NCJ Number
120344
Date Published
1989
Length
8 pages
Annotation
A nationally representative survey of State prison inmates in 1986 found that 53 percent had been charged with violating prison rules at least once since entering prison on their current sentence and that the percentage charged with infractions was similar to that in the last survey in 1979.
Abstract
The survey also found that younger inmates and those with more extensive criminal careers or drug histories were the most likely to have violated prison rules. Rule violations were also more common in larger prisons and maximum-security prisons and among males, but were similar for white and black inmates. In addition, more than 90 percent of the inmates charged with infractions were found guilty in prison administrative proceedings, regardless of inmate or prison characteristics. Furthermore, inmates serving their first prison sentences had a lower infraction rate than did recividists. Finally, the most common penalties were solitary confinement or segregation and loss of good-time credit. Tables and description of methodology.