Prison Life The study of prison life developed by Erving Goffman in 1961 coined the term total institution describing prisons and mental hospitals Total institution an enclosed facility separated from society both socially and physically where inhabitants share all aspects of their daily lives Goffman described total institutions as places where residents are cut off from the larger society either forcibly or willingly They are small societies who evolve their own distinctive values and styles of life and pressure residents to fulfil rigidly prescribed behavioral roles Prison Subculture Prisons can be best described as total institutions within which two structures exist Formal Official Structure Run by the institution with formal rules and structure Informal Unofficial Structure The structure within the prison and the inmates This is what leads to the prison subculture Prison Subculture is the values and behavioral patterns characteristic of prison inmates Prison subculture has been found to be surprisingly consistent across the country Importation model offenders bring own values and behaviors Deprivation model Prisoners are handling norms outside of society Prison Subcultures change constantly to reflect the concerns and experiences of the wider culture They react to new crime control strategies and embrace new opportunities for crime Ex AIDS epidemic of the 1970s and 1980s Research has discovered four distinguishable subcultures 1 Official 2 Traditional 3 Reform 4 Revolutionary Sykes The Society of Captives argues that prison subcultures are the adaptation to deprivation and confinement Sykes calls these deprivations the pains of imprisonment Prisoners are deprived of Liberty Goods and services Heterosexual relationships Autonomy Personal Security These deprivations leads to the development of subcultures intended to better the personal pains that accompany deprivation The social structure of the prison the accepted and relatively permanent social arrangements is another element that shapes prison subculture Clemmer recognized non structural dimensions of inmate society 1 Prisoner staff dichotomy 2 Three general classes of prisoners 3 Work gangs and cell house groups 4 Racial groups 5 Type of offense 6 Power of inmate politicians 7 Degree of sexual abnormality 8 Record of repeat offenses 9 Personality differences due to pre prison socialization Sexual victimization in male prisons Homosexuality and sexual victimization are two major issues which male inmates face on a daily basis In 2008 there were 7 444 allegations of sexual victimization reported 931 13 were substantiated 54 incidents of sexual victimization involved only inmates 46 incidents involved staff with inmates 12 of inmate on inmate sexual victimization were committed by two or more perpetrators Injuries were reported in 18 of inmate on inmate incidents 1 of incidents of staff sexual victimization Lee H Bowker found the following summary observations Most sexual aggressors do not consider themselves homosexuals Sexual release is not the primary motivation for sexual attack Many aggressors must continue to participate in gang rapes to avoid becoming victims themselves The aggressors have themselves suffered much damage to their masculinity in the past Female inmate world Females account for about 7 of all prison inmates in 2010 Texas has the largest number 13 622 of female prisoners exceeding the entire federal government In 1981 women only made up 4 of the overall prison population but it nearly tripled during the 1980s and continues to grow at a rate greater than that of male inmates Types of female inmates The subculture of women s prison is multidimensional Heffernan found that three terms are used to describe female inmates The Square The Cool The Life Men forms gangs Women forms families Recently the social structure of women s prisons have been altered by the arrival of crack kids Sexual Orientation Misconduct of female inmates In 2001 a study of women s correctional facilities in the southeastern United States examined sexual orientation of female inmates Prior to incarceration 64 reported being exclusively heterosexual 28 reported being bisexual 8 reported being lesbian While incarcerated 55 heterosexual 31 bisexual 13 lesbian Research has found that female inmates tend to take part in lesbian behavior the longer they are incarcerated Sexual activity is far more common in female facilities than in men s prison One explanation is sexual misconduct between staff and inmates A fair amount of this is attributed to the exploitation of female inmates by male correctional officers acting from positions of power Some studies suggest that female inmates may sometimes attempt to manipulate unsuspecting male officers into illicitly relationships in order to gain favors Correctional officer point of view Correctional officers are concerned foremost with custody and control The socialization process helps them to function by the official and unofficial rules of the prison They may need to remind themselves of their normal lives They are placed in many roles in their duties including warden psychologist counselor supervisor instructor corrections officer and therapist They must always remember the potential threats that inmates pose to officer safety Prison Riots On rare occasions the inmate s frustrations are shared by others and the institution s authority is seriously challenged Several causes to prison riots include Insensitive prison administration that neglects inmates demands Lifestyles with which inmates are unfamiliar Poor prison conditions The desire to regulate inmate society and redistribute power balances among inmate groups Changes in prison administration transfer of influential inmates or court ordered injunctions that alter the informal social control mechanisms The presence of large gangs can lead to instability A security threat group STG is an inmate group gang or organization whose members act together to pose a threat to the safety of corrections staff or the public who prey upon other inmates or who threaten the secure and orderly operation of a correctional institution The cause of each riot is specific to that particular prison or jail
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