...10 Prison Subculture and Prison Gang Influence LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 1. Discuss the prison subculture for inmates and correctional officers. 2. Compare importation theory with exportation theory. 3. Identify different aspects of prison culture that explain how offenders and officers view the world around them. 4. Discuss how professionalization and the diversification of correctional staff have impacted the prison subculture. 5. Discuss the impact that prison gangs have had on prisons, including the traditional prison subculture. 6. Identify the 13 gangs listed in this chapter as the primary prison gangs in the United States. 7. Explain what prison systems do to control gang problems that occur in their facilities. chapter I will stand by my brother My brother will come before all others My life is forfeit should I fail my brother I will honor my brother in peace as in war Aryan Brotherhood Oath INTRODUCTION This chapter provides students with a very unique aspect of the world of corrections. Students will learn that within the institutional environment, there is a commonality of experiences that arise between those who are involved; this is true for both inmates and staff. Indeed, many people may not be aware that, in fact, the mind and the world of the inmate often affect the mind-set of security personnel who work with the inmate. In essence, there is an exchange of beliefs and perspectives that often come together to produce a unique fusion...
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...Gangs within the System Prison is a system that was made to make inmates better. Since the start of prisons, gangs have become a big part. Gangs fight in order to dominate and run everything. It is a constant battle between them. Who you are affiliated with says a lot. Gangs in prison are more than just a group of men killing each other , It is more family oriented . Prison gangs were originally formed by inmates as a means to protect themselves from other inmates. Throughout the years, prison gangs have evolved from a group that provides protection to its members, to criminal entities involved in prostitution, assaults, drugs and murder. Prison gangs continue to thrive because prosecuting them has, historically, been difficult due to the fact that many members are already serving life sentences with no possibility of parole. Most inmates use gangs as protection because once you go to prison your “Out of Bars” life is gone so you do not have anyone to protect you. This is why people join gangs in prison for the protection. When you first get into jail you are technically a “Newbe” because no one knows who you are or what you are capable. This creates the idea of “Moving Up the Ladder” this is when you create a resume of doing things such as killing selling and earning respect to become of high statue. Inmates have to put in “work” to move up. When they first arrive, the inmate has to gain respect from everyone else. In the documentary you see Bulldog talks about how...
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...Violence In Prisons A large percentage of male inmates have a lengthy history of violence. At the end of 2005, 53 percent of adults sentenced to state prisons were committed for violent offenses.[8] With such a large proportion of inmates previously involved in violent acts, it is not surprising, therefore, that violent behavior is a way of life within prisons. Many inmates just resort to violence as their normal reaction to frustration, disagreements, or lack of power. Those who are not prone to violence are constantly watchful to avoid situations that could lead to violent confrontations. A 2008 study of inmate-on-inmate violence in thirty prisons confirmed what is called the “importation” theory, or that violent inmates bring their violent ways into prison with them. The Bureau of Justice Statistics indicate that the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 19 states are over capacity, with 20 additional states also close to maximum prison capacity. A case in point: Chino Men's Prison in California, was built to hold 3,000 inmates; it currently holds 5,900 prisoners. In 2009, Chino, California prison inmates staged a riot which resulted in the injury of at least 175 prisoners. Overcrowding increases stress under the best of conditions, let alone in situations when individuals have limited coping skills, such as prisons. The Chino riot raged for 11 hours and injured 175 inmates. Men suffered vicious stab and head wounds as prisoners attacked each other with makeshift weapons, including...
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...Prison Gangs Prison gangs are criminal organizations that originated within the penal system. The first known American prison gang was the Gypsy Jokers. The Gypsy Jokers formed in the 1950’s in Washington state prisons. The first gang with nationwide ties was the Mexican Mafia, which formed in 1957 in the California Department of Corrections. According to statistics, gang activity in prisons has increased from only 9.4% in 1991 to 24.7% in 1999 and is even higher now. Today there are five original major prison gangs known as “Traditional Prison Gangs.” These prison gangs formed in the 1960’s and 1970’s in the California corrections system. A prison gang consists of a select group of inmates who have an organized hierarchy and who are governed by an established code of conduct. In addition to committing criminal acts in the prison, a prison gang also shares the following characteristics: * Formal membership with a required initiation or rules for members * A recognized leader or certain members whom others follow * Common clothing (such as jackets, caps, scarves or bandannas), or group colors, symbols, tattoos, or special language * A group name * Members from the same neighborhood, street, or school * Turf or territory where the group is known and where group activities usually take place. Prison gangs vary in both organization and composition, from highly structured gangs such as the Aryan Brotherhood to gangs with a less formalized structure...
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...Prison Gangs Prison Gangs According to (Wikipedia) a prison gang is a term used to identify any type of gang activity in prisons and correctional facilities. The difference between prison gangs and street gangs has become unclear because gang members are in and out of the prison system according to the (Street Gangs and Interventions: Innovative Problem Solving with Network Analysis, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2005). Prison gangs offer more than just simple protection for the members in prison; many prison gangs are responsible for drug, tobacco and other contraband handling. Prison gangs often seek to intimidate other inmates and bribe or intimidate prison staff. Prison gangs are a large influence of organized crime. Prison gangs are also known for laundering money from outside gangs while in prison. The forming of a prison gang is prohibited however; prison gangs are on a rise and without regard of the law prohibiting them. Many of the gang members are already in prison serving very long sentences; when another member is sentence they link up and look out for one another. There are multiple prison gangs in America such as the Aryan Brotherhood, the Nazi Low-riders, La Eme, those are just a few. (American Prison Gangs by Sharon White) According to this article prison gangs are in the Federal prison system and 32 state jurisdictions. There are 29 able to be identified and the prison guards know the member by names. Prison officials have identified 114...
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...Cristian Loera-Flores CJAD 350 Professor Carden July 4, 2015 Prison Culture Prison, a place that is always on the news, that is always spoken of with great fear or disrespect, a place that can and will change your life forever if you were so inclined to take part in activities that will send you there. There are a lot of events that can get you into prison, but what it’s like on the inside is a whole different story. From the diverse selection of prison gangs that are separated by race and religion, to the frantic “free market trade” that occurs in every prison system across the United States, prison culture has risen past any staff, director, or officer could have ever imagined. Prison culture has taken a life of its own, so much so, that now the general public has become exposed to the integrate and sometimes brutal culture that has been methodically developed since the early days of imprisonment. Time goes hand in hand with the evolution of this culture, refinement through inmate “research and development” has allowed generations of culture, adapt and survive even through staff struggles to stop them. Firstly I would like to discuss the progression of prison culture, where it started, how it evolved, what influenced caused this evolution, and where it is now. Although prison culture dates back to the early 13th centuries, there is very little actually known about their culture and would probably not be seen as the same “jailing” that takes place now. The earliest credible...
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...Drug Activity and Rehabilitation in Texas Prisons Amy Garza COM/172 June 30, 2014 Carrie Kendall Drug Activity and Rehabilitation in Texas Prisons The state of Texas has over 40 state prisons, and over 15 state jails. Among these facilities 30% of incoming inmates in 2011 were sentenced for drug offenses. While serving time in Texas prisons, some inmates resume their illegal drug activity for many reasons and refuse rehabilitation. Oddly enough, “the state of Texas has one of the lowest drug treatment admission rates, but one of the highest incarceration rates in the country” (Dunklee, Leete, J.D., & Renaud, M.S.S.W, 2013). These facts express how drug activity, both in and out of prison, is an ongoing dilemma. Rehabilitation programs are offered but inmates cannot be forced to open up to such teachings. The system serves as a revolving door for illegal drug use and trade. There are many reasons why people become involved with illegal drug activity behind bars. One of the most popular reasons why inmates continue to break the law is because of money. Statistics show that over 58% of men incarcerated in Texas are fathers. Assuming that most inmates lie about such facts on government surveys, it is estimated that the true number of incarcerated men who have children is much higher. “These men are used to selling drugs, or other such fast money schemes. To think that they will be satisfied with a high school diploma and the financial security it offers is ludicrous”...
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...paper, what are some possible consequences for a social policy change. The video that I have chosen to do this paper on will be the “Pelican Bay State Prison: War Zone” to best fit with my beliefs of social structure theory simply the top reason for criminality evolving. In the video that I have viewed, “Pelican Bay State Prison: War Zone,” there was a great deal of information in it that supported crime evolving from a social structure theory. The prisoners in Pelican Bay State Prison set a goal to get into this prison because it is more like a reward than a punishment. The motive for the a reward of these prisoners is that only the meanest most violent prisoners who are gang leaders out of prison. These gang leaders still run the gangs, although they are in prison and are fearless. These gang leaders come from the only family that they have ever known and would give their lives for the gang. Most prisoners, gang leaders are educated only in the streets and nowhere else. In the video it speaks of how Pelican Bay State Prison is known for the thousands upon thousands of gang leaders who set a goal to end there for more recognition. The prisoners who end in Pelican Bay go in strong and hardcore, and when they come out they are not weaker but stronger and more dedicated than ever to be the gang leader that they are. The gang is not lost without their leader right beside him or her because they know they will be keeping in touch, with the leader on a regular basis. It is...
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...In the Florida prison system there are six major gangs. They are known for their violence, drug trafficking, and other forms of organized crime. Some of the major gangs tend to run with a paramilitary chain of command, this tends to be similar to Correctional Officers and the military. The chain of command is as follows; Majors, Captains, Lieutenants, Sargent’s, and foot soldiers. Among other reasons prisoners join gangs for a since of security and protection. The group known as Neta was originated in 1970 in Rip Pedras Prison, Puerto Rico. The race of this gaing is Puerto Rican-American/ Hispanic. It is said that it was formed to stop the violence between inmates to protect weaker inmates that were being preyed upon by a group names G’27. They are most dangerous in their drug activity, extortion, and gang-related violence. They do not hesitate to attack or kill if they feel it is necessary. Like most gangs they have their gang colors. Red which represents blood that has been shed and that will be shed. White for peace, harmony, and tranquility. Blue that is sometimes replaced with black that is in honor of past member that have lost their lives. Established in 1964 in San Quentin state prison by Irish-American bikers the founder was Barry Mills and Tyler Bingham. The Aryan brotherhood was founded by white supremacists to protect white inmates from predatory black inmates. Known for being one of the most violent white supremacist groups they are accountable for over 100 bloody...
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...Prison Environment Prison Environment The prison environment is confined, cramped, and really dangerous. There are certain codes that the majority of the prisoners go by in prison. You have prison codes, or rules, and inmate codes, rules that they must go by. If an inmate breaks the prison rules then the person who broke the rules will be properly reprimanded. If an inmate breaks the codes set up by other inmates then they can be subject to retaliation from other inmates, which can consist of getting beat up, seriously injured, or killed. You have absolutely no privacy in prison and most people have to share their cells with one or more other inmates, due to overcrowding in the prison system. The prisoner’s toilet and beds are within inches or feet of each other and they all have to take showers together. A prisoner has only certain places they can be when incarcerated, which are their cell, the yard, lunch room, shower, and common housing area. (Foster, 2006). Many different cliques are in the environment based on race or gang association. These groups can influence the management and custody in a variety of ways. The management and the daily interaction with the other prisoners must be handled with respect and sensitivity to the race factor. They have come up with stragies to combat prison gangs, which are isolation of gang leaders, segregation, labeling members for intelligence purposes, deprogramming, and the placement of these members in high-security prisons...
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...related to gang members and drug dealers. Two of the most popular gangs in prison are the crips and the bloods, each claim a particular color, (bloods being red and crips being blue). Both gangs are extremely violent and can harm and/or kill another inmate.for being a member of the other gang. There are many known incidents where inmates make their own weapons such as shanks, and sharp objects. One of the other popular weapons made by inmates is placing a bar of soap in a pillow case, which can be used to beat another inmate. Another reason there is so much violence in prisons is because certain dominant inmates set rules, and if those rules are broken there are consequences that must be suffered. These consequences include fights amongst inmates to prove who is the more dominant. Those inmates who are less dominant may have to give up prison rights which include giving up their personal belongings like food, stamps, and bunks. Violent behavior amongst inmates and staff is also continuing to rise, especially as prisons have become over crowded and more populated, and prisoners resent the staff because they have to enforce the prisons rules, although some staff members may establish arrangements with the prisoners that allow them to work together inside of the prison. As long as the staff allows them to have their way, inmates are pretty cooperative. A few of the strategies for responding to inmates' violent behavior include solitary confinement, extending their prison sentence...
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...Canadian prisons have always been lacking the needs of offenders and programs to help them. Till now they have the same problem; however, they have been improving and meeting the needs of the offender’s population in a slow manner. Many incidents have occurred during prison time as well as after inmates have been released from prisons. Due to that Canadian corrections have slowly taken more time into their programs and treatments to help the inmates rehabilitate themselves and be able to get back into society in a better state than what they had arrived in. Overtime there have been many facilities available in order to help inmates with certain behavior issues and severe issues. In this paper I will be covering the different types of inmates and how each of them is treated with different programs. Incarceration rate has slowly been going down and there have been more treatment programs to help the offenders rather than just punishing them. Once again, in this paper, I will thoroughly explain how this is done with different types of offenders including; Women in gangs, impaired offenders, offenders who have been diagnosed with HCV (hepatitis C or AIDS), and sexual offenders. Not everyone will be getting treatments or put into programs in prison. Majority of the people are the ones who have a higher risk of danger when being put back into society; however, to prevent this, programs have been available in Canadian prisons. As you read on in this paper you will find out the different...
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...organized gangs in the American Justice System have been a growing problem. Drug trafficking, continued violence, and overrunning prisons are a few of the main challenges that the justice system faces when trying to control these gangs. Based usually on race, these gangs are believed to be some of the most dangerous in the world and are only getting larger. Even though measures are being taken to try and prevent these gangs from growing in size, most attempts fail as the gangs are becoming too prominent and too powerful. Prison gangs by definition are criminal organizations that originated within the penal system and they have continued to operate within correctional facilities throughout the United States. They[Prison gangs] are also considered self-perpetuating criminal entities that can continue their operations outside the confines of the penal system. Typically, a prison gang consists of a select group of inmates who have an organized hierarchy and who are governed by an established code of conduct. These gangs vary in both organization and composition, from highly structured gangs such as the Aryan Brotherhood and Nuestra Familia to gangs with less formalized structure such as the Mexican Mafia. Prison gangs are usually more powerful within state correctional facilities compared to the federal penal system (Trusty). The first recognized prison gang was originated at the Duel Vocational Institution in Tracy, California. It was originally founded by thirteen inmates who were...
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...Modern-Day Prison Gangs and How They Operate Angel Ruby March 21, 2013 American River College Modern-Day Prison Gangs and How They Operate There are several different prison gangs currently in power within the prisons today. There is the Mexican Mafia, La Neustra Familia, Black Guerrilla Family, and The Aryan Brotherhood. Though each gang has separate syndicates, these four gangs remain the most influential (A. Ruby, personal interview, March 19, 2013). How these gangs operate depends on the prison they occupy. While each of these gangs was initially created to survive in ethnically segregated situations that is not the case any longer. Currently the aspirations of these gangs have to do with protection, money, and reputation, they are very organized and efficient (A. Ruby personal interview, March 19, 2013). La Nuestra Familia was formed in the mid 1960’s to protect rural Mexican-American inmates from predator gangs, primarily from the urban Mexican-American inmates affiliated with the Mexican Mafia (Gangs OR Us Gang Identification, 1999). They represent northern California and are identified by their tattoos which are normally a dagger or sombrero with the letters “NF”. The NF use to operate through three categories (cat.1, cat.2, etc.). The higher the category you were in, the higher your rank within the gang. They later abolished that structure to try to institute equality inside the gang. They created a “mesa” which was an order of six members (A. Ruby, personal...
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...Security Threat Gangs In Prison Name Tutor Course College Date There has been a major concern of gangs in correctional facilities. This phenomenon has been common in prisons since 1960s, and continues to be a major problem over the years in correctional structures. In the year 1920, the number of prison gang was over 1300 in Chicago city and many other cities liked Los Angeles had started witnessing prison gangs. To critically understand this problem, it is important to explore the history and type of prison gangs that exist. In most prisons there is frequent unruly behavior and violence because of the prison environment. The kind of lifestyle among inmates makes a society of its own. The modern gangs have distinct colors of clothing’s particularly for identification. They come from all race, black, Asian, Hispanic and Caucasian. The Aryan brotherhood gang originated in 1967, California’s San Quentin state prison was the hub of this gang. The gang was set up to protect white inmates from other dangerous gangs of the African and Hispanic origin. Initially, the gang was known as the “bluebird” or “Nazi gang” and most of its members were from the white supremacy, Irish and Germany origin. The group received money from drug traffic to sustain its source of operations in the prisons. The condition that required an inmate to join the AB group was to murder one person that was targeted by the group (Parenti, 2000). On the other hand, members of the gang who were freed...
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