Discuss the factors that influence the use of violence by prison inmates, and what efforts can be undertaken to reduce the chances of such violence.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Conflict, violence, and brutality are ever-present facts of institutional life. Violence can involve individual conflict, including inmate versus inmate, inmate versus staff, and staff versus inmates, as well as involving large groups of inmates. There is no single explanation for either collective violence or individual violence; however, factors related to prison administration, inmate population characteristics, and the racial makeup of inmates and staff can influence violence levels. Inmates who have a history of violence, particularly gang members, are more likely to be violent in prison. Street gangs often maintain prison branches that unit violence-prone inmates. Interestingly, people convicted of murder are no more violent than other members of the inmate population. Younger inmates, those with a record of prior incarceration, and those who have suffered prearrest drug use are the ones most likely to engage in disruptive behavior. Juvenile offenders in adult institutions have significantly higher violence rates than the adult inmate population. Many inmates also suffer from personality disorders, and in the crowded, dehumanizing world of the prison, it is not surprising that people with extreme psychological distress may resort to violence to dominate others. Research shows that psychopathy is the strongest predictor of violent recidivism and indifferent response to treatment. Inmates also resort to violence in order to survive and deal with inhuman conditions, and some of these conditions are simply the result of US incarceration policies. Therefore, special attention needs to be paid to counseling and medication to mitigate this distress. Effective interventions can help reduce violence in even the most disruptive inmates, especially those who begin to realize that repeat violent incidents are punished by long-term stays in segregation and other negative consequences. A lack of dispute-resolution mechanisms is another cause of violence. Violence can be reduced if prisons have mechanisms in place for handling inmate grievances against either a prison official or other inmates fairly and equitably. The conditions of prisons in general lead to violence, but it may be that the most rundown prisons have more violence, so an effort to humanize prisons can also help reduce violence. Despite these problems, there has been a sharp decline in both the suicide rate and homicide rate in prisons, which may be in part due to more advanced security measures and improved prison administration.