Prison Regulations
Prison Life Rules and Regulations
Introduction to Prison Regulations
A set of rigid rules and regulations governs all inmate activity, including recreation and meals. Many of these rules attempt to prevent or reduce violence. Because of the diversity of races, ethnicities, and ages of prison inmates, as well as chronic overcrowding, officials expect inmate violence. Nevertheless, prison violence in the United States rose dramatically in the 1990s. Correction officials recorded nearly 30,000 inmate assaults on other inmates in 1997. Some state prisons, such as those in South Carolina, have successfully mitigated violence by segregating weaker prisoners from more violent and sexually aggressive inmates during evening hours.
Violence among prisoners also declines when prisoner participation in special services-such as prison jobs and self-help programs-is high. Prison officials also manipulate prisoners and control their violent conduct through staff reports and recommendations. These reports directly influence an inmate’s good-time credit-that is, the amount of time officials deduct from a prisoner’s sentence in exchange for cooperative behavior. Inmates who violate prison rules receive write-ups or misconduct slips that become a part of their permanent institutional record.
Accumulating write-ups can adversely affect a prisoner’s parole chances. On the other hand, inmates who obey the prison rules earn good-time credits. Good-time credits are awarded at the rate of 15 or 30 days off of one’s maximum sentence for every 30 days served. Thus, with good behavior, inmates may facilitate their early release. Some analysts criticize sentencing guidelines that provide mandatory minimum sentences or require inmates to serve a percentage of the sentence regardless of their behavior while in prison. These guidelines, adopted by many states since the 1970s, eliminate the use of good-time credit as an incentive for cooperation.
Inmate disciplinary councils provide another method of inmate control. These councils exist apart from the official prison sanctioning mechanisms (such as write-ups) and are found in all state and federal prisons in the United States. The councils consist of a number of inmates and one or two prison correctional officers. Inmate disciplinary councils serve as an impartial third-party arbiter to settle inmate grievances.
Inmate compliance or noncompliance with prison rules and regulations also depends on the development of an inmate code of conduct. Inmates form their own codes of conduct independent of prison regulations. These codes are typically established and enforced by dominant inmates. In his 1940 book The Prison Community, former correctional officer Donald Clemmer describes the process of inmate socialization he terms prisonization. When new inmates-or ‘fish’-arrive, other more seasoned inmates take them aside and acquaint them with the do’s and don’ts of life in prison.
In 1970 American sociologists Gresham Sykes and Sheldon Messinger described the basic tenets of an inmate code of conduct based on their observations of prison life. Other research confirms these maxims as enduring and widespread. The maxims include: (1) Do not rat or squeal on other inmates; (2) do not interfere with the interests of other inmates; (3) do not steal from, exploit, or cheat other inmates; (4) do not be a “sucker” or make a fool of yourself by supporting prison policies; (5) do not lose your cool; and (6) be a man, be tough, and don’t weaken. Inmates who violate these codes will be scorned or harmed by other inmates.
In various prisons, the presence of racially or ethnically dominant groups of inmates influences the enforcement of these codes. In 1974 American sociologist Leo Carroll noted the gradual influence of race and ethnicity on inmate cohesiveness and power during his observation of a small state prison in a highly urban and industrial Eastern state. Carroll found that prisoners formed cohesive associations among themselves primarily along racial lines. ” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Prison Regulations in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
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