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Running head: Prison Riots 1

Prison Riots

Name

The University of Alabama

Prison Riots 2

Abstract

Prisons or penitentiary centers are facilities which forcibly confine inmates under the authority of

a given state or nation. Imprisonment is essentially unpleasant, making prisons predominantly

violent by nature, as prisoners are denied some of their freedoms leading to frustrations and need

to break out. This paper explores the overview of prison riots, addressing their historical

background, causes and probable stages of a riot, paying attention to prison conditions that might

influence chances of riot with a review of the prison riots in Attica, Strangeways, and Lucasville.

The concept of mass incarceration is discussed, attention being given to how it largely affects

prison riots. As the effects of mass imprisonment are not only limited to a prisoner, this paper

also discusses how imprisonment affects the inmate’s families, especially the spouse and the

children. The paper concludes with the policy implications of riots together with correctional

topics that ensure that riots have been prevented.

Keywords: prison riot, mass incarceration, policy implications

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Prison riots refer to concerted disorder and defiance by prisoners against officers,

administrators or even other inmates. The riot is often caused by a series of factors which are

aggregated with some extent of pre-planning or by relatively little organization. Riots are seen to

have been fueled by such factors as inhumane conditions, brutal staff, overcrowding, bad food,

racial tensions and external social upheavals. From time to time, prison riots have come to the

public attention through dramatic media coverage of prison rioting or through accounts of

particularly violent incidents in a given institution (Boin & Rattray, 2004).

This paper explores the overview of prison riots, addressing their historical background,

causes and probable stages of a riot, paying attention to prison conditions that might influence

chances of riot with a review of the prison riots in Attica, Strangeways, and Lucasville. The

concept of mass incarceration is discussed, attention being given to how it largely affects prison

riots. As the effects of mass imprisonment are not only limited to the prisoner, this paper also

discusses how imprisonment affects the inmate’s families, especially the spouse and the children.

The paper concludes with the policy implications of riots together with correctional topics that

ensure that riots have been prevented.

Background history of riots

Prisons are characterized by violence, with the first recorded prison riot dating back way

before the independence was declared. The riot happened in Connecticut’s Newgate prison in

1774, and the revolutions continue to this day. Prison riots occur and typically progresses

through five stages. These are Initiation or explosion, Organization, Confrontation or siege,

Termination, and Reaction

Stages of Prison riots

A prison riot generally begins with an explosion, a sort of eruption of resistance and

disorder. The explosion stage is often marked by destruction and mob violence. It is the most

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treacherous stage of any riot as inmates usually take hostages, build barricades, start fires and

take over parts of the prison. This initiation stage may only involve one group of prisoners as

others stay in their jail cells or in different parts of the prison, uninformed of the ongoing riot.

In the organization, also referred to as the expansion stage, the prisoners are informally

organized into inmate-led clusters, and the riot expands to incorporate and include more inmates.

Generally, unofficial riot leaders come forward as other inmates assume other diverse roles to

have the riot progress. The inmates attempt to take over some of the areas of the prison as the

prison staff attempts to establish governance and control. This stage is the first instance where

the struggle for power is vivid between the two conflicting groups. Some prisoners even claim to

be negotiators and spokespersons on behalf of the fellow rioters. The identification of those

spokespersons is helpful to the prison administration as they will want to know the person with

whom to negotiate and communicate.

The third stage of a riot is the confrontation phase or siege. At this stage, inmates have

either a verbal or physical altercation with the prison authority. At least one of the riot leaders

emerge and presents a list of demands and grievances from the inmates. This stage then grows

into negotiations, and violence typically reduces, though not always.

Ultimately, all prison riots come to an end. This fourth stage is known as termination.

This means that the riot has ended, either through physical confrontation, negotiations, or

surrender, the physical confrontation is the most dangerous way to bring a prison riot to an end.

The fifth and final stage of a riot is the reaction phase, characterized by investigating,

processing as well as explaining the riot. The investigation is mainly done by an investigative

commission or by a government agency. They are tasked with the responsibility of identifying

the origin of the riot and come up with measures necessary to avert future reoccurrence of prison

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riots. This stage also comprises of repairs to any parts of the prison destroyed during the riot

together with giving of medical care to the injured persons during the riot.

Causes of Prison riots

Prison riots are caused by many different things but are usually meant to express

grievances or force a given change within the prison. Some common causes include; No or poor

responses to inmates requests and complaints, inconsistent enforcement and execution of rules

by prison administration, poor prison management, bad food, effects and stresses of

overcrowding, racial tensions between prison groups, economic factors, lack of meaningful

activities and programs for inmates, brutal staff, presence of violent prisoners, building design

problems, political dis-

A review on prison riot Attica

The prison riot in Attica climaxed years of increased tension between urban, ethnic and

racial minorities held at the prison and is significant as it shed light on the substandard prison

conditions as well as the cultural and racial divide between the officers and the inmates. Apart

from the race, which played a critical role in the riot, there also existed a number of issues at the

prison prompting inmates to riot including the prisoners’ frustration as they waited for promised

reforms to materialize.

Being an inmate at Attica during the late 1960s and the beginning of 1970 was a mixture

of frustration and boredom. The prison was overcrowded, and so it was impossible to offer jobs

to all the prisoners, and as so, the inmates only worked for few hours in a day or never worked at

all. There was lack of hot water in the cells, making the inmates lack enough for washing their

clothes and for grooming. The quality of food in prison also decreased dramatically in the mid-

1960s, even more, frustrating to Muslims who had concerns about their meals being prepared

with pork products (Attica Commission, 1972). Very little was done regarding education

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programs for the inmates. The vocational training programs that existed were of little use as

some had already become absolute. The prison did not also offer English courses as a second

language, and some inmates’ request to purchase books fell on deaf ears.

The prison administration also strictly limited the prisoners’ interaction with the outside

world. All letters were censored, and the inmates were barred from receiving or making any

calls. The prison administration also made every attempt to ensure inmates do not learn of the

prison disturbances and condition, going to extents of shredding newspapers before they got to

the inmates (Attica Commision, 1972). Another point of contention was the medical services that

were provided at Attica. Inmates with mental and physical disabilities failed to receive the

necessary medical care and sometimes even received sarcastic responses from the medical team

when they tried to describe their symptoms.

The prisoners in Attica were divided against race, religion, and influence but by the

summer of the year 1971, all the groups resolved to set aside their varied differences and unite

against one common enemy, the prison administration. The eruption broke as inmates moved to

breakfast, some inmates empowering their guards, storming down the prison hallway. They then

pushed through a broke a gate into the central area of the prison, thus giving them access to all

the cell blocks. No one anticipated that the bolt holding the tunnel gate would break, so the

administration remained confident that the commotion would be confined in just one part of the

prison, and that time would have been enough to add more officers to assist those that were

trapped (Attica Commission, 1972).

There lacked a riot plan by the prison administration, and as such, staff members and

officers in areas unaffected by the commotion lacked adequate information on the extent of the

problem and were not properly advised on what to do. The steam whistle that notified officers

and the surrounding community of any problems within the prison was also sounded thirty

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minutes later as the supervisor who had this responsibility was away at the time the disturbance

began (Attica Commission, 1972). There lacked a good outline of what was to be done in the

absence of the supervisor. Furthermore, the prison did not have a method of differentiating the

whistles, in the event of an escape or a riot and for this reason, the staff members and officers

remained unclear on the communication of the whistle.

Sykes (1958) acknowledges that imprisonment is essentially unpleasant and thus prison

administration should have measures in place to ensure they are prepared for an eruption of

disturbance, especially because inmates always outnumber the officers. Just like Attica, other

riots, like in England (Strangeways) and Lucasville are also products of prisoners’ reaction to

unjust conditions at a time those institutions are unable to deal with such an uprising, due to

challenges with its staff and administration.

Mass Incarceration in relation to Prison Riots

Overcrowding, a result of mass incarceration is a likely cumulative effect of numerous

types of poor conditions in the prisons, racial tensions, heated political atmosphere, frustrations

due to lack of important reforms and poor leadership, all these being major contributors to

prison riots. Mass incarceration is an occurrence that refers to the historically and comparatively

extreme degrees of imprisonment, and by its focus among the young men living in localities of

intense disadvantage. Overcrowding virtually touches on all aspects of an inmate’s day-to-day

life, and it largely intensifies stress and pressure of prison life. Overcrowding confines the

prisoners in places occupied by so many others, leading to many interactions that involving high

degrees of uncertainties and interferences (Cox, Paulus, & McCain, 1984). Crowded prisons

introduce interpersonal instability and collective complexity in an environment that is already

dangerous. Overcrowding raises collective frustrations inside the prisons as it largely decreases

the number of resources available to the inmates. Prison administrators are always constrained to

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control the unavoidable chaos and conflicts and are sometimes forced to adopt more repressive

approaches to suppress them.

Mass imprisonment worsens the quality of institutions, increasing the destructive

potential of being imprisoned. Paulus et al. (1975) state that prison overcrowding is blamed for

increased negative effects among the inmates leading to the large records of inmates’ illness

complaints. Furthermore, exposure long-term inescapable crowding leads to psychological and

physical impairment (Paulus et al., 1978)

Most inmates come from economically and socially marginalized groups that have made

them experience traumatic and adverse experiences. Their backgrounds are characterized by a

large number of risk factors that increase their vulnerability and susceptibility to anxiety and may

render them unable to handle the pressures likely to be encountered in prisons. All these factors

will raise the chance of an inmate’s engagement in delinquent and criminal behavior (Haney,

2012).

Effects of Mass Incarceration to Families

The effects of incarceration are not only with those behind bars. Many prisoners belong

to families and acquaintance networks that also suffer the unpleasantness of mass imprisonment

(Paylor& Smith, 1994).

As prisoners face direct effects of incarceration, friends and families thrive in what is

described as “shadow of a prison” (Codd, 2008). The system of criminal justice mainly focuses

on the lawbreaker as a person while they ignore the families. Imprisonment also places a marital

relationship under substantial duress. The stress may be as a result of the unlawful conduct or

else as a consequence of being separated from family. For instance, members of a family who

lived with offenders before their arrest regularly experience unnecessary police contact, domestic

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violence, substance abuse, poverty as well as other illegal behavior. Imprisonment may,

therefore, be a final blow to an already troubled relationship.

Research has suggested that approximately 45% of those imprisoned lose contact with

family while serving their jail term and 22% of those who were married divorce (Salmon,2007).

A possible explanation for the lost contact is the fact that most prisons are geographically

isolated limiting travels to the facilities. Those privileged to make the trip often encounter

inadequate visiting procedures that end up hindering family interaction.

Families with incarcerated members entirely experience extreme financial hardships. For some,

it may even mean the loss of a source of income (Codd, 2008). The problem is greater as

families strive to keep their relationship leading to impoverishment.

The families of incarcerated persons often experience stigmatization, there being a

tendency to blame them for their state. They are treated as ‘others’ and are often subjected to

hostility and denied support. Families of inmates are considered guilty by association. To avoid

stigmatization, families are forced to keep their state secret, and this leads to further distress.

Research also shows that family members feel unfairly treated as they interact with official

organizations and as they visit the correctional institutions to visit their incarcerated relatives.

They often experience disrespect, humiliation, and hostility and are made to wait for long hours

without indication of whether they will be allowed entrance into the facility.

Children of imprisoned parents are at risk as parental incarceration exposes them to

negative consequences in relation to behavioral and emotional factors. They experience

emotional consequences as guilt, sadness, and fear (Osborne Association, 1993).

Mass incarceration effects to inmates’ families at large contribute to the stress and

frustration of the prisoner, and combined with other pressures in prison will often amplify the

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inmate’s disappointment as he is aware the trauma the family is going through. This, in the long

run, contributes to the prevalence of the prison riots.

Policy Implications of Prison Riots

When a prison riot occurs, it catches the attention of both the government and the general

public and makes it obvious that prison system is in need of reforms. This then leads to the

formulation of policies that ensure that the life of an inmate is not prejudicial and that

imprisonment does not cause more harm to the prisoner. Such policies include those giving

inmates religious and communication freedom, educating correctional facilities officers to ensure

they are conversant with the needs of the inmates, ensuring that the inmates receive a healthy

diet, modernizing the inmates’ education as well as those that establish a medical department for

the inmates ensuring that all their medical needs are taken care. Creating and providing humane

conditions by prison administrators together with ensuring that unnecessary use of force to

prisoners is regulated will make prisons reasonably safe for both staff and prisoners (Specter,

2006).

Conclusively, control of violent and aggressive behavior by correctional officials remains

with the state. It should prevent abuse through clear policies, supervision, truthful and timely

reporting and unbiased investigation. Both the state and the prison administration should strive

towards deterring any occurrence of prison riots, as they could be sources of injuries and death to

the inmates and the prison officers.

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References

Boin, A., & Rattray, W. A. (2004). Understanding Prison Riots: Towards a Threshold Theory.

Punishment & Society, Vol 6 47-65.

Codd, H. (2008). In the shadow of prison: Families, imprisonment, and criminal justice.

Portland, OR: Willan Publishing.

Cox, V., Paulus, P., & McCain, G. (1984). Prison crowding research: The relevance for prison

housing standards and a general approach regarding crowding phenomena. American

Psychologist, 39, 1148-1160.

Haney, C. (2012). Prison Effects of in the Age of Mass Incarceration. The Prison Journal, 17-24.

Paulus, P., Cox, V., McCain, G., & Chandler, J. (1975). Some effects of crowding in a prison

environment. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 5, 86-91.

Paulus, P., McCain, G., & Cox, V. (1978). Death rates, psychiatric commitments, blood

pressure, and perceived crowding as a function of institutional crowding. Journal of

Environmental Psychology & Nonverbal Behavior, 3, 107-116.

Paylor, I., & Smith, D. (1994). Who are prisoners’ families? Journal of Social Welfare and

Policy Law, 16(2).131-144.

Salmon, S. (2007). Memorandum submitted by Action for Prisoners’ Families. Selected

Committee on Home Affairs. Written evidence, June 2007. Retrieved from

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmconst/467/467we02.htm.

Specter, D. (2006). Making Prisons safe: Strategies for Reducing Violence. Washington

University Journal of Law & Policy, 125.

Sykes, G. (1958).Society of captives. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press

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The Osborne Association. (1993). How can I help? Working with children of incarcerated

parents. In Serving Special Children, (Vol. 1). New York, NY: The Osborne Association.

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