NCJ Number
196604
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 82 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2002 Pages: 359-385
Editor(s)
Rosemary L. Gido
Date Published
September 2002
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This article discusses an empirical analysis of the contribution of prison gang affiliation to violence and other forms of misconduct within prisons.
Abstract
This study used automated data from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) of 82,504 sentenced males inmates (of which 7,445 were gang affiliated), in the custody of the Federal BOP on March 1, 1997, not only to evaluate gang affiliation but also to measure gang embeddedness to find out if core members of a prison gang were more likely to commit violent and other kinds of misconduct than were the more peripheral gang members. A three-tiered system was used to establish gang identity differentiation between members, suspects, and associates in the most organized and menacing gangs. A two-tiered classification system was used for all other gang members. A multivariate statistical model was the approach used to incorporate gang affiliation in the prediction of different forms of misconduct. It was found that both more specific and generic gang indicators were related to violence and misconduct. A composite measure of gang misconduct represents the threat that particular gangs pose to prison order. The threat index is model based and provides a graphical representation of the relative magnitude and heterogeneity of the threat posed by different gang affiliations. It is noted that the model-based index method deepens the understanding of the contribution of the gang to the threat of violence and misconduct in prison. It is recommended that a consistent finding, that time in a gang reduces the amount and probability of misconduct, be further studied. Tables, figures, notes, and references