NCJ Number
186412
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 79 Issue: 1 Dated: March 1999 Pages: 90-99
Date Published
March 1999
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Findings from a British survey of 1,182 inmates provide some insight on the dynamics of fear in prison.
Abstract
Data were drawn from a cross-sectional study of violence and victimization commissioned by the British Home Office Research and Statistics Directorate; the study was conducted between April 1994 and December 1995 at two adult prisons and two young offender institutions in England. Data collection was by means of a self-completion questionnaire that dealt primarily with the inmates' personal experiences of victimization. A total of 1,182 inmates were surveyed. The survey focused on incidences of serious verbal abuse and physical assault, with attention to respondents having been victims of or witnesses to these types of abuse. Feelings of safety were also explored. Findings show that there were high levels of assault and verbal abuse in the institutions studied. Overall, about two out of three young offenders stated that they felt safe from insults and being hurt or injured; however, the actual rates of self-reported victimization were high. Inmates who had been directly victimized reported feeling much less safe than those who had not been directly victimized. Most inmates stated that they felt safe in most places in the institution. The greatest number (but never more than one in four) felt unsafe in the segregation unit, in the showers, during their reception to the establishment, and when traveling to and from their residential wings. 4 tables and 8 references