Prison violence
Prison violence is a daily occurrence due to the diversity of inmates with varied criminal backgrounds and power dynamics at play in penitentiaries.
[1] Factors such as gang rivalries, overcrowding, minor disputes, and prison design contribute to violent attacks.
Steps that are taken include placing violent convicts and gang leaders into solitary confinement, balancing the cells by critically examining each inmate to see where they are likely to reside peacefully, reducing blind spots, and conducting officer training and education.
The perpetrators of violent attacks are convicted criminals, some of whom are in prison for committing crimes that have left multiple people severely injured or dead.
[1] Indirect supervision is when a correctional officer is placed in an enclosed booth and must constantly watch over the inmates through a bird’s eye view.
These are created through indirect supervision because the guards standing watch can have objects blocking tiny spots or they may just not be looking in the right direction at the right time.
[1] Overcrowding is a significant problem many prisons face[1] because handling a large number of volatile inmates at once can lead to many altercations.
Other factors, such as a shortage of guards and inmates possessing weapons, can create further opportunities for violent incidents to occur.
[2] Trying to assert authority and strict rules on these violent offenders is extremely difficult due to the fact that these people do not respond well to restrictions and being told what to do.
Frances Crook, of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: Cutting staff and prison budgets while allowing the number of people behind bars to grow unchecked has created a toxic mix of violence, death and human misery … Today’s figures show that we cannot wait for legislation – bold and radical action is needed now to stop the death toll rising further.
[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.
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.
[9][11] Inmates also use everyday items in their natural form in dangerous ways that is clearly not used as they were originally intended.
These groups are highly dangerous and take part in a huge majority of attacks that occur in prisons.
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.
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.
[9] The reason for this hostility, and ultimately inmate attacks on guards can be placed onto the way the incarcerated are treated.
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”.
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.
This prevention measure works because it takes the biggest threats and influences, such as gang members, out of the picture.
