pointed out that some of the distinguishing factors between the prison and street gangs have disappeared with time due to the “correctional presence and criminal sophistication of street gangs” in the United States (Carlson & Garret, 1999). The latter were lesser effective in criminal activities and characterized by younger members, relatively simple hierarchies, lesser defined leadership styles, and status differentiation as compared to the former.
In some way, prison gangs may be used to indicate ideological, geographical, and ethnic differences or a combination of the factors, because some champion interests of particular groups with similar characteristics or economic or other interests; such as IDG which is a group of inmates with geographical, ethnic and racial affiliations or a combination.
The solution to Prison Gangs
There is a need to adopt mechanisms and practices that will yield long-term solutions to the problem of prison gangs. Methods like negotiating with gang leaders to get peaceful cell houses and prison yards and “squeezing the gang-affiliated inmates” may only yield short-term solutions, while techniques such as laying-off and putting the gang members for housing or work recreates may only reinforce ties between the members according to Carlson & Garret, (1999). The challenge remains on how the authorities can control future participation in recruitment and activities of inmate gangs, which have become a threat to prison security. The possibility of inmates being able to organize themselves in well-coordinated crime bureaucracies amidst institution sanctions should raise concern whether these bands acquire support from some of the personnel in the prison authorities if their tricks are known. Although the withdrawal of privileges and the aforementioned lockdown strategy may be considered as a control measure against participation in prison gangs, they present a dangerous bet to improving the inmate behavior and if staffers lose the bet, they may lose social control of the organization which encourages the emergence of violence (Carlson & Garret, 1999). According to these authors, research supports that the behavior of inmates can be influenced by the physical and social environments of the prison, pointing to the fact that the managers and correctional administrators can use proactive planning, strong managerial skills, and organizational development to influence the behavior of the inmates. Maybe better-policing styles and operational strategies would help out the situation, such as the use of the service style of policing which focuses on helping the members of the society as opposed to enforcing the law (Bohm, 2008). More specifically, a mixture of the styles (service, legalistic, and watchman style) would also help because many times, the gangs will use force and violence, and that one style would specifically sometimes suit more specific conditions-for example service style to wealthier communities.
References
- Bohm Robert. (1998). A Concise Introduction to Criminal Justice.
- Carlson Peter and Judith Simon Garrett. (1999). Prison and Jail Administration: Practice and Theory. Jones & Bartlett Publishers
- Conly Catherine, National Institute of Justice (U.S.) and Abt Associates. (1993). Street Gangs: Current Knowledge and Strategies. DIANE Publishing
- Danitz Tiffany. The gangs behind bars.