NCJ Number
187056
Journal
Intelligence Report Issue: 100 Dated: Fall 2000 Pages: 24-29
Editor(s)
Mark Potok
Date Published
2000
Length
6 pages
Annotation
In jails and prisons around the country, allegations of racist and sometimes violent guards are plaguing the corrections industry.
Abstract
In at least six States, corrections guards have appeared in mock Klan attire in recent years, and guards have been accused of race-based threats, beatings, and even shootings in 10 States. In addition, suits have been filed in at least 13 States by black guards, alleging racist harassment or violence from their own colleagues. Uncounted settlements have been reached in civil cases filed by guards or inmates where damages are sealed by court order. Faced always with the constant threat of violence, the vast majority of guards control inmates while avoiding retaliation; however, there are those who become involved in the battles they see around them, and some wage brutal offensives of their own. Some guards delegate to selected inmates responsibility for inflicting violence on inmates who act out against or disobey guards; however, in other cases "guard gangs" organize around themes of physical strength and a shared animosity toward prisoners. Some of this problem can be attributed to the increasing number of prisons being built in rural, largely white areas of the country. Many sent to these prisons are black and Latino, and the employees are mostly white. Consequently, the guard-inmate interactions are often fraught with tensions and a clash of cultural values. This article provides anecdotal evidence of guard misconduct against inmates while acknowledging that data on the prevalence of this problem is absent. The article emphasizes that the bulk of corrections officials are "far from being white supremacists."