NCJ Number
199548
Date Published
2003
Length
240 pages
Annotation
Based on the authors research in British prisons over 5 years, this book examines the patterns of decisionmaking that guide inmates in handling their disputes, their interpretations of potentially dangerous situations, the role of reciprocal victimization, and the institutional norms that promote violence as a means of resolving conflicts.
Abstract
The book brings together evidence from two major research endeavors on prison life, both conducted in England and Wales. The first study, "the victimization study," focused on the extent of various forms of harmful behavior, ranging from assaults with weapons to social exclusion. The second study, "the conflicts study," stemmed from the first study. It collected detailed information on the tactics inmates used in dealing with problems that arose among them and the circumstances that resulted in physical violence. The research included surveys of 2,000 inmates and more than 300 in-depth interviews. The distinctive feature of this book is the weaving together of the findings of the two studies to construct an account of the forces that shape individual inmates' experiences of conflict, fear, and the struggle for power within the prison environment. The findings of "the victimization study" are the basis of the examination of the prison environment in three of the chapters. One chapter maps the frequency of crimes, such as assaults and robbery, which are committed by inmates against other inmates. The authors argue that victimization is routine in prison and that the risks of being assaulted, threatened, or exploited are sufficiently high to be a formative aspect of the prison social structure. Since much victimization among inmates is mutual, one chapter examines the victim-perpetrator overlap. Fear and vulnerability are discussed in another chapter. Against the backdrop of the previous chapter, subsequent chapters draw on "the conflicts study" to explore how disputes among inmates escalate into fights and assault by analyzing the roots of violent incidents among inmates. The authors advise that power plays a key role in prison society and in the interpersonal conflicts that arise between inmates. Still, not all conflicts result in physical violence, so the final chapter of the book builds on all the research findings to outline strategies for inmate safety, presenting some recommendations for how violence might be reduced in prisons. 8 figures, 15 tables, 90 references, and a subject index