Prison violence

Prison violence is inflicted onto either another inmate, a prison guard, or is self-inflicted. In 1999, it was reported that one in five inmates, or twenty percent of inmates, at fourteen state prisons had been physically assaulted by another inmate.[2] Prison violence can consist of inmates fighting with their fists, homemade weapons, prison rape, or, in some extreme cases, murder. The attacks that are implemented onto anyone but the self are either instrumental or expressive.

• Instrumental violence is premeditated; it is planned out, calculated, and then implemented. More commonly executed by males,[1] this act typically establishes power and is, “…justified and rationalized by the inmate population by creating peer admiration, fear, protection…”.[1] Typically, surviving in prison involves establishing strength and power, which is why instrumental violence is so commonly used.
• Expressive violence is a spontaneous attack typically carried out by women.[1] In this tactic, the attacker lashes out suddenly due to intense feelings of danger, fear, anger or resentment, resulting in the sudden jump into action. It can be concluded that expressive violence is a more responsive attack that occurs when the perpetrator feels provoked or threatened, whereas instrumental violence is carefully planned out and driven by vengeance.
• Self-harm is a purely psychological act. Many people that get sentenced to prison often suffer from or develop mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, and need psychiatric attention.[2] Due to influences such as their surroundings, the harsh treatment they receive from officers and inmates, and their sentencing time, self-harm and suicide rates are believed to be higher in prison populations than any non-incarcerated population.[2]

The perpetrators of violent attacks are convicted criminals, some of whom are in prison for committing crimes that left multiple people severely injured, so violence is in many of these individual’s nature. These people, “…settle disputes and seek power in the way they are accustomed- through violence”.[1] This natural tendency to commit violence is undoubtedly a huge factor that goes into why prison violence occurs, but the physical design of the prison can serve as another factor. A prison can either have indirect or direct supervision. Both types of supervision have their strengths, but also detrimental weaknesses.[1]

An improvised weapon (or "shiv") from a Soviet prison

Most inmates look to get into an altercation armed with some sort of homemade weapon. The weapons they use to attack their victims are made to be very destructive and can easily be both hidden and accessed. They use objects such as shanks, clubs, daggers, razors, and saps to serve as weapons.[9] A shank is a homemade knife,[9] and is used to stab the person they are planning on fighting with, typically created by sharpening a common object. Clubs are considered “…objects such as pitchers, hot pots, and broom handles…”.[9] They are put into use by throwing or hitting their target with these objects. A sap is typically a padlock enclosed in a sock,[9] but really any hard object can be placed inside. Their prey is hit, typically over the head, with this weapon. Razor blades are very commonly used to commit prison violence. When an inmate knows there is a possibly of facing an attack, they will often place razors inside their mouths (in their cheeks) so that they can spit the razor out of their mouth and slash up the other person’s face. Since this tactic has been caught onto, many times a person will first punch whomever they are fighting in the face so that if a razor is in there, their mouth will get cut.[10]

The prison store, supplies provided by prisons, and objects visitors bring[9] are typically where the weapon creation process begins. They get a hold of items, “…such as disposable razors and toothbrushes”.[9] Then, these materials get manipulated and transformed into a weapon of destruction. They may sharpen it or harden it using other items. In other instances, “Items that appear innocuous have been converted into weapons”.[9][11] Inmates also use everyday items in their natural form in dangerous ways that is clearly not used as they were originally intended. Often, when an inmate uses this form to create their weapons, it is used on officers because the items do not look questionable so it is easy to catch the corrections officer off guard.[9] Some will, “…fashion the metal post of a bunk bed or the edge of a cell door into a spear…that could be flung from inside a cell and penetrate a man’s neck or liver”,[10] which is called the bone crusher. Some inmates will go to great lengths to create weapons and many different ways to create these weapons has been discovered.

Officers call prison gangs STGs, or security threat groups. These groups are highly dangerous and take part in a huge majority of attacks that occur in prisons.[1] Originally, "The early formation of STGs was based on racial/ethnic ideologies and protection from other groups. Later they developed the intent to commit acts of violence and form crime syndicates."[1] These gangs' sole purpose is to have control and dominance, which is gained through violent attacks. Often, these attacks are committed onto rivals and people issued in the Bad News List. The Bad News List can be presumed as a factor for prison violence. This list is circulated among a gang and once a name is found on this list, it is inevitable that they will be attacked. A person is typically place on the Bad News List if they, "…stole from an affiliate on the outside, or because you failed to repay a drug debt, or because you're suspected of ratting someone out."[10]

The people on the list will be attacked on sight, but once their debts are paid, they are immediately removed from the Bad News List.[10] Most, if not all, gang prison violence is instrumental and is very intricately planned out. Gang members will often send out or receive encoded, in depth letters on violent attacks that are ordered to take place, other times, "…gang members used the drainage pipes of their in-cell toilets to communicate clandestinely across cellblocks…".[10] It has become clear that, "Extensive communication systems coordinated between inmates, criminal activity, and street gangs are common",[10] and a vast majority of the prison violence that occurs begins with these communication systems. Security threat groups are at the heart of many of the altercations that take place within prison walls and they remorselessly commit these vicious acts simply because they are ordered to do so.

Inmates often feel animosity and a sense of hatred towards prison guards due to the treatment they receive and the power the guards have over them. In 1999, more than 2,400 correctional officers required medical attention after being assaulted by an inmate, and according to a 2002-2003 study, most guards were assaulted through the use of clubs.[9] Along with these clubs, inmates tend to use weapons of opportunity when attacking an officer. A weapon of opportunity is any typical, everyday object that is not considered a weapon until used in a destructive way.[9] The reason for this hostility, and ultimately inmate attacks on guards can be placed onto the way the incarcerated are treated.

Inmates are often humiliated and have extreme force placed upon them. There are no excuses that can be made in an officer’s offense to defend these actions, unless their life was put into jeopardy. Implementing these uncalled for actions reasonably cause animosity between the inmates and guards. There are cases where if an inmate disobeys an order, “…groups of officers…approach his cell, dressed in protective gear and armed with shield, Tasers, and other weapons. If the inmate refuses to comply, the officers will flood his cell with chemical agents…they have reportedly thrown stinger grenades, which spray rubber pellets into a concentrated area…and violently subdue him”.[12] Correctional and Detention personnel use force as a last resort, in the above scenario; entry into an inmate's cell would need to be necessary before force could be justified. For example, if an inmate has a court hearing and has barricaded himself in his cell, refusing to come out or comply with the officials orders force might be used. Another instance would be if the inmate needed to be transferred to another facility and refuses to comply with the directives to move.

Preventing all prison violence is an impossible task because it is impossible to be prepared for any and every situation. Nevertheless, prisons are taking measures to avoid, or at least limit, this violence.[1] They are doing things such as balancing the cells, reducing blind spots, and training officers. When prisons receive new inmates, they search the background of the individual; they look into things like any possible gang affiliation and any history of racism or anger issues. After piecing this information together, the officers will place them in a cell block that they feel is most appropriate and that will cause the least arousal between the new inmate and the ones already housed there. Reducing the blind spots is a difficult task to complete because it is impossible to watch every inch of the prison at once, but by watching over as much as possible at a time does reduce the chances of violence occurring. Training officers is the third measure being taken. If officers treat the inmates properly and not be rash and assert violence on them so quickly, the inmates may feel more respected and not look to retaliate. Also with the training, officers are learning how to deal with minor altercations more effectively, as in without force and violence unless necessary. Also, the correction officers are learning about the psychology of the inmates. These officers are becoming aware of the psychological differences and hardships the incarcerated tend to face and how to properly deal with them.[2] If all of these precautionary measures are taken, then prison violence rates can definitely lower, although completely vanishing is something not likely.

• Prison riot
• Prison reform
• LGBT people in prison
• Prison gangs in the United States
• Prison rape in the United States
• Prison violence in Brazil

• Goulette, Natalie; Denney, Andrew S.; Crow, Matthew S. (August 28, 2020). ""Anything Can Happen at Any Time": Perceived Causes of Correctional Officer Injuries". Criminal Justice Review. 47: 17–33. doi:10.1177/0734016820952521. ISSN 0734-0168. S2CID 225202329.

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