Institutional Aggression in Prisons

Institutional Aggression in Prisons

1. INSTITUTIONAL AGGRESSION: aggressive acts that are found in particularly violent institutions such as prisons.

2. THE DISPOSITIONAL EXPLANATION

   • Emphasises the causes of particular behaviour as being due to the enduring characteristics of the individuals involved rather than any aspect of the situation they are in.
     • Importation model - Irwin and Cressey (1962)
       • Suggests that inmates bring their violent pasts into prison, and draw on their experiences in an environment where toughness and physical exploitation are important survival skills.
         • Research support: Harer and Steffenmeier (2006) found that race, age, and criminal history were the only significant predictors of prison violence in 58 prisons across the U.S..
     • Gang membership
       • Within prisons, gang membership is consistently related to violence and other forms of anti-social behaviour. Pre-prison gang membership seems to be an important cause of prison misconduct.
         • Research support: Allender and Marshall (2003) found that gang members disproportionately engage in acts of prison violence. Members of street gangs offend at higher levels while in prison than their non-gang counterparts.
           • HOWEVER: DeLisi et al (2004) found that inmates with prior street gang involvement were no more likely than other inmates to engage in prison violence.
             • BUT... The lack of correlation between gang membership and aggression may be explained by the fact that violent gang members tend to be separated from the general prison population.

3. THE SITUATIONAL EXPLANATION

   • Emphasises the causes of a particular behaviour as being due to the context in which it occurs rather than the enduring characteristics of the individuals involved.
     • Deprivation model
       • Suggests that the stressful and oppressive conditions of the prison itself causes institutional aggression. Inmates react more aggressively to the oppressive conditions: this includes a loss of autonomy, liberty and security.
         • Research support: McCorkle et al (1995) found that situational factors such as overcrowding, lack of privacy, and the lack of meaningful activity all significantly influenced inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff assaults.
           • Key study: Wilson (2010) set up two units for violent prisoners that were less claustrophobic, gave a view of the outside, lowered the temperature, and played music to mask the noises associated with prison life. These changes virtually eradicated assaults on prison staff and other inmates.
       • Inmates may cope with the pains of imprisonment differently by either withdrawing to the seclusion of their cells or choosing to rebel in the form of violence.