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institutional agression in the context of prisons - Coggle Diagram
institutional agression in the context of prisons
dispositional explanation (importation model)
prisoners bring their own characteristics and social histories with them into prison so interpersonal violence is not a product of the prison, but the prisoners themselves
criminal subculture
where inmates follow the norms and values of the professional or career criminal
values include not betraying each other and being trustworthy and reliable among fellow criminals
convict subculture
inmates that have been raised within the prison system
seek positions of power, influence and information within the prison system
conventional subculture
tend to be one time offenders
do not tend to be agressive while in prison
In the US, black inmates are more likely to be involved with interpersonal violence than white inmates due to coming from poorer communities with higher rates of violent crime therefore importing cultural norms relating to violence.
Pre-prison gang membership appears to be an important determinant of prison aggression. was found that gang members disproportionately engage in acts of prison violence. This could be because within the gang (outside of prison) violence is the norm and gang members bring that attitude with them when imprisoned.
evaluation
supporting evidence- analysed data from 58 US prisons. found black inmates had significantly higher levels of violent behaviour but lower rates of alcohol and drug related misconduct than white inmates. these patterns parallel racial differences in these behaviours in US society and so support the importation model
contradictory evidence- challenges claim that pre-prison gang membership predicts violence whilst in prison. he found that inmates with prior street gang membership were no more likely than other inmates to engage in prison violence. however, may be explained by fact that violent gang members sometimes isolated from other prisoners. means importation model still valid explanation of agression
situational explanation (deprivation model)
Prisoner aggression is a product of the stressful and oppressive conditions of the institution itself.
could lead the prisoners to become aggressive as aggression is a way to reduce stress, obtain desired resources and gain some control over their lives.
deprivations
deprivation of autonomy
No power and that they have few choices to make on a daily basis. Prison officials have almost complete control over prisoners’ behaviour, which leads to a feeling of almost total helplessness among inmates
deprivation of goods and services
deprivation of liberty
deprivation of heterosexual relationships
deprivation of security
Prisoners report fears for their own security. Many inmates describe other prisoners as violent and aggressive, and this can lead to a heightened sense of physical threat.
evaluation
supporting research. analysed inmate homicides in Texas prisons and found motivations for the behaviours were linked to some of the deprivation experienced in the unpredictable prison regime.As these are factors predicted by the deprivation model to make aggression more likely, these findings support the validity of a situational explanation
limitation- research inconsistent.looked at 371 state prisons in US and found little evidence of a relationship between violence and measures such as over-crowding. also pointed put that levels of deprivation remain fairly constant in many institutions and yet violence can erupt suddenly, for seemingly little reason. suggests that explanations for institutional aggression are more complex that the deprivation model proposes.
evaluation
gender bias. majority of research into institutional aggression is androcentric as research has mainly been carried out on males.However, when looking at female aggression in prisons the current state of research is mixed, as support has been found for both the Deprivation and Importation Models in understanding the female inmate subculture. Researchers have reported that female offenders develop stronger bonds with the other members of their social groups rather than identify with the prisoner sub-culture, and thus explanations for female aggression in prisons may be qualitatively different from those for male inmates.
interaction (16 mark essay+)
The interaction between the Importation and Deprivation models has been widely accepted as providing a more convincing understanding of the impact of imprisonment on inmate violence than either model separately
research support for both models as explanations of prison violence. They found the deprivation model was better able to explain violence against prison staff and the importation model was better able to explain violence against other inmates.