Human beings are social animals who seek pleasure and avoid pain. Social structures are visible in many areas of human presence. Prisons are not an exception to this trend, as depicted by the development of prison gangs. A prison gang is a criminal organization within a penal system or a correctional facility. The increase in complexity of prison gangs and their nature of operations has been a matter of concern for the prison systems. There has been the development of massive power through hierarchies in prison gangs that promote violence, crimes, and drugs within and outside prisons. Prison gangs have developed a strict code of ethics, penal systems, trading mechanisms, rules for admission, and protection systems that almost make a whole society in prisons. Inmates prescribe to this order of organization to develop trust and efficiency in their system.
The prison world is a different world, and any new inmate gets affiliated to a gang just for familiarisation and protection. The emergence of prison gangs has led to correctional officers colluding powerful inmates. Powerful inmates compromise the integrity of correctional facilities officers through threats and corrupt dealings. Research on the psychology of prison gangs is not only crucial to correctional facilities but also in understanding the mindset and organization of other criminal groups outside prisons. The origin of prison gangs, factors motivating joining prison gangs, and the effects of prison gangs help in understanding the magnitude of this social phenomenon in the prison systems.
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Origin of Prison Gangs
Social structures develop naturally as a result of the need for order and organization. Order and organization promote dependency on social structures in creating associations that ease the acquisition of basic human needs. The origin of prison gangs is traced back to informal laws that every inmate was required to follow. The origin of prison gangs arises from a shared idea or need that brings inmates together. The convict code, deprivation model, and importation model explain the emergence of prison gangs in the correctional systems.
The Convict code
The convict code is a set of informal rules and values among inmates that regulates individual behavior and interactions (Ortiz, 2017). The convict code has evolved continually from a guide of protection from the correctional facilities officers to enhancing criminal activities in prisons. The convict code goes unsaid in prisons, but it is incorporated in the culture of prison life. Some of these codes include: Do not interfere with inmate interests , Do rat on an inmate, Don’t trust the staff, and Be strong. The variations in the inmate codes resulted in different sections of inmates who prescribed to different codes. These codes were followed to the latter, and breaking them would lead to punishment or eviction from the groups. Those who lived by these rules were referred to as “good cons” and had a better reputation than prisoners who failed to comply with the code (Copes et al., 2013). Inmates prescribing to different codes gave rise to prison gangs.
Deprivation Model
The feeling of deprivation is common to every inmate. Inmates have to endure privation, oppression from other inmates and correctional officers, and meager personal belongings and materialistic possessions. It is the psychological, emotional, and social impacts of confinement that have led to the emergence of prison gangs (Connor and Denton, 2017). The deprivation model explains that inmates form gangs as a way of adjusting to the rough living conditions in correctional facilities by coming together to meet their needs and protect themselves (Clemmer, 1940).
Importation Model
Criminal tendencies do not end once a convict gets to jail. The traits and beliefs are carried on to the prisons (Irwin, 1980). The importation model describes the emergence of prison gangs as a product of former thief codes and affiliations. There are many similarities between the thief code and the convict code. Such similarities indicate that inmates transfer former belief and organization into prison (Irwin, 1980). Also, members of the same street gangs or neighborhoods are likely to find themselves in the same correctional facility and form a prison gang.
Psychological Factors that Motivate Joining Prison Gangs
Inmates join prison gangs to seek protection from fellow inmates and correctional officers. Prison gangs operate in a collectivist nature to combat structural violence, and specifically, correctional officer sanctioned violence. Some rogue prison officers oppress and infringe on the rights of an inmate. Inmates have no voice behind bars, and any protest to higher authorities would do more damage than good. Powerful prison gangs are capable of protecting one’s safety from such harassment by rogue officers. Protection from other inmates is also a guarantee as a member of a prison gang. No one would go harassing an inmate who belongs to a prison gang, as that would only lead to a severe reaction by the whole prison gang. The fear of victimization and a sense of security promotes the joining of prison gangs in correctional facilities.
Prison gangs give a sense of belonging to inmates. Correctional facilities can be a very lonely place for new inmates as it is designed for confinement and solitude. The need to belong to a prison gang is almost mandatory in the survival in prison. Alienation from family and friends creates the need to develop other social structures and acquaintances you could rely on. Prison gangs hold firmly to their cores the culture of trustworthy, secrecy, and loyalty to their beliefs and standards. Inmates are more than willing to commit their lives to a prison gang out of a sense of lacking any social ties as a result of confinement. Prison gang affiliation is the only alternative social structure to cultivate a sense of belonging in such a harsh community.
Inmates join prison gangs to gain status and power. Some of the prison gangs have absolute control over some operational activities in the correctional systems. The control by prison gangs has been attained as a result of staff intimidation and corrupt dealings. Some powerful prison gangs have control over cell allocation and penal labor. To have better living standards behind bars gives one a higher social class than other inmates. The possession of any scarce commodity gives anyone in its possession power and status in the prison system. Contrabands behind bars are the scarcest of commodities. In 2013, 12,151 cellphones were confiscated in The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (How Gangs Took Over Prisons, 2014) . Contrabands are mostly used as currencies in prisons as a way of getting privileges. The control of alternative currencies and trade markets in prisons give power to prison gangs and their members.
Inmates join prison gangs because they are prone to crime and risk-taking tendencies. Confinement behind bars does not work for all inmates as a way of correcting their habits. Some inmates never alienate from crime as expected, but join or form prison gangs to promote criminal activities and violence behind bars. These prevalent criminal tendencies have led to the emergence of assassin prison groups who are out to exert pain, steal or kill on hire. Prison gangs have become alternative crime channels questioning the credibility of prison systems in correcting convicted persons.
Effects of Prison Gangs
Prison gangs create an organized system that promotes crime within and outside the prison walls. One of the roles of prison gangs is to promote cooperation and stability between inmates in an environment that is potentially chaotic and violent. Prison gangs provide a breeding ground for institutionalized crime in correctional facilities. Murders and executions of inmates are common with prison gangs.
Prison gangs spread fear and violence within the correction system. Although prison gangs aim at stabilizing the prison environment, there are occasions where gangs go against each other in rivalry for power. Violence could turn out disastrous and lead to the death of several inmates. Also, members of a prison gang are risk-averse and are more likely to get into a fight as compared to non-members
Prison gangs undermine the credibility of the correctional facility systems. Powerful prison gangs undermine the integrity of the correctional officers through intimidation and bribery. The presence of crime in correctional facilities goes against the belief behind the development of these facilities as a way of controlling crime.
Prison gangs also spread their criminal activities outside prisons upon release or transfer. The inhibition of illegal activities in the correctional facilities provides breeding for more prominent prison gangs that go beyond jail and the prison system. Some of these prison gangs have gained substantial power and popularity, making most inmates fancy being their members. Some inmates upon release also continue their gang activity and membership outside the prison, therefore spreading crime.
The presence of prison gangs leads to the development of hierarchies in correctional facilities. These hierarchies protect high profile felons in their criminal operations behind bars. These felons prefer operating from behind as they are already convicted and can easily hire protection for their safety by recruiting members.
Approach to Curb and Control Prison Gangs
The rise of prison gangs is a menace to the prison system and makes it unreliable in the correction of criminals. There is a need to develop efficient methods of curbing the rise of prison gangs in the correction facilities. Means of curbing and controlling prison gangs include (Management strategies, 1992) :
Early detection of prison gang activity
Management of prison gangs is easier at the early stages when membership is small, and operations are unsophisticated. Early detection of prison activity can be enforced through surveillance and informants. Surveillance involves observing inmates keenly for any related gang activity. Some of the apparent signs to the emergence of a prison gang include common tattoos, use of graffiti and hand symbols to represent gang symbols, unusual group behavior around the prison yard and dining halls, and an increase in criminal activity and violence in prison. Informants could also provide useful information about gang-related activities as they interact with inmates most of the time.
Housing and transfer
Housing and transfer of known gang members hinder the operations and spread of a prison gang. Members from prison gangs need to be placed under lockdown to curb their activities. Isolation of gang leaders will also breakdown communication from top authorities to the members. Out of state transfer of gang members and their leaders disrupts prison gang operations and their functionality.
Prosecution of Gang Related Activity
The involvement in gang-related activity in correctional facilities should be made costly. Internal disciplinary institutions need to work together with law enforcement agencies to ensure that gang members involved in disturbances are prosecuted. One of the methods of punishment is an increase in one’s sentence.
In conclusion, prison gangs negatively impact the credibility of the correctional system. There is a need for research on the efficiency of prisons as a method of correction and reformation of convicted persons. Through the understanding of the emergence and psychological factors motivating prison gangs, there is a need for implementation of effective measures to curb their prevalence in the prison system.
References
Clemmer, D. (1940). The Prison Community . New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Connor, D. P., & Denton, A. N. (2017). Clemmer, Donald. The Encyclopedia of Corrections , 1-3.
Copes, H., Brookman, F., and Brown, A. (2013). Accounting for Violations of the Convict Code. Deviant Behavior , 34(10):841–858.
How Gangs Took Over Prisons. (2014). Retrieved from The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/10/how-gangs-took-over-prisons/379330/
Irwin, J. (1980). Prisons in Turmoil. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.
Ortiz, J. M. (2017). Inmate Code. The Encyclopedia of Corrections, 1-3.
Management strategies. (1992). Retrieved from Management Strategies in Disturbances and with Gangs/Disruptive groups U.S Department of Justice: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/136184NCJRS.pdf
