Kasey One thing I found super interesting in this week’s reading was the similarities in the social structures of male and female prisons. With both, there is a hierarchy of positions. Traditionally, crime and time are what get an inmate a specific level of status. These structures play a huge role in the challenges that inmates face because it can influence them to do things in order to achieve a specific status. Our book elaborates on this idea as it says, “Inmate societies, like other societies, have a hierarchy of positions. Inmates assume or are forced into special social roles, and some inmates – by virtue of the roles they assume – have more status or power than others” (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2021, p.286). When it comes to the social structures of male prisons, there are a wide number of roles. Some of the most common include the real man, the mean dude, and the bully. The “real man” is someone who does not want to cause any trouble or disorder. They are simply in there to do their time and get out, which I think is the most ideal role to play. The next role is known as the “mean dude.” This is a person who quickly relies on their physical strength to exert their power. They control those around them through force. Next is the “bully.” While the bully can sometimes result to physical force, they rely on intimidating others in public to scare them into compliance. Personally, I do not think that correctional institutions are doing an adequate job responding to these challenges. However, inmate hierarchy and the overall social structure of a prison is not something correctional institutions can directly control. R. V. Gundur stated in his article that, “…though certain characteristics of social control within prison seemed to evolve over time and not necessarily in the same way in each context” (Gunder, 2018). In short, the social structure that is built amongst the prisoners is not something the institution can effectively manage.  One of the main issues faced in correctional facilities today is the mistreatment of women and juveniles. While there are many different solutions, one of the most common is specific training for corrections officers. When it comes to dealing with women inmates, I believe more of an effort needs to be made to make sure they are receiving the proper treatment. The book mentions a training program that “… addresses unique aspects of managing female inmates and provides correctional staff training in the behaviors, actions, needs, and backgrounds presented by female offenders” (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2021, p.299). Everyone, no matter if they are a juvenile, women, or man, should be treated with care and respect. Hebrews touches on this area a bit as it says, “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Hebrews 13:3). This verse does not mention male inmates, female prisoners, or juveniles. It talks about prisoners as a whole, w ...

1. Kasey
One thing I found super interesting in this week’s reading was
the similarities in the social structures of male and female
prisons. With both, there is a hierarchy of positions.
Traditionally, crime and time are what get an inmate a specific
level of status. These structures play a huge role in the
challenges that inmates face because it can influence them to do
things in order to achieve a specific status. Our book elaborates
on this idea as it says, “Inmate societies, like other societies,
have a hierarchy of positions. Inmates assume or are forced into
special social roles, and some inmates – by virtue of the roles
they assume – have more status or power than others”
(Schmalleger & Smykla, 2021, p.286). When it comes to the
social structures of male prisons, there are a wide number of
roles. Some of the most common include the real man, the mean
dude, and the bully. The “real man” is someone who does not
want to cause any trouble or disorder. They are simply in there
to do their time and get out, which I think is the most ideal role
to play. The next role is known as the “mean dude.” This is a
person who quickly relies on their physical strength to exert
their power. They control those around them through force.
Next is the “bully.” While the bully can sometimes result to
physical force, they rely on intimidating others in public to
scare them into compliance. Personally, I do not think that
correctional institutions are doing an adequate job responding to
these challenges. However, inmate hierarchy and the overall
social structure of a prison is not something correctional
institutions can directly control. R. V. Gundur stated in his
article that, “…though certain characteristics of social control
within prison seemed to evolve over time and not necessarily in
the same way in each context” (Gunder, 2018). In short, the
social structure that is built amongst the prisoners is not
something the institution can effectively manage.
One of the main issues faced in correctional facilities today is

2. the mistreatment of women and juveniles. While there are many
different solutions, one of the most common is specific training
for corrections officers. When it comes to dealing with women
inmates, I believe more of an effort needs to be made to make
sure they are receiving the proper treatment. The book mentions
a training program that “… addresses unique aspects of
managing female inmates and provides correctional staff
training in the behaviors, actions, needs, and backgrounds
presented by female offenders” (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2021,
p.299). Everyone, no matter if they are a juvenile, women, or
man, should be treated with care and respect. Hebrews touches
on this area a bit as it says, “Remember those in prison as if you
were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if
you yourselves were suffering” (Hebrews 13:3). This verse does
not mention male inmates, female prisoners, or juveniles. It
talks about prisoners as a whole, which is why I believe it is
crucial to treat everyone fairly and to give them the treatment
they deserve.
Faith
Within male prisons, there is a hierarchy of positions. What this
looks like in a male prison system is that there are roles that
inmates will either take on or be forced into, in which there are
people who have power and people who are subordinate. There
are different ways that people have identified and categorized
prisoners and Schmalleger developed a typology of inmate roles
in male prisons based on “actual social roles found among
inmates in prison.” ( ) The 13 inmate roles are: (1) The real
man, (2) the mean dude, (3) the bully, (4) the agitator, (5) the
hedonist, (6) the opportunist, (7) the retreatist, (8) the legalist,
(9) the radical, (10) the colonist, (11) the religious inmate, (12)
the punk, and (13) the gang-banger. In male prison, it looks
more like a power structure.
Female prisons are quite different than male prisons. Not only
in physical structure but social structure as well. Schmalleger

3. and Smkyla (2021) explain that there are differences in how the
buildings look such as the neatness and location of female
prisons compared to more rough-edged male prisons. They also
explain that in the social structure of women’s prisons, they
develop a “substitute universe” and “preserve an identity.” They
mention that relationships are encouraged and that roles
assumed are based on personality, personal dependence, etc.
These structures influence the challenges that female inmates
specifically face while being institutionalized because unlike in
female prisons, there are a lot of facilities and opportunities
that are available to male inmates. Schmalleger and Smkyla
(2021) state that “treatment, education, recreation, and other
programs in women’s prisons have often been criticized as
inferior to those in men’s prisons”(Schmalleger & Smkyla,
2021). The lack of programs and the overcrowding have posed
several issues for female inmates such as a better chance at
rehabilitation. I believe that there is more that correctional
institutions can do in responding to these challenges that both
female and male inmates are facing in prison. Hebrews 13:3
says “continue to remember those in prison as if you were
together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if
you yourselves were suffering.” (English Standard Version
Bible, 2001, Heb. 13:3)This teaches and encourages us to want
better treatment for prisoners especially if they are
rehabilitation programs. Female inmates who are getting the
short end of the stick when it comes to treatment, education,
opportunities, etc. will have a harder time understanding how to
be better. It is important that we pay attention to that.
To respond to the special needs of inmates, correctional
institutions have to first learn and adopt the proper procedures
to identify inmates with special needs and react according.
The Handbook on Prisoners with special needs states that
“public health policies and strategies must include the needs of
prisoners and adequate funding must be provided to prison
health services to meet the needs of prisoners with mental (and
physical) health care requirements.” (United Nations Office on

4. Drugs and Crime, 2009) This is extremely critical for juveniles
because the process of recognizing special needs earlier on and
then addressing it will allow psychologists and correctional
agencies to better find solutions to help. It is extremely
important to accommodate these needs so that inmates can get
the help that they need.