Institutional Aggression Flashcards
Institutional aggression
Refers to violence between groups in institutions: prisons, the armed forces or mental institutions.
How much did assaults rise in prison recently?
In the UK, assaults in prisons rose 61% from 2000-09.
How many cases of sexual violence were there in the US in 2007?
A 07 report in the US estimated that 70,000 inmates were victims of sexual violence while serving their sentence.
What is the dispositional model?
States that high levels of prison violence are the result of what prisoners bring to prison in terms of attitudes, personality, traits and norms.
What did Irwin say why violence is not surprising in prisons and thus supporting the dispositional model?
He argues that prisoners bring unusually violent traits and normative systems which legitimise violence into prison and high rates of violence are not therefore surprising.
How can gang membership cause high levels of prison violence which thus supports the dispositional model?
Gang membership is associated with high levels of prison violence, and pre-prison gang membership is an important predictor of prison misconduct. Gang members the uS are x10 more likely to commit murder than a non-gang member of the public. Again, it is unsurprising that importing and concentrating gang members who hold norms which legitimise violence into a confined environment breeds high levels of violence.
What is the situational model?
States that prisoner aggression is the result of stress, oppression and deprivation experienced within the institution.
What are examples of aggression in prisoners being caused by stress, oppression and deprivation experienced within the institution?
Overcrowding in prisoners, a 2014 UK government report blamed record numbers of murder, suicides and assaults on increased overcrowding in prison.
Heat and noise, high temperatures and noisy conditions act as sources of stress and frustration which may trigger violence.
Job burnout, overworked, demotivated prison officers lead to poorer relationships with prisoners that has been linked to decreased concern about prisoner violence.
What was a study by McCorkie 95 that supports the situational model?
McCorkie 95 who found that overcrowding, lack of privacy and lack of meaningful activity significantly increased violence.
What was a real world application of findings from the situational model?
A real world application of dinging from the situational model was implemented at HMP Woodhill a UK prison in the early 90’s. It was argued that violence could be reduced by reducing the environmental stressors of heat, noise and overcrowding. 2 units were set up for prisoners which were less claustrophobic, cooler and quieter.
Yet despite the fact that these changes virtually eradicated assaults on prison staff and other inmates, political pressure meant these changes were not permanently implemented or exported to other prisoners.
How does the Harer’s study 06 support the Dispositional model?
Harer’s study 06 found that US black inmates had higher levels of violent behaviour in prison whereas whites had higher levels of alcohol and drug related misconduct. These differences parallel differences in these crimes in the American civilian population, therefore behaviours from ‘outside’ prison and ‘imported in’.
How does a study by Kane 81 suggest that dispositional factors rather than situational factors lead to prison violence?
Research in the US by Kane found that those who had long periods of unemployment, low levels of education and a more serious criminal record were more likely to use aggression in prison, suggesting that dispositional factors rather than situational factors lead to prison violence.
