Inmate harassment and rape: an exploratory study of seven maximum- and medium-security male prisons in Israel

Prisons deprive male inmates of heterosexual relationships and thus prevent them from asserting their masculinity via "traditional" means. Accordingly, many prisoners experience extreme emotional, psychological, and physical distress, which turns several of them to intimidation, aggression, and re-establishment of their sense of dominance through homosexual activities with coerced partners. This study, based on 760 hours of phenomenological semi-structured interviews undertaken in a random sample of 1.5% of the male prisoner population in Israel, analyzes the neglected issue of homosexual rape in Israeli prisons. The study finds that (a) sexual harassment or homosexual rapes rarely take place in Israeli prisons and (b) Israeli inmates view homosexual rape in prison as disgusting and disgraceful and conceptualize it in highly negative emotional terms.     

Gang activity in English prisons: The prisoners’ perspective

Abstract

Gang activity in American prisons has resulted in serious problems for prisoners and staff. This study assessed prisoners’ perceptions of gang-event frequency in the UK. Interviews with 360 prisoners from nine prisons in England and Wales indicated gang-related events were perceived as more frequent in all male categories of prison than they were in female institutions. Prisoners reported drug possession and prisoner groups being formed along regional origins as the most frequent gang-related activities. Recidivists perceived higher levels of gang-related activity than did first-time prisoners. Gang-related variables also predicted prisoners’ perceptions that groups of prisoners have more control over events in the prison than do staff and that order in the prison may not be maintained. The merits of interviewing prisoners and the implications of the results for maintaining order in prison are discussed.     

Politicized prisoners: From class warriors to faded rhetoric

This article examines the under-researched phenomenon of prisoner politicization in the United States and Canada, surveying a period between the prison turbulence of the 1960s to the current era of administrative control. The theoretical grounds for the concept of prisoner politicization are delineated, and a measure of politicization is constructed based on research undertaken at three British Columbia penitentiaries, involving direct interviews with prisoners. The decline of prisoner politicization over the past decade is related to innovative penal strategies that re-individualize prisoner orientations and discourage potential alliances between prisoners and non-prisoner activist groups.     

“A different world” exploring and understanding the climate of a recently re-rolled sexual offender prison

Understanding how sexual offenders experience prison and its environment is important because such experiences can impact on rehabilitation outcomes. The purpose of this research investigation was to explore the rehabilitative and therapeutic climate of a recently re-rolled sexual offender prison. The research took a mixed methods approach and consisted of quantitative and qualitative phases. There were differences between prisoners and staff on their perception of the prison climate and for prisoner and staff relationships. The qualitative results helped to explain the quantitative findings and added a more nuanced understanding of the experience of the prison, the nature of prisoner and staff relationships and the opportunities for personal growth within the prison. The study has important implications for prisons that co-locate sexual offenders and want to provide an environment conducive to rehabilitation.     

徒刑中自由内容与结构初探——从中国囚犯劳动报酬获取权利之实际状态切入

徒刑到底剥夺或限制着罪犯哪些自由目前并不清楚。以囚犯劳动报酬获取权利之实践来论述徒刑中被依法剥夺的自由类型和结构，就是一种很好的尝试。刑法除了规定囚犯必须参加劳动外，并未提及劳动报酬获取权，但规定只要罪犯劳动表现和贡献符合法定标准，就可获得减刑、假释，以劳动成果换取自由是一项制度实践；但此做法目前实际上还只专用于少数人而不普遍适用于一般服刑者，这表明从学理上揭示徒刑被剥夺的自由类型与结构有重大的实践意义。     

The Consequences of Prisoners’ Micro‐Resistance

For more than twenty years, scholars have called for greater attention to the consequences of micro‐resistance to legality. Using archival data from Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary (1829–1875), I examine the consequences of noncompliant prisoner behavior. I find that prisoners’ noncompliance often entailed substantial costs to prisoners, particularly in comparison to the substantial benefits of complying with the prison regime. Despite its cost to prisoners, noncompliance did not have a single set of uniformly negative consequences for the prison regime. In fact, some forms of noncompliance may have actually protected the prison's reputation. Prison administrators, external allies, and critics used episodes of noncompliance for their own goals and to reinforce their preexisting claims about the propriety of competing prison designs, yielding this variable significance of noncompliance. As this study illustrates, connecting prisoner misconduct to power dynamics in the broader field produces a fuller understanding of micro‐resistance's consequences.     

Not All Substance Dependence Problems are Recognized as Risks—Comparing a Medical Health Study with Prison Assessments

Substance abuse is viewed as one of the main factors (criminogenic needs) to be assessed and targeted in prison. Prison assessments of risk and needs are known to validly predict reoffending. However, there seems to be lacking research in how reliably the individual prisoner’s problems, such as substance abuse, are represented in the assessments. In this study, we compare an independent medical health study (N?=?510) with in-prison assessments for the same persons to see whether some of the inmates’ substance abuse disorders were overlooked in prison. We found that sentence plans (257) were in poor agreement with the health study (Kappa 0.315); they recognized only 65 % of all diagnoses. The risk and needs assessments (178) were in closer agreement with the health study, however, alcoholism diagnoses were recognized less accurately (Kappa 0.519) and less frequently (78 %) than drug diagnoses (Kappa 0.627, 87 %). The main factors predicting an assessment of substance abuse risks in prison, analysed through logistic regression were: longer stay in prison and one or more dependence diagnoses. We conclude that, a number of potentially criminogenic dependence problems remain unrecognized since some groups of prisoners are either completely left out from the more thorough instrument, the risk-and-needs assessment, or are not assessed thoroughly enough. This puts prisoners in unequal positions, since all interventions in prison are based on assessments. The study alerts us of the selectiveness of prisoner assessments in practical settings; the unrecognition of problems of shorter sentenced prisoners and prisoners with alcohol dependence.     

Social relationships between prisoners in a maximum security prison: Violence, faith, and the declining nature of trust

Purpose

This paper describes significant changes to social relationships in a high security prison, including the prominent role played by faith identities and fears of radicalisation in shaping prisoner social life.

Methods

The study consists of a repeated sociological investigation of the nature of staff-prisoner relationships at a single site in the UK. Methods included extensive observation, the creation of a regular dialogue group with 14 prisoners, long, private interviews with 32 staff and 52 prisoners, focus groups, and surveys with 170 prisoners and 180 staff.

Results

The study found a decline in already low levels of trust, with dramatic effects on the prison's inner life. Relationships between prisoners were fractured, more deeply hidden than in the original study, and the traditional prison hierarchy, formerly easily visible in long-term prisons, had dissolved. Longer sentences, fears of radicalisation, confusion about prison officer power, and high rates of conversion to Islam, reshaped the dynamics of prison life, raising levels of fear. Clear indications of the anxieties and social unravellings of late modern society were found.

Conclusions

Increased punitiveness, indeterminate sentences, the intensification of risk-oriented practices, and anxieties relating to terrorism, have deepened the tone and reshaped the practices of long-term imprisonment.     

Assaults on prison officers: Interactional themes

Little is known of the circumstances surrounding prison inmates' assaults on correctional officers. To provide a foundation for understanding the meaning of these events, this exploratory study analyzes a sample of 694 official reports of assaultive incidents in a large state prison system over a one-year period. Results of a content analysis suggest that assaultive events occur in relation to a number of interactional themes—unexplained, officer's command, protest, search, inmates' fighting, movement, contraband, restraint, discipline, emotional instability, sexual, intoxication, and medical. The study's findings affirm that prisoners and officers must cooperate in order to negotiate each day with a minimum of disruption. When either party violates salient norms, mutually beneficial interaction patterns may break down and violent interactions may result. Officially reported assaults on staff members may be understood most clearly by considering the authority of officers, the autonomy of prisoners, and processes of social control enacted by prisoners and officers alike.     

Sexual victimization against transgender women in prison: Consent and coercion in context

In this article, we conjoin two long‐standing lines of inquiry in criminology—the study of prison life and the study of sexual assault—by using original qualitative and quantitative data from 315 transgender women incarcerated in 27 California men's prisons. In so doing, we advance an analysis of the factors and processes that shape their experience of sexual victimization in prison. The results of qualitative analysis of 198 reported incidents of sexual victimization exhibit a range of types of sexual victimization experienced by transgender women in prison and reveal the centrality of relationships to their experiences of victimization. Findings from logistic regression models buttress the qualitative results, highlighting a factor that consistently and powerfully indicates vulnerability to sexual victimization is involvement in consensual sexual relationships with male prisoners. Together, the data demonstrate the prominence of intimate partner violence in prison, complicate the distinction between consent and unwanted sexual experiences in the lives of transgender women in prisons for men, and shine a light on the workings of gender in a total institution that privileges heteronormativity at the expense of the safety of transgender women in prisons for men. We discuss the implications of our findings in light of timely policy concerns.     

Examining the characteristics of male sexual assault targets in a Southern maximum-security prison

Studies concerning inmate-on-inmate sexual assaults within male correctional facilities are sparse in the sociological and correctional literatures. Only a few studies have specifically examined the characteristics of male inmate sexual assault targets. The current research sought to address this gap by providing an examination of factors related to victimization likelihood. Using data gathered in March 2000 from 142 inmates (18% return rate) in one Southern maximum-security prison, the authors examined demographic and behavioral characteristics of male inmate sexual targets. Based on inmates' self-reports of sexual victimization--threatened and/or forced sexual assault encounters--correlates of victimization were identified. Approximately 18% of the inmates reported inmate-on-inmate sexual threats, and 8.5% reported that they had been sexually assaulted by another inmate while incarcerated.     

Social bases of power and control mechanisms among prisoners in a prison organization

This research examines the social bases of power and control mechanisms among prisoners in a maximum security correctional facility for males. A qualitative research design was employed to assess the forms of power among inmates. The data suggests that the prisoner social world revolves around the interaction of many types of power. The kinds of power exhibited among prisoners were: coercive, referent, providing of resources, legitimate, and expert. Additionally, we offer some discussion on how an understanding of these social bases of power have implications for the prison environment and future research.     

Offenders as victims: post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder among male prisoners

Background: Comorbid substance use disorder(s) and post-traumatic stress disorder (SUD-PTSD) is common among prisoners and linked to an increased risk of criminal recidivism; however, little is known about the characteristics of prisoners with this comorbidity. Aim: This study provides a preliminary examination of the clinical and criminal profile of male inmates with symptoms of SUD-PTSD, and examines whether this profile differs according to whether a person has experienced a trauma while in prison. Methods: Thirty male inmates from two correctional centres in Sydney, Australia, were recruited and assessed using a structured interview. Results: The sample reported extensive criminal, substance use and trauma histories. A history of substance dependence was almost universal (90%) and 56.7% met diagnostic criteria for PTSD with the remainder experiencing sub-threshold symptoms. Forty-three per cent reported a traumatic event while in prison. Those who had experienced trauma in prison, compared to those who had not, were more likely to nominate heroin as their main drug of concern and to be receiving drug treatment in prison. There was also a trend toward inmates who had experienced a trauma in prison being more likely than inmates who had no prison trauma to have experienced a physical assault. Conclusion: Male prisoners with SUD-PTSD are a high-needs group yet treatment responses are poor. Further research examining treatment options for this comorbidity may improve prisoner well-being and reduce recidivism.     

Crime in China—As we saw it

The turmoil and prisoner violence that frequently follow court efforts to improve prison conditions have been called the “paradox of reform,” in which the very process intended to make the prison better can make it a more dangerous place. This argument implies that prisoners are often safer before the reforms and that high rates of violence and fear become a normal element of postreform prison life. The present analysis examines violence rates and prisoners' perceptions of risk before and through nearly a decade of litigated reform in the Texas prison system. Results show that prisoners did not feel at all safe in the “old days” and that the paradox exists only in the short term.     

Plugging the Prisoner Finance Gap: A Critical Analysis of Financial Support for Newly-Released Prisoners

Abstract: The prison discharge grant is intended to meet prisoners' immediate needs on release and assist with living costs prior to their receiving their first benefit payment. It has been widely criticised for providing inadequate financial support, leaving prisoners with a gap in their finances on release. This article discusses the extent to which recent policy developments have been effective in closing this gap. The analysis is based on data from a longitudinal qualitative study of 40 prisoners who were tracked over a six-month period following their release from prison. This research shows that despite new policy initiatives the prisoner finance gap remains.     

Ethical and legal consideration of prisoner's hunger strike in Serbia

Hunger strike of prisoners and detainees remains a major human rights and ethical issue for medical professionals. We are reporting on a case of a 48-year-old male sentenced prisoner, intravenous heroin user, who went on a hunger strike and died 15 days later. Throughout the fasting period, the prisoner, who was capable of decision making, refused any medical examination. Autopsy findings were not supporting prolonged starvation, while toxicology revealed benzodiazepines and opiates in blood and urine. Cause of death was given as "heroin intoxication" in keeping with detection of 6-MAM. Legal and ethical issues pertinent to medical examination and treatment of prisoners on hunger strike are explored in accordance with legislation and professional ethical standards in Serbia. A recommendation for the best autopsy practice in deaths following hunger strike has been made.     

The effect of digital technology on prisoner behavior and reoffending: a natural stepped-wedge design

Objectives

Although prisons aspire to rehabilitate offenders, they fail to prepare prisoners for release into our modern digitally sophisticated society. The objectives of the current study were to assess the impact of digital technology on the culture of prisons, and on prisoners’ ability to self-manage their behavior and reoffending.

Method

Using a natural stepped-wedge design, 13 prisons in the UK were examined that had installed self-service technology over a period of 7 years. A longitudinal multi-level model was used to analyze frequencies of disciplinary proceedings within and between the prisons before and after installation. Reoffending was examined in comparison with a control sample. Quantitative results were supported by a prisoner survey and usage data.

Results

Prison disciplinary offenses were significantly reduced over a two-year period, and reoffending in the first year after release was reduced by 5.36% compared to a 0.78% reduction in comparison prisons. The prisoner survey and usage data suggested that prisoners felt much more in control of their lives in prison and much more confident in coping with technology in the outside world.

Conclusions

The changes created by the introduction of digital technology offer the opportunity to make prisons more efficient for staff, and places of improved learning and rehabilitation for prisoners, contributing to a safer society. This study offers an important contribution to the field of corrections, providing the first quantitative assessment of the effect of prisoner self-service technology on prisoner behavior and reoffending.

     

Prisoners’ Positive Illusions of Their Post-Release Success

Prisoners' forecasts of post-release success may have implications for how they respond to imprisonment, release, and parole decisions. We examined sentenced US and UK prisoners' forecasts of recidivism, and how well UK prisoners believed they would fare compared to the average other prisoner. In both samples, forecasts of recidivism were unrealistically optimistic when compared to official statistics on recidivism. UK prisoners also demonstrated a self-enhancement bias by forecasting that they were less likely to re-offend than other prisoners. Prisoners' forecasts of recidivism were predicted by only a few of the pre-prison, in-prison, and post-prison factors that have been shown to be associated with actual recidivism. We discuss the implications of these findings and propose avenues for future research.     

Prison population growth and crime reduction

The impact of state prison populations on crime is typically estimated by applying the lambda, the individual crime rate, of prisoners or arrestees. We outline the problems with this approach, attempt to reanalyze the widely divergent lambdas derived in past research, and make adjustments necessary to use lambdas for estimating the incapacitation impact. The result is an uncertain estimate of 16 to 25 index crimes averted per year per each additional prisoner. We argue that regression analysis can provide a better estimate of the impact of prison population growth. Applying the Granger test to pooled state data over 19 years, we found that prison population growth leads to lower crime rates but that crime rate changes have little or no short-term impact on prison population growth. Next we regressed crime rates on prison population and conclude that, on average, at least 17 index crimes are averted per additional prisoner. The impact is limited mainly to property crime.