2. Prison Society
Norms and Values: Inmates have their own myths,
slang, customs, rewards, and sanctions
The inmate code
Don’t interfere with inmate interests
Don’t quarrel with fellow inmates
Maintain yourself
Don’t exploit inmates
Don’t trust the guards or the things they stand for
3. Prison Society
Norms and Values
Fish-learning the ropes of prison
Prisonization—degradation process
Contemporary inmate society
Race
Ethnicity
Age
4. Prison Society
Prison Subculture: Deprivation or
Importation?
Pains of imprisonment
Deprivation of liberty, autonomy, security, goods
and services, and heterosexual relationships
Three subcultures
Convict, thief, “straight”
5. Discussion Question
Discuss with students the main tenets of the
inmate code. Ask the students to pretend that
they are new inmates off to prison for a 10
year sentence. Have them discuss what they
believe would be the most difficult
deprivations for a new inmate. How do they
believe they would adapt to prison life?
6. Prison Society
Adaptation
Adaptive Roles
Doing time-brief stay, break in criminal career
Gleaning-take advantage of prison programs
Jailing-cut off from outside and develop life within
the prison
Disorganized criminal-cannot develop any of the
other three roles
7. Prison Society
The Prison Economy
Commissary
▪ Toiletries
▪ Tobacco
▪ Snacks
Underground economy
▪ Food
▪ Homemade wine
▪ Drugs
▪ Sex
9. Males versus Females
Offense: 36% violent offenses, 28.8% property
offenses, 26.3% drug related, 8% public order
crimes
Sentence: shorter than male sentences
Drug use: drug use higher in females within a
month of criminal activity
Correctional history: 65% had prior criminal
history
10. Women in Prison
The Subculture of Women’s Prisons
Pseudofamilies
Homosexual roles
Less stable and less familial than in the past
11. Women in Prison
Male versus Female Subcultures
Women less violent than men
Women’s prisons less violent than men’s
Women more responsive to prison programs than men
Women’s security levels mixed, men’s not
Women less likely to segregate by race than men
Women form intimate relationships with staff
12. Issues in the Incarceration
of Women
Sexual misconduct by male correctional
officers is an issue
Any behavior that is sexual in nature directed
toward an inmate by an employee, official visitor,
or agency representative
Includes
Touching
Threats
Exposure
13. Issues in the Incarceration
of Women
Sexual Misconduct
Jeopardizes facility security
Creates stress and trauma for those involved
Exposes agency and staff to potential lawsuits
Creates a hostile work environment
Victimizes the vulnerable
14. Discussion Question
Split the class in half. Students should debate
the pros and cons of opposite gender
supervision. More specifically, do the
students believe that male officers should be
allowed to supervise female inmates? Should
female officers be allowed to supervise male
inmates?
15. Issues in the Incarceration
of Women
Mothers and Their Children
Over 60 percent of female inmates in state prisons are
mothers of minor children
Estimated 131,000 minor children of incarcerated mothers
daily
61% Lived with children prior to incarceration
Single parents
Prison nursery programs
Kids cared for by family, 10.9% by foster care programs
16. Prison Programs
Prison programs help inmates cope with
prison life and provide opportunities to
improve their lives
Classification of Prisoners-inmates needs
Treatment based on assessment of needs
Risk assessment
Treatment assessment
Predictive models
Equity based models
17. Prison Programs
Educational and Vocational Programs
Educational programs
Reading, English, math
GED
Practical problems
Lack of basic skills
Attitudes not conducive to learning
18. Prison Programs
Educational and Vocational Programs
Vocational programs
Job skills
Problems
Less-desirable jobs
Obsolete or outdated equipment
Outdated skills
Women’s programs “stereotypical” jobs
Lack of attitudes and habits necessary to keep a job
Barred by felony convictions
19. Prison Programs
Prison Industries
Piece price system
Public account system
State-use system
Public works and ways system
21. Prison Programs
Medical Services— Estelle v. Gamble
Inmates have right to medical
treatment while incarcerated
Hepatitis C
HIV
Poverty
Aging
22. Prison Programs
Medical Services
Women inmates
More serious medical problems
Arthritis, asthma, cancer, heart problems, liver
problems, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted disease
Pregnancy
High risk
23. Discussion Questions
Discuss with students the idea of medical
treatment for prisoners. Should prisoners
receive free medical treatment for diseases
such as HIV and Aids while non-criminal
citizens cannot afford the same drugs? What
unforeseen circumstances could arise from
such policies?
Editor's Notes
Sources: E. Ann Carson and William J. Sabol, Prisoners in 2011 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 2012); Caroline Wolf Harlow, Education and Correctional Populations (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 2003).