NCJ Number
176591
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: February 1999 Pages: 4-6-23
Date Published
1999
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the methodology and findings of a survey of 775 recently released adult male inmates regarding their perceptions of violence in prison; relationships between perceptions of the levels of prison violence and the individual sociodemographic characteristics of race/ethnicity and age are examined.
Abstract
Data were obtained from a survey administered during a 6- week period to 775 men just released from incarceration in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's (TDCJ's) Institutional Division. To measure ex-inmates' perceptions of violence in prison, they were asked their levels of agreement with five statements regarding violence and victimization: "I worried a lot about getting beaten up or attacked while I was in TDCJ"; "I almost never had any problems with other inmates while in TDCJ;" "There are enough guards to provide safety and security for the inmates"; "Inmates attack other inmates very often"; and "Overall, it is pretty safe in TDCJ." The respondent's age was highly predictive of perceptions of violence generally. The older ex-inmates tended to view violence as a greater problem and threat than did the younger inmates. Race played a prominent role in only one model. White respondents were 1.47 times more likely than black respondents to agree with the statement, "I worried a lot about getting beaten up or attacked while I was in TDCJ." Hispanic respondents were 1.2 times more likely to agree with the statement than black ex-inmates. The difference between white and Hispanic ex-inmates was not statistically significant. 3 tables and 46 references