NCJ Number
143236
Date Published
1993
Length
123 pages
Annotation
This report documents the number and characteristics of assaults on staff and inmates in Michigan prisons in 1992.
Abstract
The report was compiled from the critical incident reports on file at the Correctional Facility administration; all 12 months of 1992 are covered. Data indicate there were 728 assaults on correctional staff in 1992; the majority were perpetrated with fists; only 13 percent involved any type of weapon. The majority of staff assaults were in the housing unit and the cell. There were 810 assaults on inmates in 1992. The majority were perpetrated with fists (54 percent), followed by weapons (42 percent). Of the assaults that involved a weapon, a knife was used in 57 percent of the cases. Most of the inmate assaults were in the housing unit and the yard. A comparison of staff and inmate assaults notes that most staff interpret even minor assaults on them as serious, as they view such behavior as a threat to the safe and orderly operation of the prisons. Inmates, on the other hand, often do not report minor assaults. In many cases, inmates do not report assaults unless and until medical treatment is required. Extensive tables and figures