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CHAPTER 11
The Prison Experience
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Discuss the “inmate code” and explain where the values of the prison subculture come from.
3. Explain the different types of prison violence.
4. Discuss what can be done about prison violence.
LESSON PLAN
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Prison Society
Learning Objective 1: Discuss the “inmate code” and explain where the values of the prison
subculture come from.
A. Publication of Fishman’s Sex in Prison (1934) marked the beginning of the social
scientific study of subcultures in maximum-security institutions.
2. They possess values, roles, language, and customs.
4. Some incarcerated individuals stay by themselves, others form cliques, and
others become politicians of the convict society.
5. Group membership provides protection and identity.
B. Norms and Values
1. The inmate code: norms and values developed within the prison social system
help to define the inmate’s image of the model prisoner; prison is an
ultramasculine world. Sykes described the inmate code as follows:
2. A majority of incarcerated individuals hold views on law and justice similar to
those held by the general public.
3. Prisonization: how the “fish”—the newcomer—learns the norms and values of
prison society. Prison subculture roles most frequently described:
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© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or
in part.
a. “Right guy” or “real man” is one who upholds a convicted person’s
values and interests.
b. “Square John” has a noncriminal self-image.
c. “Punk” is a passive homosexual.
d. “Rat” is someone who squeals to the authorities.
4. Prison society is divided along racial and ethnic lines; many prisons are marked
by racially motivated violence.
C. Prison Subculture: Deprivation or Importation?
1. Deprivation—Sykes argues that the subculture arises within the prison in
3. Irwin and Cressey suggest that there are three subcultures: convict, thief, and
4. Zamble and Porporino hold that inmate behavior results from how inmates
cope with and adapt to the prison environment.
D. Adaptive Roles: Most males in prison use one of four basic role orientations to adapt
to prison.
1. Doing Time: men “doing time” view their prison terms as a brief, inevitable
break in the criminal career, a cost of doing business.
3. Jailing: chosen by those who cut themselves off from the outside and try to
construct a life within the prison.
4. Disorganized Criminal: people who are unable to develop any of the other three
Media Tool
Visit http://www.prisonerlife.com
o Prisoner Life of Incarcerated Individuals
o Ask students what they think it would be like to be serving a long sentence in prison.
Have them express what they base these feelings on. Discuss in class.
See Assignment 1
II. The Prison Economy
Learning Objective 2: Analyze the prison economy.
A. As in the outside world, individuals desire goods and services, but prison residents are
deprived of virtually everything.
B. The number of items an incarcerated individual can have varies from state to state.
C. The prison “store” versus the informal underground economy:
2. Money deposited by family members or earned through prison jobs is kept and
used at the store.
4. Kalinich found the prison economy works on supply and demand, as it does
outside.
6. The most important commodity is cigarettes. It is the medium of exchange, the
currency.
III. Violence in Prison
Learning Objective 3: Explain the different types of prison violence.
A. Prisons offer the perfect recipe for violence.
B. Each year 34,000 incarcerated individuals are attacked.
2. In 2014, 20 per 100,000 incarcerated individuals committed suicide. This is
down from 34 per 100,000 in 1980.
C. Violence and Inmate Characteristics
1. A perfect recipe for violence: a thousand young men, some with histories of
violent behavior, confined in cramped quarters.
2. Three factors underlie violent behavior among inmates:
a. Age
i. Young males between ages 16 and 24, both inside and outside prison,
are more prone to violence than are older men. The young not only
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ii. Reactions are often spurred by machismo, or male honor, which
requires those who are insulted to retaliate.
b. Attitudes
i. One sociocriminological theory is that there is a subculture of
violence among certain socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic groups.
c. Race
i. Race has become a major divisive factor in today’s prisons, reflecting
tensions in the larger society.
D. Prisoner–Prisoner Violence
2. Prison Gangs
a. Gangs are also known as “security threat groups.”
b. Gangs are linked to acts of violence in most prisons and make it difficult
for wardens to control their prisons.
c. A lot of prison gang activity is interracial.
d. Gangs are organized primarily to control an institution’s drug-dealing,
gambling, loan-sharking, prostitution, extortion, and debt-collection rackets;
they also protect their members and instill a sense of macho camaraderie.
e. Administrators use a variety to tactics to reduce gang influences,
including:
i. Identifying gang members
ii. Segregating housing and work details
Media Tool
Visit http://www.nj.gov/oag/gang-signs-bro.pdf
o Gang Identification and Awareness
o Discuss gangs that exist both in and out of prisons. Ask students to elaborate on gang
activity that they have themselves witnessed, if any. Have them explain why they think
that gangs are just as much a part of prison life as they are a part of life outside of prison.
What If Scenario
What if you wanted to decrease the power of gangs in prison? What steps would you take toward
that goal?
3. Protective Custody
a. For many victims of prison violence, protective custody is the only way to
escape further abuse; these individuals are let out of the cell only briefly,
4. Sexual Victimization
a. First-time, nonviolent prison residents
b. Individuals convicted of crimes against a minor
Media Tool
Visit http://www.justdetention.org/
o Just Detention International
o Discuss this organization and its stance on prison victimization. Discuss why prison
residents may be at higher risk than individuals living outside a prison. How does this
organization help prison residents?
Class Discussion/Activity
Have students visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/programs/prisonrapeelimination.htm to learn more
regarding the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003. Ask them to further research to see how your
state implements this program and the enforcement process.
What If Scenario
What if you had just been raped in prison? What might be the consequences of you reporting the
crime? What might be the consequences of you not reporting the crime?
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E. Prisoner–Officer Violence
1. Violence against officers typically occurs in specific situations and against
2. Authority of an officer may be greatly reduced after a resident assault,
especially if the response was less than forceful.
3. Officers need to be constantly watchful against attacks, causing stress.
F. Officer–Prisoner Violence
1. Unauthorized physical violence by officers against prison residents is a fact of
life in many institutions.
2. How do we tell when force is legitimate? Definitions are vague.
4. The worst case in recent history is that at the California State Prison at
5. Supervisors rarely view officer–prisoner confrontations.
6. Wardens feel they must support their officers.
Class Discussion/Activity
Have students create a program which allows for the decrease in the amount of inmate-on-staff
violence. Discuss student ideas in class.
Class Discussion/Activity
Place students in groups and ask them to locate YouTube videos on any aspect of prison violence
discussed in this chapter. Further, ask them to show the video in class and discuss the many
issues of the video.
See Assignments 1, 4, and 5
G. Ways to Decrease Prison Violence
Learning Objective 4: Discuss what can be done about prison violence.
1. Five factors contribute to prison violence:
a. Inadequate supervision by staff
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2. The Effect of Architecture and Size
a. This is thought to influence the amount of violence in an institution.
b. Many prisons have places where incarcerated individuals can avoid
3. The Role of Management
a. When administrators run a tight ship, security measures prevent sexual
attacks in dark corners, the making of “shivs” and “shanks” in the metal
shop, and open conflict among resident groups. Measures suggested to
reduce violence are as follows:
i. Improve classification.
ii. Create opportunities for fearful inmates to seek assistance.
Class Discussion/Activity
Find a YouTube video or the actual video footage of the California State Prison at Corcoran
takeover. Show this video to your students, and allow them to decide what could have been
different if the system was managed differently. Discuss in class.
What If Scenario
What if you were able to make changes which assisted in the deterrence of prison violence?
Discuss what you would change and why.
See Assignment 2
LECTURE NOTES
This chapter explores what it is really like to be in prison. As with the last chapter, this topic is
likely to be of great interest to your students, so capitalize on their curiosity. When teaching
about prison society, it is important to tease out the pervasive myths about life behind bars. There
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are many. It may help students if you ask them what they think prison life is like before they read
the chapter and before you review chapter content. Ask your students how they came to know
what it is they “know” about prison society. Then have students read the chapter. Have them
juxtapose what they thought life was like with what it is really like, according to the authors.
The authors underscore that prison is a society unto itself. The chapter explores the norms and
values that comprise this world. Inform students of the similarities among prisons at different
levels and in different locations in terms of norms, values, and languages. Ask students why this
There are four basic role orientations incarcerated individuals employ as they adapt to inmate
life. Review each one. You could ask students to identify which one they would be likely to
adopt. It might be interesting to ask students if they think that college students have role
orientations. Have students contrast the two societies, prison and college, and highlight
similarities and differences.
Students should understand that the desire for goods and services is no different in prison than
anywhere else. Though the state may meet many incarcerated individuals needs, there are a great
many that go unmet. Have students think of their needs and reflect on how those needs would be
met in prison.
When people think about prisons, one of the first things that comes to mind is violence. Ask
students to reflect why this is. It is likely due to the influence of media. Violence in prison exists,
but it is also an area rife with myths, particularly about sexual violence and rape. It will be
important to review these myths and to discredit them. This chapter investigates the nature of
Chapter 11: The Prison Experience
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© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or
in part.
should be familiar with the five factors that contribute to prison violence. The chapter reviews
what institutions do to prevent and respond to prison violence and concludes by reviewing
changes happening in today’s prisons with regard to violence. It may be interesting to end this
chapter by asking students what surprised them the most about what they’ve learned about prison
violence.
KEY TERMS
Inmate code
A set of rules of conduct that reflect the values and norms of the prison social system and help
define for inmates the image of the model prisoner.
Prisonization
Unit management
A tactic for reducing prison violence by dividing facilities into small, self-contained,
semiautonomous “institutions.”
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Have students gather data on rape in their community. Have them compare the data to
statistics describing rape inside penal institutions. Which is higher? How do the statistics
2. Direct students to the website for the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s
Prisons (http://www.prisoncommission.org/). Ask them to describe the mission and
3. Have students write about which adaptive role they would adopt if they were an
incarcerated individual and why? How would they handle the potential for prison
4. Have students watch American History X. After viewing this movie, ask them to discuss
5. Obtain a copy of National Geographic’s Hard Time video series to view prison life.
These videos show all elements regarding the prison culture including entrance into the
prison, visitation, the subrosa economy, prison rape, homosexuality, and more. Allow
Instructor’s Manual
ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Although the answers provided below will vary from student to student, the responses should
include at a minimum a discussion of the following key points.
1. Imagine that you are entering prison for the first time. What are your immediate concerns?
How will you deal with them? What problems do you expect to face?
2. Do the values of the prison culture result from the deprivations of prison, or do individuals
bring them from the outside? What was the case 50 years ago?
3. If you were the warden of a maximum-security prison for men, what policies would you adopt
to prevent violence in the institution?