Managing prison gangs: Results from a survey of U.S. prison systems

Responses from a survey of gang management strategies were collected from U.S. prison systems holding 1.19 million inmates. The results provided insight into the prevalence of gang members in prisons, gang structure, as well as the strategies used to manage the threat that these groups pose. Officials from most prison systems reported an increase in the proportion of security threat group (STG) members over the past five years and that these offenders were more disruptive and sophisticated than five years ago. Despite these challenges, there was no one clear strategy for the investigation or suppression of these groups, nor did most systems evaluate the effectiveness of their current gang management interventions. A lack of rehabilitative opportunities for gang members represents one shortcoming in the range of gang management strategies in most jurisdictions. The implications of these findings are addressed.     

Probability of exceeding a given prison population size

The infinite server, steady state, queueing system with exponential arrival and general service times is proposed as a model for determining the probability of exceeding a given inmate population level in prisons in the United States. This model is also applied to the case in which the average time served is disaggregated into categories and their relative proportions or frequencies of occurrence are known.     

Psychosocial characteristics of criminals committing incest and other sex offenses: a survey in a Taiwanese prison

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychosocial characteristics of criminals who had committed incest or other sexual offenses. The participants, 240 criminals serving sentences for sex offenses in a Taiwanese prison, were divided into two groups: incest offenders (20.4%) and other sex offenders (79.6%). The psychosocial characteristics taken into consideration included age, parental survival, education, marital status, previous crime records, drug and alcohol abuse, diagnosed mental disorders, and victim abuse at the time of the offense. After an analysis of the data, the authors concluded that even though incest offenders showed fewer mental disorders, they needed psychiatric treatment and that this treatment should be focused not only on their mental disorder and related symptoms but especially to correct their abnormal behavior. Also, attention should be given to their psychosocial characteristics.     

Intellectual disability in a prison population with anger problems in Trinidad

This paper describes the characteristics of groups of prisoners selected to take part in an anger management programme in prisons in Trinidad. Participants completed demographic measures, an IQ assessment, mental health measures and anger rating scales. Fifty-six inmates were screened with the WASI-2 and characteristics of this group are explored in this paper. The mean IQ for the group was 72.34 and 22 had a recorded IQ below 70 (37.5%). All of the respondents reported high levels of mental health problems with their mean ratings on the SCL-90 being closer to those of inpatient psychiatric group norms than non-clinical groups. A score of less than 70 on the WASI-2 is not sufficient for a diagnosis of an Intellectual Disability. Nevertheless, the results suggest that a significant number of individuals in these prisons may have an Intellectual Disability. More research is needed to help identify these individuals and provide support.     

Risk assessment and geography teachers: a survey

Recently the issue of health and safety procedures on field trips and school visits has come to the fore, as a result of a series of tragedies involving the deaths of pupils. A review of some of the recent court cases and inquests involving the victims of field trips was undertaken. This indicated that schools and teachers are failing to implement risk assessment procedures which are a requirement of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The research focuses on the perceptions and practices of geography teachers as leaders of field trips. A central question is whether or not geography field trips are operating to acceptable safety standards. A questionnaire was constructed which set out to explore a sample of Northern Ireland geography teachers' attitudes to issues of liability and risk assessment. The findings indicate that teachers' compliance with Regulation 3, the requirement to conduct adequate risk assessments is variable, and a small proportion never undertake any risk assessments. The majority of respondents indicated that they had not received any training in conducting risk assessments. The findings raise concerns about the self‐regulation of safety procedures by teachers on field trips.     

Canada: coroner's inquest into the methadone-related death of a prisoner

A coroner's jury made 14 recommendations at the conclusion of an inquest into the death of Sonia Faith Keepness, a 37-year-old inmate at Prince Grove Correction Centre in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.     

Further insights into the construct of criminal social identity: validation of a revised measure in a prison population

The current study objective was to develop a revised version of the Measure of Criminal Social Identity (MCSI) with an increased number of indicators to more reliably capture three MCSI dimensions. Dimensionality and construct validity of the Measure of Criminal Social Identity – Revised (MCSI-R) was examined among a sample of systematically selected inmates (N = 2192). Four competing models of the MCSI-R were specified and tested using Mplus with weighted least squares with mean and variance adjustment estimation. Bifactor model with three meaningful factors (cognitive centrality, in-group affect and in-group ties) while controlling for the general factor was the best fit for the data. Good composite reliability of the three MCSI-R dimensions was established. The three subscales of the MCSI-R evidence differential predictive utility for prisonization, number of incarcerations, self-esteem and violent offending. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Cannabis and driving: Results from a general population survey

The role of illicit drugs on driving, and particularly of cannabis and driving, is the object of increasing awareness. While there is increasing evidence of their effect on psychomotor performance and increased risk of involvement in traffic accidents, limited information is available concerning factors that can predict the likelihood of driving under the influence of cannabis. The present study aims to determine the past year prevalence of driving under the influence of cannabis, and of being a passenger in a vehicle driven by a person under the influence of cannabis, as well as to examine the correlations with a broad range of potential risk factors. A total of 2500 people, aged between 14 and 70 and living in Castille and Leon (Spain), were surveyed in 2004 with regard to their consumption of alcohol and illicit drugs. Among those who reported cannabis use in the previous year, further assessment was carried out. 15.7% of those surveyed reported cannabis consumption in the previous 12 months, of whom 9.7% reported driving a vehicle under the influence of cannabis during this period, on average eight times. One out of five (19.9%) reported being a passenger in a vehicle driven by a person under the influence of cannabis, on average five times in the previous 12 months. The predictors of driving under the influence of cannabis were the population size of community, the number of drugs consumed, reference to cannabis-related problems and to being a passenger in a vehicle driven by a person under the influence of alcohol. The data show that cannabis consumption and driving is common, and requires more attention from policy makers.     

Learning to pass: sex offenders' strategies for establishing a viable identity in the prison general population

This article endeavors to illustrate the realities of prison life for sex offenders and the means by which they attempt to establish viable identities and acquire a survivable niche in the prison general population, particularly when established identities and protective niches are put at risk by entry into a sex offender treatment program. Qualitative data was collected by repeatedly interviewing a cohort of sex offenders for 6 months as they completed a basic sex offender treatment program. The findings indicate a need to include consideration of treatment context in understanding the limits of treatment gain in prison-based programs.     

Black attitudes in prison: A sociological analysis

This study examined attitudes of black inmates at two institutions located in different sections of the United States. The attitudinal dimensions considered were black radicalism, race cohesiveness, class consciousness, the soul orientation, and allegiance to the inmate code. It was determined that despite the regional location of the institutions, there was considerable similarity regarding the relationship of the attitude sets to various pre-prison experiences and background factors, violence in prison, and type of offense. With respect to socialization effects, the nature of the institutional environment appeared to have a major impact upon the inmate's attitudinal orientation. The implications of the findings for the “Importation vs. Functional Adaptation” debate concerning the origins of inmate attitudes and behaviors are discussed.     

A comparison of the community adjustment of mentally ill offenders with those from the general prison population

In an effort to understand the relationship between crime and mental illness, mentally ill offenders (MIOs) and those from the general prison population (non-MIOs) are compared on their postprison adjustment. MIOs are defined as those individuals who required psychiatric hospitalization during their incarceration. These 547 offenders (147 MIOs and 400 non-MIOs) were then followed for 18 months from date of prison discharge. Information on their adjustment came from several sources, including correctional data, parole reports, incidence of arrests and dispositions, and rates of psychiatric hospitalization. With the exception of drug offenses, no significant differences were found in the rates or types of rearrests between the two groups. Additionally, rearrest among MIOs was found to be associated with the same standard correlates of crime found in nondisturbed offenders: age and prior criminal record. Policy implications derived from these findings are discussed.This research was supported by NIJ doctoral grant NO. 86-IJ-CX-0073. I am indebted to the people of the NY Office of Mental Health, Departmental of Correctional Services, Division of Parole, and Division of Criminal Justice Services for providing me with access to these data. I would also like to thank Dr. Hans Toch and Dr. Ken Adams for allowing me to build on their reserach. Finally, I am very grateful for the helpful comments made on previous drafts by Dr. David Griswold, Dr. Ron Jemelka, Dr. Ellen Steury, and the anonymous reviewers at the journal.     

Serious assaults on prison staff: A descriptive analysis

Objective

The current study sought to illuminate the patterns associated with serious inmate-on-staff assaults, as well as the characteristics of perpetrators and victims.

Material and methods

This study examined 79 assaults on prison staff requiring more than first aid treatment, perpetrated by 96 inmates, in a large state correctional department during a 14-month period (September 1, 2007 through October 31, 2008).

Results

These assaults were both infrequent (53 per 100,000 inmates annually) and progressively more infrequent as the severity increased (hospitalization for non-life threatening injury or required reconstructive surgery = 2.2 per 100,000 inmates annually; hospitalization for life-threatening injury = 0.5 per 100,000 inmates annually). Among staff victims, Black and female correctional officers were underrepresented. Inmate perpetrators who were younger, Black, prison gang members, and/or serving sentences for violent offenses were disproportionately represented among assailants.

Conclusions

The low overall rate of serious staff assaults attests to the level of professionalism and training in modern corrections departments. Nonetheless, situational factors uncovered in the current analysis suggest that particular circumstances increase the likelihood of staff assaults, hence the need for continued training and vigilance on the part of correctional staff that come in direct contact with inmates.     

A comparative exploration of prison discipline

The maintenance of a sufficient level of discipline in correctional institutions, without abandoning the due process principle, is an important organizational problem that warrants theoretical and empirical research. In this study, the formal disciplinary procedures of the Ramle prison in Israel were explored, described, and compared with those of the Rhode Island State Prison. Generally, it was found that the disciplinary process in Ramle was more flexible and relaxed than the similar process in Rhode Island. The possible advantages and disadvantages of the two systems are compared and reviewed.