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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:07 pm
Time: 9:07 pm
Results for prison gangs, interventions (u.s.)
1 results foundAuthor: Winterdyk, John Title: Prison Gangs: A Review and Survey of Strategies Summary: This study collected 34 completed surveys from a list of 50 states, two correctional corporations, and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, for a response rate of 64 percent (these systems held 954,132 prisoners at midyear 2008). In addition, we conducted an extensive literature review on prison gang literature using North American and international sources. The design was based on a prior study conducted by Ruddell, Decker, and Egley (2006) and assistance in administering the survey was facilitated by the Director of Operational Research for the CSC. We believe that this is one of the most comprehensive surveys on American prison gang interventions. The objective of the study was to provide insight into the following research questions: (1) What different gang management strategies are currently in use in three main areas: a. Prevention (e.g., Thwarting gang recruitment of new members). b. Sanctions (e.g., The use of informal and formal methods of controlling existing gang members). c. Interventions (e.g., Treatment/therapeutic interventions that respond to the offender’s criminogenic needs). (2) What strategies have been used to identify and map gangs (e.g., gang structure and activities), including applications of new technology (e.g., tracking J-Pay funds from community sources to prisoners, or developing computerized databases to track the inter-relationships of offenders). (3) To determine whether any formal evaluations of these strategies have been conducted, and if so, whether these interventions have proven to be effective? (In the absence of formal evaluations, are there any strategies that seem to be effective or promising?) Some of the major findings, organized by the six main sections of the survey, include: Most prison systems have experienced some increase in Security Threat Group (STG) members over the past five years and this has been associated with an increased range of challenges including violence, disruptive behaviors, and threats to staff authority. 4 While virtually all prison systems surveyed had management strategies to sanction gang members, the most common intervention still remains segregation and isolation followed by restrictions on privileges, and including gang membership in security rating or classification scores. Relatively few of those who responded acknowledged having formal orientation or reception strategies to inform and discourage gang and/or potential gang members from becoming involved in gangs. Approximately one-half of all prison gang members were thought to be unaffiliated with a gang when they were admitted to prison. According to almost two-thirds of respondents, the primary reason for joining a gang is fear of other inmates. Gang renunciation and treatment programs were present in approximately one-third of the prison systems, but for those jurisdictions that do have such programs their most effective strategy for reducing STG misconduct was the case management activities of counselors. While virtually all respondents collect data and information on STG members virtually no external evaluations were conducted on the relative effectiveness of prison-based gang interventions. The most common problem facing American prisons today, as identified by the 34 respondents, was a lack of dedicated resources to combat STG compounded by an increasing prison population, overworked staff, and changing dynamics of STGs. 5 Overall, while there is clear evidence showing that prison gangs/STG represent significant challenges for American prison systems, there is no one clear strategy for the management, monitoring, or evaluating the relative effectiveness of current gang management interventions. The primary reason for the lack of coordination and/or investigation is attributable to a lack of resources for STG investigations and coordination between the different jurisdictions (e.g., local jails, as well as state and federal prisons). Details: Ottawa: Correctional Service of Canada, 2009. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 7, 2012 at: http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rsrch/briefs/b43/b43-eng.shtml Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rsrch/briefs/b43/b43-eng.shtml Shelf Number: 125503 Keywords: Inmate ManagementPrison Gangs, Interventions (U.S.)Prison ViolencePrisoners |