NCJ Number
147553
Editor(s)
M C Braswell,
R H Montgomery Jr,
L X Lombardo
Date Published
1994
Length
435 pages
Annotation
Violence in the prison environment is increasing in an atmosphere where power is the currency of control and where exploitation and self-interest represent the goals of control; prisoners victimize each other economically, sexually, and psychologically, and prisoners and staff victimize each other as well.
Abstract
In order to understand prison violence, the book focuses on the complex interrelationships that link individual personalities, social attitudes and beliefs, organizational conditions, structural patterns and cultures, legal doctrines, political processes, and broader perceptions about public opinion. Both historical and contemporary accounts of prison violence are presented in four book sections: (1) reflections on the experience of prison violence; (2) interpersonal violence; (3) collective violence and prison riots; and (4) prison violence prevention. Book chapters address prison life, the link between violence and the crisis of meaning in prisons, cruel and unusual punishment aspects of prison life, inmate-on- inmate violence, sexual violence, victims of violence, and correctional administration. Book chapters also deal with excessive use of force in prisons, assaults on prison staff, causes of prison riots, judicial reform and prison control, and the effect of social climate on prison violence. References, notes, tables, and illustrations