NCJ Number
102080
Journal
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Volume: 478 Dated: (March 1985) Pages: 58-72
Date Published
1985
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Prison overcrowding produces deterioration in inmate-staff relations, inmate idleness, a breakdown in the inmate classification system, conditions that aggravate mental illness and violence, and inmate riots.
Abstract
Research suggests that prison overcrowding is not primarily a problem of population density but of the corollaries of crowding such as social instability, lack of programming, and the domination of custodial emphases. Overcrowding debilitates both inmates and staff. Inmates are differentially affected, as some have antisocial tendencies exacerbated, and others develop mental health problems. Staff focus on formal inmate control measures but are not helped by informal inmate behavioral controls such as positive programs and activities. Crowding prevents the matching of inmate needs to a multitude of program options. Inmate transience and idleness were identified as key causes of the 1983 riot at New York State's Sing Sing prison. Overall, prison overcrowding precipitates the mental conditions and negative behaviors prisons formerly were designed to correct. 34 footnotes.