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8415261

S to jk o v ic , S ta n

SOCIAL BASES OF POWER IN A MAXIMUM-SECURITY PRISON:
OF THE EROSION OF TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY

M ichigan S ta te University

University
Microfilms
International

300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106

Ph.D.

A STUDY

1984

SOCIAL BASES OF POWER IN A
MAXIMUM-SECURITY PRISON: A STUDY
OF THE EROSION OF TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY

By

Stan S tojkovic

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan S t a t e Universi ty
in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f th e requirements
f o r th e degree o f

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

College o f Social S c i e n c e / I n t e r d i s c i p i i n a r y
1984

ABSTRACT
SOCIAL BASES OF POWER IN A
MAXIMUM-SECURITY PRISON: A STUDY
OF THE EROSION OF TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY
By
Stan Stojkov ic

The purpose o f t h i s re se arch was t o i n v e s t i g a t e the so c ia l bases of
power and erosi on o f t r a d i t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y within a maximum-security
p r is o n .

The pris on examined was the Huron Valley Men's F a c i l i t y (HVMF),

lo c a t e d in Y p s i l a n t i , Michigan.

This pr ison r e p re s e n te d a modern approach

to pris on c o n s t r u c t i o n , with an emphasis on computer technology in the
o p e r a tio n and c on tr ol of p r i s o n e r s .
The re se arch method was a q u a l i t a t i v e procedure i n t o the prison
s e t t i n g , which included seven continuous months o f p a r t i c i p a n t observ ation
and in te r v ie w in g .

Inte rviews were conducted with t h r e e d i s t i n c t groups:

inmates, o f f i c e r s , and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

Over one hundred in terv iew s were

conducted with inmates, c o n s i s t i n g o f formal and informal approaches.
There were twenty i n t e rv ie w s with c o r r e c t i o n s o f f i c e r s and eleven
interv iew s with a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

The in te rv iew s va r ie d in time from

f o r t y - f i v e minutes to fou r hours.

Many o f the in terv iew s were tape

recorded and t r a n s c r i b e d a t a l a t e r d a te .
In a d d i t i o n , an a n a l y s i s was done on c e r t a i n "focal concerns" o f the
institution.

These included:

and i n s t i t u t i o n a l misconducts.

contraband, rac e r e l a t i o n s , homosexuality,
A comparative examination was used in an

Stan Stojkovic
e x p l o r a t io n o f HVMF with a t r a d i t i o n a l prison s t r u c t u r e on th e se focal
concerns.

In t o t a l , over e i g h t hundred pages of int e rv i e w d a t a ,

q u a n t i t a t i v e f i g u r e s , newspaper ac counts, documentary m a t e r i a l , and
physical drawings were c o l l e c t e d f o r a n a l y s i s purposes.
The d ata r e v e a le d t h a t r e g a r d l e s s o f th e advanced technology employed
a t HVMF, th e r e was an er o sio n o f a u t h o r i t y e x i s t i n g

w ith in the

institution.

by the l i t e r a t u r e ,

Based on a typology o f power provided

inmates and o f f i c e r s e x h i b i t e d more v a r ie d forms o f

power. On th e o t h e r

hand, a d m i n i s t r a t o r s d isp la y e d fewer types o f power

w ithin the

i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment.
Concerning th e focal concerns examined, i t was found t h a t HVMF had an
underdeveloped contraband system, good r ace r e l a t i o n s , fewer problems with
homosexuality, as compared to a t r a d i t i o n a l l y designed p r is o n , and
d i f f e r e n c e s in the type o f misconduct r e p o r t iss ued by o f f i c e r s dependent
upon the s o c ia l l o c a t i o n o f the o f f e n s e .

Furthermore, the a n a l y s i s

suggested t h a t HVMF was p h y s ic a ll y more appealing to inmates than the
t r a d i t i o n a l l y s t r u c t u r e d p r is o n .
However, i t was a l s o maintained t h a t HVMF disp layed a l i e n a t i o n among
the groups, p a r t i c u l a r l y between inmates and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

A central

f in d in g o f t h i s r e s e a r c h was t h a t estrangement on the p a r t o f inmates was a
f u n ctio na l response t o the c o e r c i v e c o ntrol s t r a t e g y imposed by the
a d m i n i s t r a t i v e h i e r a r c h y , and t h a t the inmate s o c ie t y was powerful in
r e a c t i o n to the p r i s o n ' s formal a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .

An im p l ic a t io n from t h i s

Stan Stojkovic
r e s e a r c h i s t h a t c o n t r o l and s t a b i l i t y o f a pris on environment could be
accomplished i f a l e g i t i m a t e form o f power i s developed by prison
officials.

This t r a n s l a t e s i n t o the i n c l u s i o n o f inmate bodies in the

governance and decision-making pr oce ss es o f th e p r is o n .

F u r th e r

suggesti ons a r e provided in promoting more s t a b i l i t y and co n t r o l w ithin our
correctional i n s titu tio n s .

To My Fath er — Miodrag
S tojkov ic — f o r s t a r t i n g me
on the road t o discovery

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Any piece o f r esear ch i s the product o f much work by many people.
i s th e cas e in t h i s stu dy.

Such

F i r s t and foremost, I wish to thank my doctoral

committee — Doctors David K alin ic h , Timothy Bynum, Jack Knott, and A lbert
Cafagna — f o r t h e i r s u p p o rt and c a r e fu l review o f the c h a p t e r s .

I would

l i k e to ex pr ess my de epes t regard to my mentor and chairman, David
Kal inich , f o r h i s personal warmth and encouragement throughout my graduate
study.

Without h i s c r i t i c a l eye, a n a l y t i c a l mind, and sense o f humor, t h i s

product would have never g o tte n o f f the ground.
William Kime, th e D i r e c t o r o f Programming f o r the Michigan Department
of Co rrec tions i s to be thanked f o r h i s approval of the r e s e a r c h , along
with former Warden William Grant and c u r r e n t Warden Robert Redman o f the
Huron Valley Men's F a c i l i t y .

Also, a p p r e c i a t i o n has to be extended to a l l

the inmates, c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r s , and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e o f f i c i a l s who gave
t h e i r time and e f f o r t in completing t h i s re se arch p r o je c t .

I hope the

f in a l product meets with t h e i r approval.
F i n a l l y , I must extend my g r a t i t u d e to th e t y p i s t s who worked on t h i s
project:

Karen Goodman, Sandra DeSantis, Mary Ann C h r i s t i e , Robin Hauser,

Dorothy Brostowicz, and Lorraine H a e f f e l .

They a l l did an e x c e l l e n t job

under d i f f i c u l t ci rcum stances , p a r t i c u l a r l y in the f in a l s ta g e s of
writing.

I owe s p e c i a l a p p r e c i a t i o n to thes e l a d i e s f o r t h e i r p a t i e n c e ,

competence, and day -to-day a s s i s t a n c e .

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I.

II.

Page

INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................

1

1.
2.

1

Purpose of Research .....................................................................
Pas t Research on Prison Organizational
S t r u c t u r e s .............................................................................

4

REVIEW OF LITERATURE..............................................................................

15

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

16
19
24
29

D e f i n i t i o n of Power and Authority .......................................
Types o f Authority and Social Bases of Power . . . .
Consequences of Power R elatio n s h ip s ...................................
Prison Organizations .................................................................
Social Control in Prison and Inmate
Org anization s ....................................................................
Modern Explanations of Social Control 1n
Contemporary Prison .......................................................
Summary and C o n c l u s i o n s ............................................................

34
40

RESEARCH DESIGN:
INSIDE AMAXIMUM-SECURITY
INSTITUTION.....................................................................................

43

6.
7.
III.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
IV.

Research S i t e ..................................................................................
History o f th e I n s t i t u t i o n and Formal
Org anization al Goals .......................................................
Research Method: E s t a b l i s h i n g Relations
and I n t e r v i e w i n g ................................................................
Recording, Keeping, and Typing Fieldnotes
and I n t e r v i e w s ....................................................................
Analysis of the D a t a .................................................................
Summary..............................................................................................

PERCEPTIONS OF POWER:ADMINISTRATORS,
OFFICERS, AND INMATES ................................................................
1.
2.
3.

Perc ep tions of Power Among Administrators ......................
O f f i c e r s : Perceived Power Among O f f i c e r s ......................
Perc ep tions of Power Among Inmates ...................................

iv

31

43
50
54
57
59
60
64
67
81
100

Page

CHAPTER
4.
5.
6.
V.

INMATES, OFFICERS, ADMINISTRATORS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

VI.

VII.

Social Bases of Power: ASynthesis .....................................
Power and Equilibrium in Prison Society ...........................
C o n c l u s i o n s ......................................................................................
FOCAL CONCERNS . . . .

C o n t r a b a n d ......................................................................................
Race R e l a t i o n s ..............................................................................
I n s t i t u t i o n a l Misconducts...... .....................................................
H om os exuality..................................................................................
I n s t i t u t i o n a l Control andS t a b i l i t y :
A
Summary Statement ............................................................

127
134
136
146
146
156
171
185
193

INSTITUTIONAL COMPARISONS:
HURON VALLEY MEN'S
FACILITY AND MARQUETTE BRANCHPRISON .................................

201

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

203
210
220
224
227
232

Prison Appropriations andExpenditures .............................
C ritical Incidents:
HVMF and MBP......................................
C o n t r a b a n d ......................................................................................
Race R e l a t i o n s ..............................................................................
H o m o s e x u a lity ..................................................................................
Summary and C o n c l u s i o n .............................................................

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
1.
2.

.................................................

238

C o n c l u s i o n s ......................................................................................
I m p l i c a t i o n s ..................................................................................

238
246

Inte rview G u i d e ..............................................................................
C l i e n t Release F o r m ....................................................................
Contraband Defined .....................................................................
Major Misconducts Defined
.....................................................
Minor Misconducts Defined...........................................................
C r i t i c a l I n cid en ts Defined .....................................................

259
260
261
266
272
274

...............................................................................................................

277

APPENDICES
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

v

LIS T OF TABLES

TABLE

3.1

Page

Population Demographics o f Huron Valley
Men's F a c i l i t y .............................................................................

51

5.1

Percentage o f Misconducts by Type o f Offense ...........................

175

5.2

Percentage o f Misconducts by Type and
Final D i s p o s i t i o n .........................................................................

178

Percentage o f Misconducts by Type and
Social Location .............................................................................

180

Actual Appropriations a t Huron Valley Men's
F a c i l i t y and Marquette Branch Prison
by F u n c t i o n ...........................................................

204

Actual Expenditures a t Huron Valley Men's
F a c i l i t y and Marquette Branch Prison
by F u n c t i o n ......................................................................................

206

C r i t i c a l I n c id e n ts a t Huron Valley Men's
F a c i l i t y and Marquette Branch Prison
by Type and F r e q u e n c y ................................................................

211

5.3
6.1

6.2

6.3

vi

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE

Page

2.1

A Diagram o f Prison Social S t r u c t u r e ............................................

36

2.2

A Prison T y p o l o g y ...................................................................................

39

3.1

Formal Organizational S t r u c t u r e a t Huron
Valley Men's F a c i l i t y ................................................................

45

3.2

Number and type o f P r i v i l e g e s by HousingU n i t .........................

48

4.1

Segregation o f Racial and Religious Groups in
Dining H a l l ......................................................................................

108

4. 2

Types o f Social Bases of Power by Group

.................................

136

5.1

Segregation o f Black and White Pr is o n er s in
Housing Unit Dayrooms................................................................

161

Segregation o f Black and White P r is o n e r s in
I n s t i t u t i o n a l School ................................................................

164

5.2

vi i

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.

Purpose of Research
This r esear ch i n v e s t i g a t e s th e s o c ia l bases o f power and amount of

t r a d i t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y w it h in a maximum-security p r is o n .

The prison

under i n v e s t i g a t i o n was the Huron Valley Men's F a c i l i t y (HVMF),
l o c a t e d in Y p s i l a n t i , Michigan.

This prison s t r u c t u r e r e p r e s e n t s a

modern approach to p r is o n c o n s t r u c t i o n , with a r e l i a n c e on
high-technology in th e co n t r o l o f problematic p r is o n e r s .
At p r e s e n t , t h e r e i s a movement a c r o s s th e country t o d ec rea se the
number o f sentenced f e l o n s w ith in our pr is o n s .^

In f a c t , some have

even c a l l e d f o r a moratorium on th e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f pris on f a c i l i t i e s ,
2
p a r t i c u l a r l y maximum-security i n s t i t u t i o n s .
HVMF i s a prison which
i s designed to make s e r i o u s o f fe n d e r s more t r a c t a b l e .
As a r e s u l t , th e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f the i n s t i t u t i o n i s o r i e n t e d
toward the maximization o f co n tr o l and th e minimization o f vi olence
and c o n f l i c t .

The i n s t i t u t i o n employs an advanced computer technology

which attem pts t o i n s u r e th e t r a c t a b i l i t y o f inmates.

This hardware

in c lu d e s s o p h i s t i c a t e d lock in g systems ope rat ed and monitored by
computer.

2

Furthermore, the f a c i l i t y employs more c o r r e c t i o n a l p e r so n n e l,
s p e c i f i c a l l y c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r s , in i t s o p e r a ti o n and has an
i n m a t e - s t a f f r a t i o around 2:1.

T r a d i tio n a l pris on s t r u c t u r e s e x h i b i t
3
i n m a t e - s t a f f r a t i o s up to 100:1.
I t i s f o r t h i s reason HVMF was
viewed as a new s te p in not only making i n s t i u t i o n s more c o n t r o l l a b l e
4
b u t a l s o more humane.
However, the question o f whether o r not such i n s t i t u t i o n s a c t u a l l y
c ontrol and s t a b i l i z e the prison environment has been l e f t
unanswered.

The aim o f t h i s r esear ch i s to see i f such a modern

approach to i n c a r c e r a t i o n i s any more succ es sfu l in s t a b i l i z i n g and
c o n t r o l l i n g a pris on s e t t i n g .

P a s t l i t e r a t u r e has suggested t h a t

t r a d i t i o n a l pris on environments were not c o n t r o l l e d e n t i r e l y through
th e formal p ris on h ie r a rc h y .
This p a s t r esear ch has shown t h a t an attem pt to i n s t i l l
b u r e a u c r a ti c a u t h o r i t y w ith in pr ison s t r u c t u r e s o f te n f a i l e d .
Moreover, the fin d i n g s from th ese s t u d i e s suggested t h a t much o f the
c ontrol within prison environments was p r e d ic a te d on an informal
networking r e l a t i o n s h i p between c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r s and inmates
(Sykes, 1958; Sykes and Messinger, 1960; and Cloward, 1960).

However,

many have questioned whether t h a t i s e x i s t i n g w ith in our contemporary
correctional f a c i l i t i e s .

This c u r r e n t view holds t h a t prison

s o c i e t i e s are no longer cohe sively s t r u c t u r e d , nor ar e they c o n t r o l l e d
through va riou s symbiotic r e l a t i o n s h i p s .

3

I n s t e a d , t h i s modern p e r s p e c t i v e m aintains t h a t c o r r e c t i o n a l
i n s t i t u t i o n s ar e composed o f many d i s p a r a t e groups, o f te n e x press ing
themselves d i f f e r e n t l y w it hin the pris on environment.

These

d i f f e r e n c e s have lea d the o r g a n iz a ti o n o f p r is o n s to be q u i t e
complex.

As a r e s u l t , what i s p r e s e n t l y evidenced w it hin our p r is o n s

i s heightened r a c i a l te n s io n and fragmentation among p r i s o n e r s ,
in c r e a se d violen ce and the emergence o f "super gangs" w ithin the
environments o f p r i s o n s , an i n c r e a s e in the b u r e a u c r a t i z a t i o n o f the
prison s t r u c t u r e , and an evergrowing demand among c o r r e c t i o n a l
o f f i c e r s f o r more a u t h o r i t y in the i n t e r n a l o p e r a tio n o f the
o r g a n i z a t i o n (Rhine, 1981).
In a d d i t i o n , modern p r is o n s have been inundated with l a w s u it s
f i l e d by inmates.

The t r a d i t i o n a l "hands-off" d o c t r i n e o f the

j u d i c i a r y in r e l a t i o n to p r is o n e r s has been modified.

Today, the

pr ison o r g a n iz a ti o n i s more under the s c r u t i n y o f the o u t s i d e world.
Much o f the t r a d i t i o n a l c o e r c iv e power has s i g n i f i c a n t l y eroded, and
c o r r e c t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s f i n d themselves employing more modern
methods in the c ontrol o f p r i s o n e r s .

HVMF r e p r e s e n t s t h i s modern

approach.
T h e re fore , th e i s s u e o f pris on c ontr ol has become more s a l i e n t and
in the f o r e f r o n t to n o t only r e s e a r c h e r s b u t a l s o la y persons and
po licy makers.

In e f f e c t , the piv otal questi on becomes:

Do thes e

modern pris ons control inmates, while a t the same time s a t i s f y the
demands o f var ious p r is o n e r groups, pu blic i n t e r e s t groups, media,

4

c o u r t s , and the l e g i s l a t u r e ?

This r esear ch s h a ll attem pt to provide

an answer to t h i s q u e s tio n .
The methodology employed i s thoroughly examined in Chapter 3;
however, a t t h i s p o i n t , i t i s e s s e n t i a l t h a t a review be conducted
which examines how p r is o n o r g a n i z a t i o n s have been viewed in the
r e se a r c h l i t e r a t u r e .

This review s h a ll in clude the work o f Etzloni

(1961), Cressey (1954, 1958, 1959, and 1965), and S t r e e t , V in te r , and
Perrow (1966).®

As such, the review provides us with a method in

which to analyze the o r g a n i z a ti o n a l s t r u c t u r e o f p r is o n s .

Using the

information obt ai ne d from p a s t l i t e r a t u r e provides a d i r e c t i o n i n t o
the a n a l y s i s o f the pr ison under examination.

This l i t e r a t u r e enables

us to b u i l d from the p a s t and extend i n t o the f u t u r e our understanding
o f contemporary pris o n s t r u c t u r e s .
2.

P a s t Research on Prison Organizational S t r u c t u r e s
E t z i o n i ' s work su ggest s t h a t a t th e core o f understanding any

o r g a n i z a t i o n , in c l u d in g a prison o r g a n i z a t i o n , i s to examine the
compliance s t r u c t u r e s of the o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Etzioni s t a t e s t h r e e types

o f compliance s t r u c t u r e s e x h i b i t e d w ithin o r g a n i z a t i o n s :

(1)

c o e r c i v e , in which co n tr o l i s guaranteed through fo rce or t h r e a t of
f o r c e , and members a r e of te n a l i e n a t e d ; (2) u t i l i t a r i a n , where
commitment i s obt ai ned through some form o f remuneration and members
t y p i c a l l y have a " c a l c u l a t i v e commitment"; and (3) norma tive, where
control i s insu red through manipulation o f va rious s t a t u s awards and
types o f p r e s t i g e and members ar e o f te n w i l l i n g l y involved in the
pro ce ss .

5

P ris ons ar e d i s t i n g u i s h e d from o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s in t h a t they
r e l y on a c o er civ e compliance s t r a t e g y in maintai ning c o n t r o l .

As a

r e s u l t , the inmate o r g a n i z a t i o n s e p a r a t e s i t s e l f from the formal
s t r u c t u r e and i s o f te n a l i e n a t e d r e l a t i v e to the amount o f forc e
employed by the pris o n h ie r a r c h y .

F u r th e r , Etzioni s t a t e s t h a t

compliance s t r u c t u r e s alone do not reveal a t o t a l understanding of an
organization.

In a d d i t i o n , one needs to examine how t h e s e compliance

s t r a t e g i e s ar e r e l a t e d to o r g a n i z a t i o n a l goals .
He provides t h r e e types o f goals w i th in o r g a n i z a t i o n s :
economic or u t i l i t a r i a n , and c u l t u r a l .

order,

Also, he holds t h a t every

o r g a n iz a ti o n has a primary o r g a n i z a t i o n a l goal which cor responds to a
s p e c i f i c compliance s t r a t e g y .

Within a pris on o r g a n i z a t i o n , the

dominant theme i s a c o e r c iv e compliance mechanism and ordered g o als.
Moreover, as suggested by E t z i o n i , such an o r g a n iz a t io n produced an
i d e n t i f i a b l e informal system which opposed the co er civ e measures
developed and p e r p etu ated by the formal s t r u c t u r e .
As the formal s t r u c t u r e a c c e n t u a te s i t s c o e r c i v e powers, i t feeds
i n t o th e s o l i d i f i c a t i o n and cohesion o f an opposing group.

In t h i s

r e s p e c t , the inmate o r g a n i z a t i o n becomes firm ly entrenched w ith in the
or g a n iz a tio n a l s t r u c t u r e and op e r a t e s v i s - a - v i s the e x i s t i n g
h ie r a rc h y .

More im p o r t a n t ly , th es e c o e r c iv e measures i n h i b i t the

development o f congruous normative s t r u c t u r e s among the groups w ithin
the o r g a n iz a tio n .

6

Thus, the inmate o r g a n i z a t i o n c r e a t e s a normative system which i s
i n t e r n a l i z e d by a number o f inmates and ex pressed through an "inmate
code."

This code pr e se r v e s the autonomy o f the informal grouping o f

inmates a g a i n s t the hegemonic r o l e o f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and o f f i c e r s .
However, what i s problematic about E t z i o n i ' s typology i s t h a t i t does
not allow f u r t h e r a n a l y s i s o f the types o f compliance s t r u c t u r e s and
goals w ith in o r g a n i z a t i o n s .
In p a r t i c u l a r , t h e r e i s no room to determine i f o t h e r forms of
compliance s t r a t e g i e s a c t u a l l y e x i s t with p r is o n s e t t i n g s and i f they
r e l a t e to o t h e r kinds o f g o a l s .

For example, th e pris on l i t e r a t u r e i s

r e p l e t e with i n s t a n c e s o f how "merchants" w it h in inmate s o c i e t y b a r t e r
various goods and s e r v i c e s f o r n o t only f i n a n c i a l gain b u t a ls o
provide le g iti m a c y and co n t r o l w i th in the pris o n s e t t i n g (K a li n ic h ,
1980).

In e f f e c t , th e goals w i th in pris o n s a r e n ot only o r d e r based,

b u t they a r e a l s o u t i l i t a r i a n in n a t u r e .

As a r e s u l t , pris ons may

have m u l t i p l e g o a l s , and th e se goals o f te n c o n f l i c t w ithin the
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l environment.
For example, Cressey d i s c u s s e s th e c u s t o d y / t r e a t m e n t c o n f l i c t
w i th i n p r is o n s .

While c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r s a r e r e q u ir e d to t r e a t

inmates humanely and f a i r l y , i t i s a l s o encumbent upon them to in su re
the p r e s e r v a t i o n o f o r d e r .

In f a c t , Cressey su ggests t h a t the

t r a d i t i o n a l pris o n s t r u c t u r e tends t o acce n tu a te co n tr o l and o rder as
i t s primary g o a l , even i f tre a tm e n t i s l i s t e d as a high concern among
adm inistrators.

7

Under t h i s arrangement, o f f i c e r s a r e expected to conform, and more
im p o r t a n t l y , ar e ev alu ated on how well they accomplish these
objectives.

As a r e s u l t , while the o f f i c e r i s r e q u i r e d to e nfo rc e a l l

r u l e s , he must do t h i s in a f as hion which s ugg es ts and enhances the
tre a tm e n t o f the inmate.

T here fore , according t o Cressey, the o f f i c e r

i s faced with making a d e c is io n on how he i s going to i n t e r a c t with
inmates.

More o f te n than n o t , he wil l choose t h a t s t r a t e g y which

p o s i t i v e l y r e f l e c t s on h i s a b i l i t y to conform to the most primary
goal.

In a m a j o r i t y o f c o r r e c t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s t h a t goal i s t y p i c a l l y

the control and s t a b i l i z a t i o n o f th e inmate body.

In e f f e c t , custody

supersedes t r e a t m e n t, due in l a r g e p a r t because c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r s
a r e ev alu ated more s t r i n g e n t l y on how well ordered t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e
c e l l blocks ar e r a t h e r than i f they had e f f e c t u a t e d some change w ith in
an inmate.
However, as suggested by Duffee (1975), th e r eal problem w it hin
p ris o n o r g a n i z a t i o n s may not be o f te n c o n t r a d i c t o r y goal s t r u c t u r e s ,
b u t more s p e c i f i c a l l y , the f a u l t y implementation o f g o a l s .

Th e ref o re ,

i t i s n o t t h a t goals cannot be achieved b u t "managerial p r a c t i c e s "
which prev en t th e goa ls from being r e a l i z e d .

Correcti onal

i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e i n e f f e c t i v e and i n e f f i c i e n t in c o n t r o l l i n g themselves
because o f th e o f te n incongruous managerial d e c i s io n s made by the
p ris o n 's hierarchy.

In b r i e f , c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s ar e poorly

managed and p o l i c i e s and procedures implemented which e f f e c t i v e l y
d e t r a c t from t h e i r a b i l i t y to c o n t r o l .

8

As a r e s u l t , much o f th e c u r r e n t l i t e r a t u r e in prison
o r g a n i z a t i o n s has attempted to focus on the a p p r o p r ia te management
s t y l e and s o c ia l c lim a te which would make pris on s t r u c t u r e s more
e f f i c i e n t and e f f e c t i v e in t h e i r o p e r a t i o n s (Kassebaum, Ward, and
Wilner, 1971; Moos, 1975; Duffee, 1975; and Duffee, 1980).

This has

le d to the development and i n c o r p o r a ti o n o f va rious management models
to c o r r e c t i o n s , in c l u d i n g the a p p l i c a t i o n o f Management by Ob jectives
(MBO) and p a r t i c i p a t o r y management approaches to deal with inmate
populations.®

All o f t h e s e new s t y l e s have as t h e i r o b j e c t i v e the

in c o r p o r a t io n o f th e inmate in the d e c i s io n making proce ss .
Like o t h e r s o c ia l ag e n c ie s , pris on o r g a n i z a t i o n s have as one of
t h e i r b a s ic goals th e a l t e r a t i o n o f human behavior.

More i m p o r ta n t ly ,

t h i s m o d ifi c a t io n proce ss i s not only expected to be e f f e c t i v e b u t i t
i s a l s o designed t o provide a maximization o f c o n t r o l .

The r e l e v a n t

ques tio n becomes how do th e s e kinds o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s r e a l i z e t h i s type
of objective.
While Cressey and Etzioni attempted to address th ese q u e s ti o n s ,
they were n o t f u l l y examined in l i g h t o f the c ontrol i s s u e .

While

Etzioni recognized th e importance o f gaining commitment among
o r g a n i z a ti o n a l groups f o r g r e a t e r c o n t r o l , he did not examine how
managerial s t r a t e g i e s a f f e c t the lev el o f commitment by s u b o rd in a te s .
Within the o r g a n i z a t i o n o f p r i s o n , t h i s ta kes the form o f acceptance
or non-acceptance o f d i r e c t i v e s by o f f i c e r s and inmates.

9

To understand c o ntr ol w it hin a c o r r e c t i o n a l environment, one needs
to be aware o f the r o l e played by th e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n in i t s att em pt to
achieve c o n t r o l .

S t r e e t , V i n te r , and Perrow su ggest t h a t goals ar e

the " e s s e n t i a l c o n s t r a i n t s b u i l t i n t o the o r g a n i z a t i o n . "

These

c o n s t r a i n t s a r e determined, formulated, and implemented through th e
va rio us po licy d i r e c t i v e s o f e x e c u tiv e s or a d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f the
organization.

In e f f e c t , how c o r r e c t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s go about in

e f f e c t u a t i n g c o ntr ol i s c o n tin g e n t upon how well they process t h e i r
demands and how they ar e r e a c t e d to by o f f i c e r s and inmates.
To f u l l y comprehend t h i s n o t io n , S t r e e t , V in te r , and Perrow o f f e r
t h r e e models o f p r is o n environments which a r e s i t u a t e d on a
"cus tody-tre at ment" continuum.

These th r e e models a r e :

Obedience/conformity, where th e technique o f c ontrol i s c o n d i t i o n i n g
and conformity i s emphasized; ree ducation/development, where inmate
a t t i t u d e s and behav iors a r e a l t e r e d through t r a i n i n g and education;
and t r e a t m e n t , where an emphasis i s on the "psychological
r e c o n s t i t u t i o n " o f th e i n d i v i d u a l , with very l i t t l e r e l i a n c e on
punishment.
A f t e r a y e a r o f r e se a r c h i n t o s ix i n s t i t u t i o n s on t h i s continuum,
they concluded t h a t as the goals progressed from custody to tr e a t m e n t ,
they found inmates were thought o f as sic k r a t h e r than uncooper ative;
t r e a t e d more on a ind i v id u a l b a s i s ; the s t a f f was younger, more
p r o f e s s i o n a l l y i n c l i n e d , and b e t t e r educated; ex ecutive a c t i v i t y
tended t o switch from p o l i t i c a l to pr ofe ssi onal groups; o r g a n i z a t io n a l

10

r e l a t i o n s were more v a r i e d ; th e s t a f f had more in te rd e p e n d e n t t a s k s
and e x h i b i t e d more c o n f l i c t ; the s t a f f engaged inmates more o f t e n ;
inmate l e a d e r s were l e s s o f te n in opp o sition to the s t a f f and l e s s
v i o l e n t with o t h e r inmates; and many inmates were l e s s a l i e n a t e d and
more committed t o the s t a f f and i t s values and norms.
The c e n t r a l f in d i n g o f t h i s re se ar ch was t h a t th e r e was a
r e l a t i o n s h i p between the o r g a n iz a ti o n a l goal and i t s
o p e r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n and o r g a n iz a t io n a l c o n t r o l .

What i s important i s

an examination o f how control (th e process) i s r e a l i z e d by
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s w ith in c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s .

While S t r e e t ,

V i n t e r , and Perrow's previous r e se a r c h has suggested t h a t goals
c o n s t r a i n o r g a n i z a t i o n s and t h a t inmate groups responded more
f av or ab ly to tr e a tm e n t g o a l s , i t i s s t i l l r e l e v a n t to examine t h i s
process o f control and how i t i s implemented.

In o t h e r words, i s i t

the goal o f tre a tm e n t which makes inmates more amenable to the formal
s t r u c t u r e and l e s s p r oble m a tic, or i s i t t h a t t h i s kind of goal
i n i t i a t e s s p e c i f i c kinds o f r e l a t i o n s h i p s which make th e d i f f e r i n g
groups more congruous?

Conversely, can p u n i t i v e cu s to d i a l

i n s t i t u t i o n s e x h i b i t as much control as tre a tm e n t based i n s t i t u t i o n s ?
I f so, how can t h i s be maintained and enhanced?
The p iv o tal r e se a r c h questi on becomes to s t a t e and examine the
va rious proce ss es which provide c ontrol and s t a b i l i t y to the prison
organization.

T r a d i t i o n a l l y , t h i s has meant an emphasis on managerial

r e l a t i o n s h i p s and how they a f f e c t the environment o f p r is o n .

As a

11

consequence, t h e r e has been a p l e t h o r a o f r esear ch which has attempted
to i n v e s t i g a t e th e r e l a t i o n s h i p between managerial s t y l e and
c o r r e c t i o n a l outcomes (Duffee 1975; Wright, 1977; and Duffee 1980).
The general consensus among t h i s r e s e a r c h was t h a t th e prison
environment was much more c o n t r o l l a b l e i f an atmosphere o f co operation
could be f o s t e r e d among o r g a n i z a t i o n a l groups.
Within prison s t r u c t u r e s t h i s means th e development o f p o s i t i v e
avenues o f co operati o n among the d i s p a r a t e groups.

This i s u l t i m a t e l y

l e f t up to the p r i s o n ' s formal a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ; i t i s t h e i r
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to i n s t i l l an environment which f o s t e r s consensus and
agreement among a l l p a r t i c i p a n t s , in c lu d in g o f f i c e r s and inmates.
However, t h i s has r a r e l y occur red w it hin our c o r r e c t i o n a l
institutions.

Because p r is o n e r s a r e held a g a i n s t t h e i r w i l l s , i t i s

d i f f i c u l t f o r a d m i n i s t r a t o r s to implement progams which a m ajori ty
legitim ize.
T here fore , what i s r e l e v a n t about c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s i s not
what type of goal they a c c e n t u a t e , b u t more im p o r ta n tly , the power
r e l a t i o n s h i p s among th e groups in the achievement o f g o a ls .

This view

holds t h a t i t i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y the goa ls which ar e r e l e v a n t but how
one develops and p e r p e t u a te s various power r e l a t i o n s h i p s in the
achievement o f g o a l s , whether they be p u n i t i v e - c u s t o d i a l o r tr eat m ent
based.

In a d d i t i o n , an understanding o f c o r r e c t i o n a l environments

r e q u i r e s an a n a l y s i s o f the forms o f power endemic to the prison
s t r u c t u r e and the r e a c t i o n s to th e se kinds o f power by the various
groups in the environment.

12

As s t a t e d by E t z i o n i , pris on o r g a n i z a t i o n s do e x h i b i t o r d e r goals
and c o e r c iv e compliance s t r a t e g i e s ; however, how t h e se c o er civ e
measures c r e a t e o t h e r forms o f power among th e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l groups
i s o f p a r t i c u l a r r e le v a n c e .

Moreover, does a r e l i a n c e on formal,

c o e r c iv e methods a c t u a l l y provide c o n t r o l , o r does i t l e a d toward the
development o f o t h e r s o c ia l bases o f power?

As suggested by Etzioni

and Fox (1980), p ris on o r g a n i z a t i o n s a r e by t h e i r very na tu r e
coercive.

Recognizing t h i s enab le s one to see how power i s a pivotal

c o n s t r u c t in an a n a l y s i s o f pris on o r g a n i z a t i o n s .
While p a s t l i t e r a t u r e on pris o n o r g a n i z a t i o n s has recognized the
r o l e o f power in unde rstan ding the pr ison s t r u c t u r e , i t has n o t taken
i n t o c o n s id e r a t i o n t h r e e c r u c i a l f a c t o r s :

F i r s t , c o er civ e power by

i t s e l f i s not the only form o f power e x h i b i t e d w ithin our c o r r e c t i o n a l
institutions.

More c u r r e n t an aly s es have concluded t h a t o t h e r forms

o f power do e x i s t w ith in o r g a n i z a t i o n s .

This r e s e a r c h s hall a tte m p t

t o tra nspos e t h e se kinds o f power in a more d e t a i l e d understanding o f
control within a p r is o n s e t t i n g .
Second, while t h e r e has been a r e c o g n i t io n o f c o e r c iv e power among
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f c o r r e c t i o n a l environments, t h e r e has been no
system atic a tt e m p t to understand how t h i s type o f formal and legal
a u t h o r i t y enhances th e development o f o t h e r types of power among
o f f i c e r s and inmates, and how formal a u t h o r i t y expr essed through
c o e r c iv e means erodes o t h e r kinds o f power which may provide g r e a t e r
control.

As a r e s u l t , the old adage t h a t "inmates run the j o i n t "

13

takes on s i g n i f i c a n c e ; they control a c t i v i t i e s w it h in p r is o n s because
much o f t h e i r power i s a s t r u c t u r a l a d a p t a t i o n to the formal prison
administration.

As a r e s u l t , inmate and o f f i c e r power i s d i r e c t l y

r e l a t e d to the c o e r c iv e p r a c t i c e s o f the p r i s o n ' s h ie r a r c h y .
F i n a l l y , i f o f f i c e r and inmate types o f power a r e developed in
d i r e c t p r o port ion to th e c o e r c iv e power o f p r is o n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , then
one could a l t e r th e s t r u c t u r a l arrangement o f the pris on o r g a n iz a tio n
which would emphasize c e r t a i n kinds o f power over o t h e r s .

Also, what

forms o f power should c o r r e c t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s s t r e s s to gain more
c o ntrol over t h e i r environments?

This r e s e a r c h s h a ll a tte m p t to

answer t h i s question and o t h e r i s s u e s in i t s a n a l y s i s o f s o c ia l bases
o f power and control among a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , o f f i c e r s , and inmates.
The following c h a p te r thoroughly examines the concepts o f power
and a u t h o r i t y w ithin general o r g a n i z a t i o n a l theory and a p p l i e s the
a n a l y s i s t o prison o r g a n i z a t i o n s .

In a d d i t i o n , an i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s

provided which examines the two major models o f inmate s o c i a l i z a t i o n
and how they r e l a t e t o c ontrol and s t a b i l i t y .

Chapter t h r e e d e s c r i b e s

the methodology employed and r esear ch l o c a t i o n ; c h a p te r f o u r , f i v e ,
and s i x analyze the s o c i a l bases o f power and o t h e r "focal concerns"
which gauge the r e l a t i v e s t a b i l i t y o f Huron Valley Men's F a c i l i t y with
an ot he r comparable prison s t r u c t u r e .

F i n a l l y , the l a s t c h a p te r

d is c u s s e s the conc lus io ns and im p l i c a t i o n s o f t h i s re se arch f o r f u t u r e
r esear ch and co n t r o l o f c o r r e c t i o n a l environments.

14

Endnotes - Chapter 1
l l am r e f e r r i n g to the J u s t Deserts model, where an emphasis i s on
s entenc ing fewer i n d i v i d u a l s to p e n i t e n t i a r i e s and only i n c a r c e r a t i n g the
most s e r i o u s o f f e n d e r s .
2There i s an o r g a n i z a t i o n known as the National Moratorium on
P rison Construction which seeks to minimize th e number of new p ris ons
being c o n s t r u c t e d in t h i s co untry.
^This i s n o t uncommon in many f a c i l i t i e s throughout th e co u n tr y ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y th e l a r g e f a c i l i t i e s such as the S t a t e Prison o f Southern
Michigan (Ja ck son), San Quentin, and A t t i c a Co rrec tional F a c i l i t y .
^This i s a key p o i n t in under standing c u r r e n t pris o n s t r u c t u r e s ;
they a r e now b u i l t f o r n o t only s i z e b u t a l s o humaneness. Many
c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c i a l s have s t a t e d how t h i s i s c r u c i a l to the
c o n s t r u c t i o n o f new f a c i l i t i e s . See Ward, David A., and Schoen, Kenneth
F. Confinement in Maximum Custody (Lexington Books: D.C. Heath and
Company, 1981) f o r a f u r t h e r examination of t h i s t o p i c .
^These i n d i v i d u a l s were chosen because they r e p r e s e n te d c l a s s i c s in
pris on o r g a n i z a t i o n a l l i t e r a t u r e .
6See K i l l i n g e r , George G. e t a l . , Iss u es in C o r r ecti o n s and
A dmin istr ation: S e l e c t e d Readings (West Publishing Company: St. P a u l ,
Minnesota, 1976) f o r a more thorough e x p l o r a t io n o f t h i s t o p ic a l a r e a .

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This c h a p t e r s h a l l review the l i t e r a t u r e on the concept o f power;
to s t a t e and d e s c r ib e the types o f power w ith in o r g a n i z a t i o n s ; and to
analyze the i m p l i c a t i o n s o f p a r t i c u l a r power c o n f i g u r a t i o n s on
organizations.

Zald (1962) s t a t e s t h a t c ontrol in any o r g a n iz a ti o n

"can be descri bed in terms o f the d i s t r i b u t i o n o f power and the
channels f o r u t i l i z i n g power." The p iv o ta l questio n i s how power i s
developed and d i s t r i b u t e d w i th i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Z a ld ' s r e s e a r c h ,

however, la c k s any c l e a r d e f i n i t i o n of power.
How power o p e r a t e s w it h in a c o r r e c t i o n a l environment r e q u i r e s
review o f how i t i s dispensed and s o c ia l control maintained w ith in
pris on s o c i e t y ,

A review o f th e t r a d i t i o n a l t h e o r i e s o f inmate

s o c i a l i z a t i o n w ill be conducted, with an emphasis on how power
r e l a t i o n s a f f e c t the s o c i a l i z a t i o n and c r y s t a l l i z a t i o n o f va rious
r o l e s w ithin the pris on s e t t i n g .

The hypothesis i s t h a t the socia l

o r g a n i z a ti o n o f p r is o n i s l a r g e l y a f f e c t e d by th e s p e c i f i c power
r e l a t i o n s in the i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment.

15

16

1.

D e f i n i t i o n of Power and Author ity
No concept has been more e l u s i v e than the notion o f power.

Hinings e t a l . (1967) b e l i e v e t h a t i t i s analogous to such vague
concepts as bureaucracy and a l i e n a t i o n .

This has le d vario us au th ors

(Weber, 1947; B i e r s t e d t , 1950; and Blau, 1964) to think o f power as
purely co er ci on.

For example, Dahl (1957) d e f in e s power as "A has the

power over B to the e x t e n t t h a t he can g e t B to do something B would
n o t othe rw ise do."
However, o t h e r s have seen the power concept in a more ub iquitous
f a sh io n .

Power i s d efin ed more broadly and extended to includ e the

notion o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l u n i t s f u n c t io n i n g w it hin an i d e n t i f i a b l e
s o c ia l system (Emerson, 1962; Dubin, 1963; Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967;
and C r o z i e r , 1964).

How power pervades an o r g a n iz a t io n and how the

r e l a t i v e amount o f power i s determined through the i n t e r a c t i o n o f
people and u n i t s w ithin an o r g a n iz a tio n i s most r e l e v a n t .

The

o r g a n iz a ti o n n o t only f u n c t io n s with simple dyadic r e l a t i o n s h i p s , b u t
more i m p o rta n tl y , op e r a te s with the interdependence o f many u n i t s in
various exchange r e l a t i o n s h i p s .
Bacharach and Lawler (1980) show, f o r example, how the personnel
s u b u n it i s in te rd e p e n d e n t with the o t h e r u n i t s of the
organizationJ

Perrow (1970) has a l s o shown t h a t s a l e s departments

within i n d u s t r i a l firms were much more powerful in t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n
with o t h e r s ubu nits i n th e o r g a n i z a t i o n , and t h a t any conception of
power must c o n s id e r the r o l e of " interdep artm en tal power" in

17

determining the t o t a l level of or gan iz ati on al power.

2

The evidence

suggests t h a t power i s e l e v a te d to the or ganizational s ubu nit l e v e l ;
t h e r e f o r e , what i s r e l e v a n t ar e the o p e r a t io n s o f p a r t i c u l a r u n i t s in
the scheme of the e n t i r e o r g a n iz a tio n .

One im pl ica tio n i s t h a t

p a r t i c u l a r u n i t s ar e more powerful, dependent upon how they ope rate
within the o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s task environment (Cyert and March, 1963;
Thompson, 1967).

S p e c i f i c a l l y , how o r g a nizational subu nits ar e able

to deal with the many u n c e r t a i n t i e s o f t h e i r environment determines
how they f i t i n t o the power co n f i g u ra t io n o f an o r g anization (March
and Simon, 1958).
Hickson e t a l . (1973) f u r t h e r develop the notion of
in t r a o r g a n i z a t i o n a l power.

They maintain t h a t o r g a n iz ati on al subunits

which cope with u n c e r t a i n t y e f f e c t i v e l y have a r e l a t i v e l y high level
of power within the o r g a n iz a tio n .

Concomitantly, the or gan iza tional

u n i t which cannot be placed ( s u b s t i t u t a b i l i t y ) , i s highly pervasive
and immediate ( c e n t r a l i t y ) in r e l a t i o n to the workflow o f the
org a n iz a tio n , and d e a ls with contingen cies s u f f i c i e n t l y , i s us ua lly
very powerful.
The concluding f a c t o r s which ar e r e l e v a n t in t h i s dis cu ssio n ar e
as follows:

f i r s t , power i s a concept which denotes some type of

influ en ce or a c t i v i t y in which "a person or group o f persons or
or ganization of persons determines, i . e . , . . . a f f e c t s what another
person or group or o r g a n iz a tio n wil l do (Tannenbaum, 1962)."
power must be considered as e x i s t i n g within the u n i t s of an

Second,

18

o r g a n i z a t i o n , as well as the i n t e r p e r s o n a l l e v e l .

Past research

s t u d i e s have tended t o view th e l a t t e r approach as the only
a p p r o p r i a t e method; t h i s has obscured the relevancy of
in terd e p artm en ta l power in the o r g a n iz a tio n a l s e t t i n g .

T hir d, power

i s r e l a t i v e in an o r g a n i z a t i o n , depending upon how o r g a n i z a t i o n a l
s u b u n its cope with th e i s s u e o f u n c e r t a i n t y , s u b s t i t u t a b i l i t y , and
centrality.

An hypothesi s in the l i t e r a t u r e i s t h a t o r g a n i z a ti o n a l

su b u n its which deal s u c c e s s f u l l y with t h e s e f a c t o r s w i l l have more
power w ithin the o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Consequently, they w il l be able to

in f l u e n c e not only th e d i r e c t i o n o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n b u t a l s o s o l i d i f y
themselves i n t o a permanent and l a s t i n g power p o s i t i o n (Michels, 1949).
While one can be aware o f th e n a t u r e o f power and how i t i s
d is p e r s e d throughout an o r g a n i z a t i o n , i t i s im portant to focus on the
d i f f e r e n c e between power and a u t h o r i t y .

P f e f f e r (1981) has s t a t e d how

an under standing o f co n tr o l in o r g a n i z a t i o n s r e q u i r e s a d i s t i n c t i o n
between power and a u t h o r i t y .

He s t a t e s how th e d i s t i n c t i o n between

th e two concepts i s r e l a t i v e t o the amount o f l e g i t i m a t i o n i n d i v i d u a l s
express w i th i n th e o r g a n i z a t i o n .

In e f f e c t , compliance i s gained

because i t i s ac cepted by the i n d i v i d u a l s in the work f o r c e .
As a r e s u l t , what i s developed i s an "acceptance o f p r a c t i c e s and
v a lu e s , which can in clude the d i s t r i b u t i o n o f in f l u e n c e w ithin the
so c ia l s e t t i n g [ an d ], binds t o g e t h e r those w ithin the s e t t i n g , through
t h e i r common p e r s p e c t i v e " (p. 4).

More i m p o r t a n tly , the use o f

a u t h o r i t y w it hin o r g a n i z a t i o n s allows f u r t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o n t r o l .

19

Thus, c ontrol over o r g a n i z a t i o n a l members becomes "expected as p a r t of
organizational l i f e . "

Moreover, t h i s method o f c ontr ol en ables the

o r g a n i z a t i o n to devote more o f i t s energy to accomplishing o b j e c t i v e s .
2.

Types o f A uthority and Social Bases o f Power
A d i s c u s s io n d e a l in g with the u n i t a r y concept o f power must

examine th e work o f Max Weber.

I n i t i a l l y , Weber d i s t i n g u i s h e d between

a u t h o r i t y and power, where th e former denoted the compliance t o
p a r t i c u l a r d i r e c t i v e s r e l a t i v e to the e s s e n t i a l i t y o f th e s e d i r e c t i v e s
in achiev ing a common o r shared go al.

On the o t h e r hand, he def ined

power in terms o f pure coercion and d i sc u s s e d i t s a p p l i c a b i l i t y to
o r g a n i z a t i o n s which emphasized s t r i c t o r g a n iz a ti o n a l compliance, e . g . ,
3
s l a v e - l a b o r camps and p r is o n s .
Weber's development o f th e a u t h o r i t y concept gained the most
a t t e n t i o n in the l i t e r a t u r e .

Accordingly, Weber's typology o f

a u t h o r i t y d i s t i n g u i s h e s among t r a d i t i o n a l , c h a r i s m a t i c , and legal
authority.

For example, in th e Roman C atholic Church, the Pope

depends on t r a d i t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y , which allows him to d i c t a t e many
d i r e c t i v e s to a g r e a t number o f people with very l i t t l e r e s i s t a n c e .
A second form o f a u t h o r i t y i s ch a r ism a t ic a u t h o r i t y .

This type of

a u t h o r i t y i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d through th e personal a t t r i b u t e s a nd/or
a c t i o n s o f a p a r t i c u l a r ind i v id u a l w it hin an o r g a n i z a t i o n .

For

example, i t has been s t a t e d t h a t former P r e s i d e n t John F. Kennedy
wielded c h a r is m a tic a u t h o r i t y , due t o h i s p e r s o n a l i t y and
a t t r a c t a b i l i t y to a s i z e a b l e number o f th e e l e c t o r a t e .

This type of

20

person i s a ble to gain compliance from o t h e r s through personal
q u a l i t i e s and i s ab le to t r a n s m i t these q u a l i t i e s in a fashion which
c a p tu r e s p e o p le s ' a t t e n t i o n and adm iratio n.

Many people w ithin

o r g a n i z a t i o n s e x h i b i t t h i s type o f a u t h o r i t y .
The l a s t type o f a u t h o r i t y i s l e g a l .

Legal a u t h o r i t y i s based on

an appeal to formal r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s o f an o r g a n i z a t i o n .
S p e c i f i c a l l y , t h i s type o f a u t h o r i t y i s u s u a ll y r oote d in the formal
h ie rarc hy o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n , where people a r e in p o s i t i o n s which
allow them t o d e l e g a t e s p e c i f i c or d e rs t o s u b o rd i n a te s .

This type o f

a u t h o r i t y i s p r e d i c a t e d on the b e l i e f o f sub o rd in ates t h a t
s u p e r o r d in a te s have a r i g h t in i s s u i n g o r d e rs and e xpecting
compliance.

Also, th e presumption i s t h a t such a regimented system i s

nece ssa ry i f o b j e c t i v e s ar e to be met and o r g a n iz a tio n a l goals
fulfilled.
French and Raven (1968) provide a typology o f the var io u s types o f
power on the i n t e r p e r s o n a l l e v e l ; however, these bases o f power can be
extended t o in clu d e a l s o an a n a l y s i s a t the o r g a n i z a ti o n a l level
( H a ll , 1982).

They develop f i v e b a s i c types o f power, d e s c r ib in g each

in terms o f power h o l d e r and power r e c i p i e n t .
The f i v e types o f power a r e :
r e f e r e n t , and e x p e r t .

reward, c o e r c i v e , l e g i t i m a t e ,

Reward power i s e x h i b i t e d when the power holder

i s a b le to i n f l u e n c e the power r e c i p i e n t ' s behavior by providing him
with some type o f meaningful reward f o r h i s compliance.

An example o f

reward power i s the piece-work r a t e in f a c t o r i e s as i n c e n t i v e s to

21

i n c r e a s e production by workers.

The presumption i s t h a t workers will

work ha rder and f a s t e r i f more remuneration i s given as an i n c e n t i v e .
A second type o f power, one t h a t has been a s s o c i a t e d with
t r a d i t i o n a l p r i s o n s , i s c o er civ e power.

This type o f power base i s

p r e d i c a te d on the notion o f punishment, o r a t l e a s t th e t h r e a t o f
a p p l i c a t i o n o f punishment.

There i s a ne gative s a n c tio n given to an

in d ividual f o r noncompliance.
Le gitim ate power enab les a power holder to in f l u e n c e a power
r e c i p i e n t because th e l a t t e r has developed w ithin him some
" i n t e r n a l i z e d norm" in r e l a t i o n to t h e power h older and h i s p o s i t i o n .
This i n t e r n a l i z e d norm can be tra c e d t o many so urce s:

cultural

v a lu e s , so c ia l s t r u c t u r e , o r through a designated and l e g i t i m iz e d
leader.

For example, French and Raven s ugge st t h a t an individual in

an o r g a n i z a t i o n w il l follow the o r d e rs o f h i s s u p e r i o r because the
orders r e f l e c t the wishes a n d /o r d e s i r e s o f a t h i r d person in the
o r g a n i z a t i o n ; e . g . , th e t h i r d person could be the p r e s i d e n t of the
firm.
Power which has i t s base in i d e n t i f i c a t i o n between the power
holder and power r e c i p i e n t i s l a b e l e d r e f e r e n t power.

This f o u r th

type o f power i s p r e d i c a t e d on th e a t t r a c t a b i l i t y o f the power
r e c i p i e n t to the power h o lder.

French and Raven s t a t e "In our terms,

t h i s would mean t h a t th e g r e a t e r the a t t r a c t i o n , the g r e a t e r the
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , and consequently the g r e a t e r the r e f e r e n t power."
power r e c i p i e n t , in e f f e c t , follows th e demands o f the power holder
through an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n with him.

The

22

The important d i f f e r e n c e between t h i s type o f power and reward and
coercive kinds o f power i s the mediation o f rewards and/or s a n c t io n s .
In reward and c o er civ e power, the power holder i s a b le to con tr ol the
number o f rewards a n d /o r punishments.

Conversely, t h i s type o f power

base i s c o n t in g e n t upon th e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f the power r e c i p i e n t with
the power h o l d e r , r e g a r d l e s s o f the consequences o f th e r e l a t i o n s h i p ,
whether they be p o s i t i v e o r n eg a tiv e .

For example, an individ ua l may

have h i s own opinion about a p a r t i c u l a r s u b j e c t m a t t e r , but he wi ll go
along with the "group" because he i d e n t i f i e s and d e s i r e s to be l i k e
them.

In e f f e c t , th e group 1s e x h i b i t i n g a s tr o n g form of r e f e r e n t

power toward the i n d i v i d u a l .
The l a s t type o f power o f f e r e d by French and Raven i s e x p e r t
power.

Expert power i s based on the l e v e l of e x p e r t i s e t h a t the power

holder has over the power r e c i p i e n t , and the b e l i e f , on the p a r t of
the power r e c i p i e n t , t h a t the power holder a c t u a l l y has a high level
o f e x p e r t i s e in a p a r t i c u l a r s u b j e c t a r e a .

The a ctual e f f e c t o f t h i s

type o f power i s on th e "c o g n iti v e s t r u c t u r e " of the power r e c i p i e n t .
This f o s t e r s a dependence o f the power r e c i p i e n t on the power holder ;
however, t h i s u s u a ll y changes with the passage o f time.

For example,

the l a w y e r - c l i e n t r e l a t i o n s h i p i s p r e d ic a te d on the knowledge the
lawyer (power hold er ) can convey to the c l i e n t (power r e c i p i e n t ) in
h i s p a r t i c u l a r ca se.

However, one can presume t h a t a f t e r a period of

time the c l i e n t becomes knowledgeable about the "system" and i s l e s s
dependent on the lawyer, thereby de cr ea si ng th e amount of e x p e r t power
4
the lawyer has over h i s c l i e n t .

23

Bacharach and Lawler (1980) d i s c u s s th e r o l e o f information as
an ot he r form o f power in o r g a n i z a t i o n s .

I n d iv i d u a ls or groups may

have power in an o r g a n iz a t io n through t h e i r a b i l i t y to c ontr ol the
info rm atio na l s e c t o r s o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Most important i s the

a b i l i t y to c ontro l in formation which i s "unique" in m aintaining the
o p e r a tio n o f th e o r g a n iz a t io n ( P f e f f e r , 1977).

This i s d i s t i n g u i s h e d

from e x p e r t power in t h a t access t o information i s a s o c ia l p o s i t i o n
which allows one to gain in fo r m atio n , while e x p e r t power i s r e l a t i v e
to a s p e c i f i c type o f knowledge.

For example, individual inmates who

understand the le ga l system e x h i b i t a form o f e x p e r t power, while
inmate c l e r k s have ac ces s to information which allows them to
manipulate the p r is o n s t r u c t u r e to t h e i r advantage ( i . e . , knowing
5
whose c e l l w il l be searched by o f f i c e r s ) .
What i s r e l e v a n t i s how
information i s c r u c i a l to any d e c is io n in an o r g a n i z a t i o n , and any
adequate understanding of power in o r g a n i z a t i o n s must look a t the r o l e
o f information and i t s c o ntrol in providing o r g a n iz a ti o n a l
stab ility .6
The o t h e r type o f power base n o t discu ssed in the French and Raven
typology i s providing of r e s o u r c e s .

Accordingly, P f e f f e r (1977) has

concluded t h a t a s u b u n i t ' s a b i l i t y t o bring in c r i t i c a l re so urc es to
an o r g a n iz a ti o n allows i t to deal with much o r g a n i z a t io n a l
uncertainty.

E a r l i e r work by P f e f f e r and Salancik (1974) has

suggested t h a t s u b u n it power was l a r g e l y c o n tin g e n t upon the a b i l i t y
o f the s u b u n it or department t o gain o u t s i d e g r a n t and c o n t r a c t

24

funds.

This providing o f r e s o u r c e s en ables the s u b u n it to be not only

autonomous b u t a l s o allows i t t o s i t well r e l a t i v e t o o th e r u n i t s
w ith in the o r g a n i z a t i o n (Lodahl and Gordon, 1973).

What I s r e l e v a n t

i s t h a t su bunits with acces s to re so u r c e s a r e a ble to develop s tr o n g
forms o f power w it h i n th e o r g a n i z a t i o n .
3.

Consequences of Power R ela t io n s h ip s
The r e s e a r c h on th e e f f e c t s o f varying types of power in

o r g a n i z a t i o n s i s p l e n t i f u l (see H a l l , Richard, 1982).

Using the

French and Raven typology, Warren (1968) has shown t h a t on the
dimensions o f "behavioral conformity" (conformity w ithou t any
i n t e r n a l i z a t i o n o f norms) and " A t t i t u d i n a l conformity" (conformity and
i n t e r n a l i z a t i o n o f norms) t h a t school t e a c h e r s showed high l e v e l s of
a t t i t u d i n a l conformity in r e l a t i o n to e x p e r t , l e g i t i m a t e , and r e f e r e n t
power, while the power bases o f reward and c o er civ e were more r e l a t e d
t o behavioral conformity.

The im port an t p o i n t i s t h a t d i f f e r i n g kinds

o f power e x i s t w ithin o r g a n i z a t i o n s , and t h a t the behavioral o u tp u t i s
n o tic e a b ly d i f f e r e n t r e l a t i v e to the types o f power employed.

This

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s f u r t h e r supported by th e work o f Lord (1977) in h i s
a n a l y s i s of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between types o f socia l power and
l e a d e r s h i p f u n c tio n s .
Lord concluded t h a t l e g i t i m a t e power i s highly r e l a t e d to the
l e a d e r s h i p f u n c tio n s o f developing o r i e n t a t i o n , communication, and
c o o r d i n a t io n , whereas c o er civ e power i s most highly r e l a t e d to
f a c i l i t a t i n g e v a l u a t i o n s , proposing s o l u t i o n s , and t o t a l fu n c tio n a l

25

beha vior.

He m aintains t h a t va rious typ es o f power do e x i s t in

o r g a n i z a t i o n s and they have d i f f e r e n t i a l impacts on the o r g a n iz a t io n
and i t s members.
J u l i a n (1966) concluded t h a t depending upon the type o f h o s p i t a l ,
d i f f e r e n t types o f power were u t i l i z e d r e l a t i v e t o th e n a t u r e o f the
organization.

For example, he s t a t e s t h a t volu ntary h o s p i t a l s r e l i e d

on a "normative" power system in gai ning compliance, where t a l k s and
e x p la n a t io n s were used in gaining compliance.

Conversely, he found

t h a t v e t e r a n s ' h o s p i t a l s employed methods of coercion in gaining
compliance.

Through th e use o f s e d a t io n and r e s t r i c t i o n o f a c t i v i t y ,

workers were a ble to g e t compliance and a t the same time f u l f i l l t h e i r
goal:

the c ontrol o f the ind i v id u a l p a t i e n t .

An i m p l i c a t i o n from

t h i s r e s e a r c h i s t h a t d i f f e r i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s use d i v e r s e types o f
power t o accomplish t h e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n a l g o a l , and the type and amount
of power used i s v a r i a b l e and c o n t e x t u a l .

In s h o r t , o r g a n i z a t i o n s

w ill vary on the types o f power employed, dependent upon how the
s p e c i f i c power base enables th e o r g a n i z a t i o n to f u l f i l l i t s o b j e c t i v e s
and provide c o n t r o l .
T i f f t (1976), in h i s a n a l y s i s o f c o ntr ol systems and s o c ia l bases
of power in p o l i c e o r g a n i z a t i o n s , attempted to examine the " s t r u c t u r a l
co n d it io n s " which a f f e c t the l o c a t i o n o f socia l bases o f power in
p o l i c e o r g a n i z a t i o n s , while a t the same time e x p l o r in g the s t r u c t u r a l
c o n d it io n s a f f e c t i n g th e e x e r c i s e o f power, how th e se could be a l t e r e d
f o r more o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c o n t r o l , and what a r e the consequences of

26

th e s e s t r u c t u r e s on th e persons w ithin the o r g a n i z a t i o n .

He concluded

that:
The e n v i r o n m e n ta l- s t r u c t u r a l c o n t e x t o f the
p o s i t i o n o f the s e r g e a n t in each s p e c i f i c o r g a n iz a tio n a l
u n i t l a r g e l y determines whether or not s u p e r v i s o r s can
even p o t e n t i a l l y have s i g n i f i c a n t in f l u e n c e on the
working id eology, o r i e n t a t i o n , o r performance o f the
o p e r a t i v e policeman in t h a t u n i t . Consequently, we have
seen t h a t only under s p e c i f i c , e x a c t in g o r g a n i z a t i o n a l environmental - s t r u c t u r a l c o n d iti o n s which a f f e c t th e
s o c ia l bases o f power l o c a t e d i n the p o s i t i o n o f
s u p e r v i s o r has th e s t y l e o f th e s e r g e a n t had a
s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t on the performance o f h is
s u b o r d in a te s .
T i f f t s t a t e s t h a t d i f f e r e n t p o l i c e fu n c tio n a l u n i t s allow
d i f f e r i n g types o f power to be developed.

He mentions t h a t the pa tr o l

u n i t s e r g e a n t had more c o e r c iv e and l e g i t i m a t e power because o f the
s i t u a t i o n a l - f u n c t i o n a l a s p e c t s o f t h a t p a r t i c u l a r u n i t , whereas the
t a c t i c a l u n i t e x h i b i t e d high l e v e l s of r e f e r e n t , l e g i t i m a t e , and
e x p e r t power bases because o f th e s t r u c t u r a l design and a c t i v i t i e s o f
th a t specific unit.
Not only ar e th e power and co n t r o l v a r i e d and l i m i t e d
s t r u c t u r a l l y , b u t they a l s o l e a d to a f u r t h e r s u b d iv is io n o f the
organization.
Dalton (1959) has suggested t h a t the d i f f u s i o n o f power w ith in
o r g a n i z a t i o n s produces powerful c l i q u e s .

These c l i q u e s serve the

purpose o f defending t h e i r members in response to var io u s t h r e a t s to
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l autonomy; they a r e hig hly i n t e r p e r s o n a l and c o n s t a n t l y
s h i f t i n g over time and l o c a t e d both h o r i z o n t a l l y and v e r t i c a l l y w i th i n
the o r g a n i z a t i o n a l h i e r a r c h y .

27

P f e f f e r (1981) p o in ts o u t t h a t n o t only do c l i q u e s and /o r
c o a l i t i o n s e x i s t , b u t they ar e a l s o h ighly p o l i t i c a l , r e l y i n g on
v a r i o u s s t r a t e g i e s in advancing t h e i r own purposes and causes over
o t h e r c l i q u e s w ithin the o r g a n i z a t i o n .

I t i s t h i s p o l i t i c a l n a tu r e of

c l i q u e s and t h e i r concomitant power arrangements which a r e r e l e v a n t
when d i s c u s s in g th e decision-making process w it h in o r g a n i z a t i o n s
( A l l i s o n , 1969; Kaufman, 1964; March, 1962; and Pandarus, 1973).
I t i s more productiv e to view th e s e p o l i t i c a l behaviors as p a r t o f
an i n t e g r a l process which i s endemic to decision-making in
o r g a n i z a t i o n s , whether the p o l i t i c a l behavior i s good f o r the
o r g a n i z a t i o n in deter mining p o lic y (Walmsley and Zald, 1973), or i s
designed to p e r p e tu a te the s e l f - i n t e r e s t s of one man or a group o f men
w ithin the o r g a n i z a t i o n ( P e tti g r e w , 1973; and P o r t e r , 1976).

Gandz

and Murray (1980) s uggest th e l a t t e r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f o r g a n iz a tio n a l
p o l i t i c s o r "workplace p o l i t i c s " in t h e i r a n a l y s i s o f s u b j e c t s '
p e r c e p tio n s o f p o l i t i c a l behavior on the p a r t o f the managers w it hin
public and p r i v a t e o r g a n i z a t i o n s .
The importance o f th e se kinds o f p o l i t i c a l behavior s i s t h a t they
ar e i n t e r f a c e d with th e power conce pt, s ugge sting t h a t va riou s forms
o f power may be employed in the advancement o f personal or s u b u n it
o b j e c t i v e s w it h in the o r g a n i z a t i o n , r e g a r d l e s s o f the o r g a n iz a ti o n a l
goal.

This may lead t o dysfu nc tiona l behaviors in an o r g a n i z a t i o n .

S p e c i f i c a l l y , in r e l a t i o n to c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , one
n o t i c e s how o r g a n i z a t i o n a l groups ar e extremely fragmented.

Inmates,

28

o f f i c e r s , and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s have t r a d i t i o n a l l y been a l i e n a t e d from
one a n other, and as a r e s u l t , th e p r is o n s t r u c t u r e has been
i n e f f e c t i v e in accomplishing many o f i t s go als.

The l i t e r a t u r e

su ggests t h a t s p e c i f i c types o f power a r e more helpfu l in producing a
congruent environment.
Etzioni (1975) has suggested t h a t depending upon the kind o f power
employed, o r g a n i z a t i o n s w il l have a higher lev el of commitment by
members i f more involvement on t h e i r p a r t e x i s t s in the o r g a n i z a t i o n .
Moreover, l a t e r r e s e a r c h has provided s i m i l a r f in d i n g s :

the amount of

co ntr ol e x h i b i t e d was r e l a t i v e t o th e commitment o f o r g a n iz a ti o n a l
members (Houghland e t a l . , 1979; Houghland and Wood, 1980; and
S t y s k a l , 1980).

In e f f e c t , as the o r g a n i z a ti o n i s l e g i t i m a t e d by

s u b o r d in a t e s , i t ex p r ess es more compliance from them.

This r esear ch

has tended t o view compliance only in voluntary o r g a n iz a tio n s .
Correc ti o nal s e t t i n g s ar e n o t vo lu n tary in n a tu r e .

As a r e s u l t , much

o f the a c t i v i t y r e l i e s on some sense o f coercion in r e t u r n f o r order
( E t z i o n i , 1961).

Moreover, the only form o f power which has been

t r a d i t i o n a l l y ex pressed in p ris ons i s c o e r c i v e , causing a fragmented
system in which power i s a c t u a l l y ac ce ntuat ed over a u t h o r i t y .
In e f f e c t , p r is o n s t r u c t u r e s have li m i t e d l e g i t i m a t e power
e x i s t i n g among the groups (inm ates, o f f i c e r s , and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ) .
S p e c i f i c a l l y , inmates as a group lack a commitment to the
o r g a n iz a tio n a l design as supported by o f f i c e r s and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .
a respons e, they t y p i c a l l y develop t h e i r own i n t e r e s t groups in

As

29

response to t h i s c o er civ e o r g a n iz a t io n a l scheme.

Thus, the c o er civ e

con trol mechanism i s dy sfunctional u n le ss some i n t r i n s i c value i s
given to members w it h in the o r g a n i z a t io n (Lawler, 1976).
4.

Prison Organizations
This s e c tio n o f th e review w i ll exp lor e socia l c ontrol and power

in prison and inmate s o c i e t y , new developments in the e x p l o r a t io n of
prison o r g a n i z a t i o n , and types o f power arrangements in d i f f e r e n t
prison s e t t i n g s .

The prison so c ia l s t r u c t u r e wi ll be viewed

recognizing the r o l e o f power in determining behaviors among groups in
the 1 n s t i t u t i o n - - a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , inm ates, and o f f i c e r s .
Research i n t o p r is o n o r g a n iz a ti o n has tended to focus on the
dichotomous na tu r e o f goals w ith in c o r r e c t i o n a l environments.

The

dichotomy has lea d t o a d i s t i n c t i o n in c o r r e c t i o n a l go al s:
c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s have e i t h e r c u s to d ia l goals o r tre a tm e n t
based g o als.

Cressey (1965) has disc ussed the d i f f e r e n c e between

c u s t o d i a l - o r i e n t e d i n s t i t u t i o n s and tre at m e nt- bas ed f a c i l i t i e s .

He

suggests t h a t the c u s t o d i a l - t y p e p r is o n emphasizes a s t r i c t h ie rarc hy
o f a u t h o r i t y , a s t r u c t u r e d and l i m i t e d flow of communication, and a
h ighly c e n t r a l i z e d decision-making body.

Conversely, the tre a tm e n t

i n s t i t u t i o n s t r e s s e s the importance of a u t h o r i t y being p a t t e r n e d on
technical competencies o f the employees, fewer r e s t r i c t i o n s on the
type and amount of communication, and a very broad base of
decision-making a u t h o r i t y , where d e c i s i o n s ar e made by a l l involved
( a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , o f f i c e r s , and inm ates).

30

Cressey (1959) has a l s o maintained how the goals of c o r r e c t i o n a l
agencies ar e o f te n c o n t r a d i c t o r y , le a d i n g toward observable c o n f l i c t s
in types o f c ontrol mechanisms employed by the o r g a n i z a t i o n .
Regardless o f the s t a t e d g o a l, f o r example the tre a tm e n t of
i n d i v i d u a l s , the i n s t i t u t i o n s t i l l has to provide a modicum of c ontrol
over inmates.

This has been noted in the l i t e r a t u r e as the

cu s to d y - tr e a t m e n t d e b a t e .^
Furthermore, Zald (1962) has r e a ff i rm e d t h i s p o i n t in h is
d is c u s s io n o f m u l t i p l e goals in c o r r e c t i o n a l o r g a n iz a ti o n s and the
r e s u l t i n g c o n f l i c t in the t o t a l o p e r a tio n o f i n s t i t u t i o n s .

Others

have disc ussed t h i s l i n e o f reasoning in r e l a t i o n t o j u v e n i l e
i n s t i t u t i o n s (Weber, 1957) and pris on camps (Grusky, 1959).

In s h o r t ,

t h e r e ar e behavioral e f f e c t s o f c e r t a i n types of prison o r g a n i z a t i o n .
Wilson (1968) m ain ta ins t h a t the lev el o f inmate a d a p ta t io n to an
i n s t i t u t i o n i s more r e l a t e d t o i n s t i t u t i o n a l management r a t h e r than
ind iv id ual p e r s o n a l i t y ty pes.

Moreover, o t h e r s have suggested t h a t

inmate a d a p t a tio n to i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n has been more p o s i t i v e in a
tre a tm e n t o r ie n te d i n s t i t u t i o n r a t h e r than a c u s to d ia l f a c i l i t y
(Wheeler, 1961; Garabedian, 1963; S t r e e t , 1965; Berk, 1966; and
T i t t l e , 1974).

Whether th e goal be tr e a tm e n t or custody o r i e n t e d , or

a combination of the two, i t can be s t a t e d t h a t t h e r e ar e c e r t a i n
e f f e c t s on i n s t i t u t i o n a l members.

Some o f these e f f e c t s may even be

detrim en tal to n o t only the i n d i v i d u a l s b u t a l s o to any e f f e c t i v e
Q

strategy of r e h a b ilita tio n .

31

While e f f e c t s e x i s t w ithin c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , i t i s s t i l l
necessary t o explore more thoroughly the method of so c ia l contr ol in
p r is o n , and how inmate bodies form in r e a c t i o n t o t h e i r
incarceration.

Many r e se a r c h s tu d ie s have explored th e s o c i a l i z a t i o n

process w ith in p ris ons (Bowker, 1977; Leger and S t r a t t o n , 1977; and
Shover, 1979).

These have been broken down i n t o two d i s t i n c t models

o f inmate soc ial o r g a n i z a t i o n :

(1) f u n ctio na l model, and

(2) im port ati on model.
5.

Social Control in Prison and Inmate Organizations
Functional Model.

The concept of pr ison s o c ia l s t r u c t u r e ,

p a r t i c u l a r l y i t s d e f i n i t i o n , has undergone an e x te n s iv e change over
the l a s t 15 to 20 y e a r s .

S p e c i f i c a l l y , we see e a r l y on a p a r t i c u l a r

soc io l o g i c a l frame of r e f e r e n c e ( s t r u c t u r a l - f u n c t i o n a l i s m ) dominating
the ex planation o f p r is o n contro l and o r g a n i z a t i o n , with fu nctio na l
answers t o th e complex i n t e r a c t i o n s of a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , o f f i c e r s , and
inmates (Ir win, 1977).

I n i t i a l l y , we f in d the work o f McCorkle and

Korn (1954), Sykes (1958), and Sykes and Messinger (1960) e x p la in in g
inmate s o c ie ty and so c ia l control as "fu nc tio nal a d a p ta tio n s " to the
i n h e r e n t coer cive s t r u c t u r e of the formal pris on h ier arch y .
In f a c t , in the seminal work of Sykes (1958), we fin d the phrase
"pains o f imprisonment," where inmates respond to t h e i r i n c a r c e r a t i o n
by forming a t i g h t l y bound group, s t r e s s i n g inmate cohesion v i s - a - v i s
o f f i c e r s and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

In response to t h i s i n t e n s e d e p r i v a t io n ,

inmates develop a " co nvict code," which c o n s i s t s o f f i v e bas ic

32

tenets:

(1) "D on't e x p l o i t c o n v i c t s , " (2) "Don't weaken," (3) "Don't

l o s e you r head," (4) "Don't i n t e r f e r e with c o n v i c t i n t e r e s t s , "
(5) "Don't be a sucker" (Sykes and Messinger, 1960).
The information o b tain ed from t h e s e s t u d i e s attempted to emphasize
the importance o f an inmate s o c ie ty and how t h i s s o c i e t y f u n c tio n s
r e l a t i v e to the d e p r i v a t i o n s experienced; i t i s what Goffman (1961)
r e f e r s to as th e " t o t a l i n s t i t u t i o n . "

In e f f e c t , any i n s t i t u t i o n

which g enerates such d e p r i v a t i o n s would cause an inmate s o c i e t y to
develop and ge nerate s i m i l a r b ehaviors.

Sykes mentions t h a t inmates

exper ien ce the d e p r i v a t i o n s o f (1) l i b e r t y , (2) goods and s e r v i c e s ,
(3) hetero sexua l r e l a t i o n s h i p s , (4) autonorny. and (5) s e c u r i t y .

These

d e p r i v a t i o n s f u r t h e r exa c e r b a te th e l i f e o f the individual inmate and
cause a high l ev el o f a l i e n a t i o n from i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a f f .
This has led Cloward (1960) to conclude t h a t because p r is o n s
cannot s t r u c t u r a l l y c o n tr o l a l l inmates th e r e i s u s u a ll y some form o f
"accommodation" main ta in in g o r d e r w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n .

He s t a t e s :

■F.

Lim it a tio n s on th e e x e r c i s e of power mean t h a t devices
must be evolved t o secure th e voluntary a l l e g i a n c e o f
inmates. Systems o f i n c e n t i v e s a r e one device b u t , as
we have i n d i c a t e d , l i m i t e d access to formal rewards
tends t o produce r a t h e r than a v e r t deviance.
L im i ta t io n s on power in the one system t h e r e f o r e compel
a d a p tiv e o r r e c i p r o c a l adjustments between the two
systems. In e f f e c t , conces sions must be made by the
o f f i c i a l s to the inmates.
P ris on contr ol i s maintained through va rious accommodative
r e l a t i o n s h i p s between inmates and s t a f f , c r e a t i n g a myriad of i l l e g a l
means and o p p o r t u n i t i e s w it hin the prison s o c i e t y .

Accordingly, i t i s

33

t h e s e exchange r e l a t i o n s h i p s which produce what Sykes r e f e r s to as the
"co r ru p ti o n o f a u t h o r i t y , " where an i n t r i c a t e and d iv e r s e informal
system o f bar gaining i s c r e a t e d and p e rpetuate d by both groups
( o f f i c e r s and inmates) in r e t u r n f o r c ontrol ( o f f i c e r s ) and am enitie s
Q

to eas e the pains o f imprisonment ( inm ates ).
In terms o f power c o n f i g u r a t i o n s , we see the Functional model
s t r e s s i n g the r o l e o f c o e r c i v e measures as p r e r e q u i s i t e s to the
development o f an inmate so c ia l o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Thus, inmate

o r g a n i z a t i o n r e p r e s e n t s a c o l l e c t i v e response to c o er civ e c ontrol
mechanisms.

Furthermore, th e inmate so c ia l system f u n c tio n s r e l a t i v e

to the coer cion experienced by inmates as a group ( C a r r o l l , 1974).
Thus, the g r e a t e r amount o f co e r c io n , the s t r o n g e r the o p pos ition
w ith in the inmate s o c i a l ar en a.
Importation Model
This model o f inmate so c ia l o r g a n iz a tio n suggests t h a t prison
s o c i e t y r e f l e c t s a system which i s acquire d on the o u t s i d e and
imported i n t o the p r is o n environment.

Irwin and Cressey (1962) argue

t h a t inmate s o c i e t y r e p r e s e n t s t h r e e s p e c i f i c s u b c u ltu r e s from th e
o u t s i d e world:

" t h i e f , " " c o n v i c t," and "do r i g h t . "

The t h i e f

s u b c u ltu r e has i t s o r i e n t a t i o n in the world o f p rofe s sional crime,
whereas the c o n v i c t s u b c u lt u r e has i t s o r i g i n a t i o n in the s o c ia l world
o f reform school and th e lower c l a s s .

These two s u b c u lt u r e s seek to

manipulate th e p r is o n o r g a n i z a t i o n to t h e i r advantage, using many
i l l e g a l means in gaining power, p r e s t i g e , and wealth w ithin the

34

i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment.

Thus, they a r e thoroughly manife sted

through the c o er civ e measures o f pris on l i f e .
On the o t h e r hand, the "do r i g h t " frame o f r e f e r e n c e i s
c h a r a c t e r i z e d by the inmate who has m id d le -c la s s v alu es .

T y p ic a ll y ,

he i s attem pting t o a l t e r h i s criminal p r o p e n s i t i e s through va rious
i n s t i t u t i o n a l programs.

In a d d i t i o n , t h i s s u b c u lt u r e l e g i t i m i z e s the

prison o r g a n i z a t i o n and i t s goals.
6.

Modern Explanations o f Social Control in Contemporary Prison
The c u r r e n t l i t e r a t u r e sugge sts t h a t pris on environments have

undergone e x te n s iv e changes from th e e a r l y prison s e t t i n g , with
heightened r a c i a l t e n s io n ( C a r r o l l , 1974), in creased vio lence and the
insurgence o f s t r e e t gangs i n t o the prison systems (Jacobs, 1977), and
a d i s i l l u s i o n e d guard f o rc e which e n t e r t a i n s the notion o f unions and
p o s s i b l e s t r i k e s ( Ir w in, 1980)

The f i n a l product i s a highly

fragmented and p r e c a ri o u s environment.
Th e re fore , to co n tr o l the modern pris on environment r e q u i r e s much
more than a simple g i v e - t a k e r e l a t i o n s h i p on the p a r t of inmates and
staff.

I n s te a d , th e a d m i n i s t r a t o r o f the modern pris on f in d s h imself

not only faced with i n t e r n a l s t r i f e b u t he i s a l s o more accountable to
the pu blic a t l a r g e ; s p e c i f i c a l l y , t h e c o u r t s have interve ne d in such
a way in the p a s t 20 y e a r s t h a t much o f the a u t o c r a t i c con trol
e x e r c is e d in e a r l i e r y e a r s has been taken away or s ev erely tr u n c a te d
(Jacobs, 1977).

35

Irwin has explored the demise o f the "Big House" in c o r r e c t i o n s ,
and has s t a t e d how many s t a t e s have begun to be very b u r e a u c ra tiz e d
and formal in the o p e r a tio n o f t h e i r pr ison systems.

Truly, the

pris on system has become more in tune with modern th in k in g ;
n e v e r t h e l e s s , i t i s s t i l l a c o e r c iv e type o r g a n i z a t i o n .

I t is this

t h r e a t o f coercion which u l t i m a t e l y decides the d i r e c t i o n o f any
prison system (Fox, 1980).
In Figure 2 . 1 , Rhine (1981) provides us with a ty p ic a l s t r u c t u r e
o f the contemporary p ris on.

The modern prison s t r u c t u r e ac c e n tu a te s

th e r o l e o f c e n t r a l i z e d d e c is io n making and a formalized method o f
d e a l in g with p r i s o n e r s .

However, the concept of power in th e prison

o r g a n iz a tio n l i t e r a t u r e i s t r e a t e d r a t h e r l o o s e l y , r e l y i n g on a
r e l a t i v e l y undetermined d e f i n i t i o n o f what e x a c t l y power i s in
c o r r e c t i o n a l s e t t i n g s and how d i f f u s e the power arrangements a r e .
While th e r e has been a de arth o f m a t e r ia l in the p a s t l i t e r a t u r e on
power and the d i f f u s i o n o f power in c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , some
r e c e n t r esear ch has attempted to explore the power concept in a more
syst em atic fa shion.

S ta stn y and Tyrnauer (1982) have developed a

prison typology which d e t a i l s the d i f f e r i n g types o f prison s and the
a s s o c i a t e d power c o n f i g u r a t i o n s o f th e s e p r is o n s .

They su ggest t h a t

fo ur types of prison s e x i s t or have e x i s t e d in t h i s country:
"Enlightenment," "Warehouse," "Remedial," and " I n t e r a c t i v e . "
The Enlightenment pris on emphasized a uni c e n t r i c power
c o n f i g u r a t i o n , with keepers s t r e s s i n g c ontro l over p r i s o n e r s .

The

'36

FIGURE 2.1

Prison A dm inistration

A uthoritarian Chain
of C o m m and

Rule G overned
R eg im entation
System of
formal
social control
D isciplinary P ra c tic e s
a n d P ro c e d u re s

P riso n er Population

FIGURE 2.2. A DIAGRAM OF PRISON SOCIAL STRUCTURE.
Source: Rhine, Edward E., Law, Social Control, an d Due P ro ce ss
in a Maximum Security Prison, U npublished Doctoral
Dissertation, R utgers University, New Brunswick, New
J e rs e y , p a g e 12, 1981.

37

main fu nctio n o f t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n was th e redemption o f the p r is o n e r
and th e i n c u l c a t i o n o f c o r r e c t work h a b i t s .

I t also exhibited a

warden a u to c r a c y , s i l e n c e system, and hard l a b o r .

They s uggest t h a t

th e Pennsylvania model o f pris on o r g a n iz a tio n (1820's ) emulated the
enlightenment p ris on.

This prison s t r u c t u r e resembles pure co er ci on

on th e p a r t o f a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
On the o t h e r hand, the Warehouse pris on had a power c o n f i g u r a t i o n
where the s t a f f was in o p p o s it io n to the inmates, and the main goal
was i n c a p a c i t a t i o n , with p r i n c i p a l f e a t u r e s o f cus tody, balance of
power, and an i d e n t i f i a b l e inmate code.

I t i s t h i s type o f prison

t h a t much o f the s o c i o l o g i c a l l i t e r a t u r e on pr ison o r g a n iz a t io n has
been w r i t t e n .

I t , t o o , r e p r e s e n t s th e f u n ctiona l r e a c t i o n o f inmates

to c o er civ e measures o f c o n t r o l .
The t h i r d type o f pr ison i s the Remedial p r is o n .

As opposed to a

u n i c e n t r i c or b i c e n t r i c power c o n f i g u r a t i o n , t h i s prison e x em p lifies a
t r i c e n t r i c power c o n f i g u r a t i o n , su ggesting t h a t n o t only ar e th e r e
keepers and kep t b u t a l s o the "remediators" or tre a tm e n t s p e c i a l i s t s .
I t s fu nctio n i s t o o p e r a te as a h o s p ita l and/or a school, with i t s
p r i n c i p l e f e a t u r e s being t r e a tm e n t, in d ete r m in ate s en te n cin g ,
s p e c i a l i z e d tr e a tm e n t s t a f f and programs, and a h o s t of a n c i l l a r y
educational p u r s u i t s f o r inmates.

An example of t h i s type of

t r e a t m e n t - o r i e n t e d c o r r e c t i o n a l s e t t i n g can be seen in the work of
Zebulon Brockway a t the Elmira Reformatory (1876).

This type o f

p ris o n s t r u c t u r e views power in th e hands o f t h r e e groups as opposed
to two, each seeking co n t r o l o f the i n s t i t u t i o n .

38

The I n t e r a c t i v e p r is o n has a p o l y c e n t r i c power c o n f i g u r a t i o n ,
c o n s i s t i n g o f numerous a c t o r s a n d /o r groups e x e r c i s i n g power
i n t e r n a l l y and e x t e r n a l l y to th e p r is o n :

such groups as p r i s o n e r s ,

o f f i c e s , unions, c o u r t s , l e g i s l a t u r e s , and mass media.

The underlying

theme o f such an i n s t i t u t i o n i s th e

"open p r i s o n , " and i t s focus i s on

p e r m e a b i l i t y , a d i f f u s i o n o f power,

d e t o t a l i z i n g the c o r r e c t i o n a l

environment, and j u d i c i a l i n t e r v e n t i o n and p r i s o n e r s ' r i g h t s .
Figure 2.2 p o r tr a y s th e types o f p r i s o n s , var io u s power
c o n f i g u r a t i o n s , main f u n c t i o n s , and t h e i r p r in c ip a l f e a t u r e s .
I n t e r e s t i n g l y enough, t h i s pris on typology pu ts f o r t h f o r the f i r s t
time the re leva nc y o f e x p lo r in g c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s as having
complex power c o n f i g u r a t i o n s .

What i s e s s e n t i a l i s t h a t a more

thorough i n v e s t i g a t i o n be undertaken o f what types o f power e x i s t
w ithin our p r is o n s .

While S ta s tn y and Tyrnauer recognize t h a t th e r e

are d i f f e r i n g groups w i t h i n the v a r i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n s , what i s n o t
explor ed i s how t h e s e groups vary on the types o f power they employ.
Do a d m i n i s t r a t o r s e x h i b i t d i f f e r e n t

forms o f power than o f f i c e r s and

inmate?

th e se kinds of power?

What i s th e i n t e r a c t i o n o f

Does one

type o f power predominate over another?
S ta s tn y and Tyrnauer p r e s e n t the problem:
groups e x i s t w it h in var io u s pris on s e t t i n g s .

power and how d i f f e r i n g
What i s needed now i s a

f u r t h e r c l a r i f i c a t i o n and t y p i f i c a t i o n o f the types o f power thes e
groups w ield.

This r e q u i r e s an examination o f the so c ia l bases of

power in p r is o n .

39

Figure 2.2
A PRISON TYPOLOGY

Power
Configuration

Main
Function

P rincipal
Features

Enlightenment

U nicentric: Keepers
over p ris o n e rs

Reformation: Peni­
tence leading t o
redemption, develop­
ment of work hab its

Is o la tio n
Atomized p rison er
S ilen ce system
Warden autocracy
Labor

Warehouse

B ic e n tric : Keepers
versus convicts

In c apac ita tio n

Custody, s u rv e illa n c e
"Balance of Power"
S t a t i c p o l i ty
Convict code
Prison labor

Remedial

T r l c e n t r i c : Keepers
and Remediators and
Inmates

R e h a b ilita tio n :
" h o sp ita l" and
"school" models

T re atm en t/train i ng
Indeterminate sentence
Special ro le of t r e a t ­
ment s t a f f
Programs
Education

I n te r a c tiv e

P o ly c en tric: Mass
s o c ie ty : P risoners,
keepers, guards,
unions, c o u r ts ,
l e g i s l a t u r e s , mass
media, e t c .

Simulated community:
the "open" prison

D e to ta liz a tlo n
Permeability
Diffusion of power
Pluralism
Ju d ic ia l in te rv e n tio n /
p ris o n e r s ' rig h ts

Source:

Stastr\y» Charles and Tyrnauer, G a b rielle. Who Rules the J o in t: The Changing
P o l i t i c a l Culture of Maximum-Security Prisons in America. Lexington Books:
D.C. Heath and Company, Lexington, Massachusetts, page 22, 1982.

40

7.

Summary and Conclusions
I t has been th e purpose o f t h i s review to provide an overview of

the l i t e r a t u r e on the power concept, s u g g e st var io u s types o f power,
dis c u s s the t r a d i t i o n a l e x p la n a tio n o f so c ia l control in p r is o n , p o s i t
a new look a t the contemporary p r is o n , and explore the types o f
pr is o n s and t h e i r power c o n f i g u r a t i o n s .

The re se arch su gg ests t h a t

the d e f i n i t i o n o f power be co nsid ere d both as in t e r p e r s o n a l and
i n tra organ i z a t i o n a l .
Furthermore, the l i t e r a t u r e p o i n t s o u t the relevancy o f kinds o f
power and how d i f f e r i n g types e x i s t w i th i n o r g a n i z a t i o n s :

c o e r c iv e ,

r e f e r e n t , l e g i t i m a t e , reward, e x p e r t , ac ce ss to info rm ation, and
providing r e s o u r c e s .

I t was s t a t e d t h a t these types o f power extend

to a l l the major groups in an o r g a n i z a t i o n , suggesting the importance
of examining d i f f e r e n t types o f power and t h e i r degrees of in flu e n c e
among the o r g a n iz a tio n a l groups.

S p e c i f ic s t u d i e s were examined and

i t was concluded t h a t d i f f e r i n g forms o f power have d i f f e r e n t i a l
impacts on th e o r g a n i z a t i o n .
While th e l i t e r a t u r e on the concept o f power i s p l e n t i f u l , i t was
mentioned t h a t such an i n -d e p th a n a l y s i s was la ck ing in c o r r e c t i o n a l
re se ar ch and l i t e r a t u r e .

The m a te r ia l reviewed p o s it e d a stance which

descri bed inmate s o c i e t y as s e p a ra t e d and a l i e n a t e d from
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , co h es iv ely s t r u c t u r e d and a s s o c i a t e d with an
i d e n t i f i a b l e inmate code, and p r ed icated on the tenuous symbiotic
r e l a t i o n s h i p between keeper and kept.

However, the review did

41

challenge t h i s r a t h e r t r a d i t i o n a l review o f prison o r g a n i z a t io n and
suggested t h a t th e contemporary p r is o n a c c e n t u a t e s co ercive power, i s
organized through a formal h i e r a r c h y , e xem plifi es a fragmentation o f
groups, both s t a f f and inmates, on r a c e , c o n t r o l l e d through the
predominance o f urban gangs, and to rn i n t e r n a l l y because o f a h o s t i l e
and d i s i l l u s i o n e d guard f o rc e .
However, to f u l l y comprehend th e co m ple xities o f t h i s environment,
i t was suggested t h a t the r o l e o f power in the i n s t i t u t i o n s be
examined, i . e . , how p iv o ta l types o f power e x i s t among the groups and
how they a r e employed.

The r e l e v a n t l i t e r a t u r e does explore power

c o n f i g u r a t i o n s in the d i f f e r i n g types o f i n s t i t u t i o n s , but i t does not
examine more thoroughly the types o f power and the e x e r c i s e r s o f such
power.

Th erefo re , i t w ill be hypothesized t h a t the types of power

mentioned e a r l i e r do e x i s t w i th in c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s among the
groups (inmates, o f f i c e r s , and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ) , and t h a t each group
employs d i f f e r i n g types of power r e l a t i v e to the concerns, g o a l s , and
d e s i r e s o f t h a t group.
Control i s r e a l i z e d through a t a c i t r e c o g n i t io n of the var ious
forms o f power employed by each group.

The types of power ar e

regarded as e s s e n t i a l elements in m aintainin g the o r g a nizational
s t a t u s quo, each o f f e r i n g , in p a r t , c ontrol to the o r g a n i z a t io n .
Th erefo re , the purpose o f t h i s re se arch i s to examine the types of
power among a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , o f f i c e r s , and inmates, and to see i f these
forms o f power ar e a f f e c t e d by th e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f modern technology.

42

Endnotes - Chapter 2
Tsee th e re se arch o f Wamsley, Garry L. (1970), f o r a f u r t h e r
d i sc u s s io n o f t h i s t o p i c .
2Crozier (1964) g iv es an in te r e s t in g examination o f "horizontal
power" among maintenance men o f tobacco firms.
3See Buckley (1967), f o r a f u r t h e r d i s t i n c t i o n between power and
authority.
4Anthony Lewis (1966) provides an i n t e r e s t i n g d isc u s s io n of how one
man was ab le to le a r n the legal system while i n c a r c e r a t e d w ithin a
penitentiary.
5The power o f inmate c l e r k s i s something which has been recognized
f o r y e a r s w ithin c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s . In e f f e c t , inmate c l e r k s
s erve th e purpose o f being "middle men" between the formal pris on
s t r u c t u r e and inmate s o c i e t y .
6Kenneth Arrow (1974) contends t h a t once o r g a n i z a t i o n s make
investments toward a c e r t a i n d i r e c t i o n , i t i s d i f f i c u l t f o r them to
change. As mentioned by Arrow, they a r e c o n s tr a in e d by t h e i r c h o ic e s ,
making i t d i f f i c u l t t o o p t f o r f u r t h e r s t r a t e g i e s . As a r e s u l t , the
c u r r e n t information channels a r e main tained, and in t u r n , they provide
s t a b i l i t y to the o r g a n i z a t i o n .
7See the work o f Cloward, (1960); Ohlin, (1960); and Cressey (1960)
f o r a deeper understanding in t h i s t o p i c a l a r e a .
3Craig Haney, C u r t is Banks, and P h i l l i p Zimbardo (1973) have
demonstrated how th e pris on environment i s pathological f o r both
inmates and o f f i c e r s . In e f f e c t , i n d i v i d u a l s w ithin thes e r o l e s
t y p i c a l l y e x h i b i t behaviors which undermine any s e r i o u s att em pt a t
rehabilitation.
^A f u r t h e r a n a l y s i s i s explored more thoroughly in th e work of
Kalinich (1980). He d e s c r i b e s how th e se accommodative r e l a t i o n s h i p s
lead to an i n t r i c a t e contraband system w it hin the i n s t i t u t i o n a l
environment.
10For an examination o f o t h e r i s s u e s facing c o r r e c t i o n s today, see
Alexander (1978) and Jacobs and Crotty (1978).

CHAPTER I I I

RESEARCH DESIGN:

1.

INSIDE A MAXIMUM SECURITY INSTITUTION

Research S i te
The pr ison under i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s Huron Valley Men's F a c i l i t y

(HVMF), a newly c o n s tr u c t e d maximum s e c u r i t y prison w ithin the S t a t e
o f Michigan.

This p r is o n f a c i l i t y was chosen f o r t h r e e re ason s:

F i r s t , i t was a new f a c i l i t y , with only 400 inmates and access was
much e a s i e r than o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s in th e syst em .1

Second, the

i n s t i t u t i o n was designed with s e c u r i t y and c ontrol o f inmates as i t s
primary purpose; th e r e was no pretense about r e h a b l i t a t i o n —i t was not
a primary goal nor was i t to be emphasized w ithin th e o p e r a tio n o f the
facility.

F i n a l l y , th e i n s t i t u t i o n promulgated a contemporary

approach to c o r r e c t i o n s , emphasizing a lower i n m a t e - s t a f f r a t i o and
2
modern f a c i l i t i e s f o r inmate c ar e and s u p e r v i s io n .
More i m p o rta n tl y , the p r i s o n e r s were composed o f those inmates who
were defined as u n c o n t r o l l a b l e and in need o f more s u p e rv i s io n .
T here fore , i t was the i n t e n t i o n o f c o r r e c t i o n o f f i c i a l s to

43

44

design a f a c i l i t y which made inmates more t r a c t a b l e , using the most
advanced technology in inmate car e and c o n t r o l .
This included many items n o t t y p i c a l l y a s s o c i a t e d with t r a d i t i o n a l
pris on s t r u c t u r e s : A computer locking system, a lower i n m a t e - s t a f f
3
r a t i o , and an e l e c t r o n i c d e t e c t i o n system with microwave escape
detectors.

The pr ison i s c o n s tr u c t e d s i m i l a r to a c o l l e g e campus.

In

f a c t , a t f i r s t g la n c e , th e f a c i l i t y does n o t appear to be a p r is o n .
I t c o n s i s t s o f f i v e housing u n i t s , each holding approximately 84 men,
an academic and voca tional s c h o o l, along with a spacious y a r d and a
modern a t h l e t i c f i e l d h o u s e .
In a d d i t i o n , the f a c i l i t y i s surrounded with two 1 2-fo ot-high
chain l i n k fences topped with barbed wire and s i x guard towers.

There

i s a l s o a power p l a n t and food s e r v i c e s a r e a which ar e shared with an
a d j o i n i n g women's p ris on.

C u r r e n tly , th e f a c i l i t y holds 391 inmates

and i s composed o f 110 employees and 284 s t a f f members.

The l a t t e r

f i g u r e r e p r e s e n t s the c u s t o d i a l s t a f f ( o f f i c e r s ) and i n clu des the
administration.
Figure 3.1 diagrams th e formal o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e which
4
e x i s t s a t HVMF.
The warden i s s i t u a t e d a t the top o f the
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l h i e r a r c h y , with the Deputy Warden, Resident S e r v ic e s ,
P er so nn el, Business O f f i c e , and General Offi ce Servic es comprising the
n ex t le ve l o f h o r i z o n t a l p o s i t i o n s .

Under these p o s i t i o n s a r e the

var io u s r o l e s which ar e f i l l e d by c u s to d ia l and housing per so nnel.

Of

F ig u r e 3 .1
FORMAL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AT HURON VALLEY MEN'S FACILITY

---------------HSRTO-----------D e p t. Adm. X III
4 7 -0 4 -1 5 -0 1 -0 1 -0 0 -0 0 1

U hU U t UP HLALIH CAKt
P h y s ic ia n V
4 7 -0 4 -1 5 -0 1 -0 0 -0 0 -0 0 1
Adm. Mgr. V II

GLHLRAL U FH Ct SERVICES
O f f . S upv. V III

Adm. M gr. X
4 7 -0 4 -1 5 -0 1 -0 4 -0 0 -0 0 1

KLSlULNl SERVICES
C o r r . T r e a t . O l r . IXB
4 7 -0 4 -1 5 -0 1 -0 1 -0 0 -0 0 1

Adm. M gr. XI

PERSONNEL*--------Adm. M gr. IX
1 P e r . A id e s u p v . 09
1 P e r . A id e 07
1 P e r . A id e 05

MAIN ItN AN L'L*- - - - - - - ’ WUCURtMtNI*
P r o c . T ech. IV
B k. C le rk I I I

1
1
1
2

W A R tH U U S E *
S to r e k e e p e r V
S to r e k e e p e r IV
S to r e k e e p e r I I I
R es. S tr k p r s . I l l

ADM.
Adm. M gr. V III

1
1
9
1

Al'CUUNIiHG*
1 Bk. S up v . VI
1 C a l. C le rk I I I
1 8 k . C le rk I I I

HX1U s m i T
F .S . Supv.
F .S . S u p v .
Cook Supv.
B u tc h e r V

* '"
V III
VI
V

RES' A cer.*
1 Bk. S u p v . VI
1 8 k . C le rk I I I
I Bk. C le rk I IB

1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
4
1
1

P h y s. P la n t S u p t.
P h y s. P la n t S u p t.
B ld g . T ra d e S u p v .
B ld g . T ra d e S u p v .
G rnd. KP IV
G rn d . KP I I I
E le c t. V
M a ln t. MC V
M a ln t. MX IV
Power PT OP IVB
S u to Mech. V

V III
VI
VI
V

S ecretary 1VU

HOUSING-----------------ASSISTANT DEPUTY
Adm. M gr. IX
4 7 -0 4 -1 5 -0 2 -0 4 -0 0 -0 0 2
3 RUM V III
5 ARUM VI
26 RUO IVB
2 C o r r . S h i f t S u p v . IV

C la s s ific a tio n
R e s . P r o . A n a l. VI

c u s lo u v - - - - - - - - - 3
7
10
120
1
1

ASSISTANT DEPUTY
C o r r . S h i f t S u p v . VI
C o rr. S h if t Supv. V
C o r r . S h i f t S u p v . IV
C/O I I / I I I
C o r r . R e s . R e p . IVB**
C o r r . S e c t y . S p e c . VI

i t o r r . fttn

S c h . P r 1 n . V IIIB
1 P sy c h . VI ***
6 T e a c h e rs
. 5 S e c r e ta r y * *

CHAPLAIN

* S e rv e H uron V a lle y H e n 's F a c i l i t y and Huron V a lle y Women's F a c i l i t y .
* * S e r v e s h a l f tim e a t H uron V a lle y Women's F a c i l i t y .
* ** S e r v e s Huron V a lle y M en 's and Women's F a c i l i t i e s and t h e C a s s id y Lake T e c h n ic a l S c h o o l.

D ir. V

cn

46

p a r t i c u l a r importance a r e the a s s i s t a n t de p u t ie s in housing and
custody.
R e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f t h i s p o s i t i o n in clude being in charge o f
Resident Unit Managers (RUMS) and A s s i s t a n t Resident Unit Managers
(ARUMS).

These A s s i s t a n t Deputies o p er ate w ithin the i n s t i t u t i o n a l

environment and a r e th e middlemen between the formal a d m in i s t r a ti o n
and c o r r e c t i o n s o f f i c e r s .

The A s s i s t a n t Deputy f o r custody

su p e r v i s o r s the var io u s c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r p o s i t i o n s and asig ns the
o f f i c e r s in th e s p e c i f i c housing u n i t s .
The housing u n i t assignments a r e an i n t e g r a l p a r t o f the s e c u r i t y
o f the i n s t i t u t i o n .

The f i v e housing u n i t s r e p r e s e n t d i f f e r e n t i a l
5
l e v e l s o f s e c u r i t y and a s s o c i a t e d p r i v i l e g e s .
Unit 1 i s desig na ted
the Segregation a r e a , f o r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and d e t e n t i o n purposes.

It

i s intended f o r those p r i s o n e r s who a r e s erv in g p u n i t i v e d e t e n tio n
se n te n c e s , te m pora ri ly being se gre gat ed pending a misconduct or
s e c u r i t y c l a s s i f i c a t i o n h e a r i n g , o r who have been c l a s s i f i e d to
adm inistrative segregation.
Unit 2 i s desig na te d as th e p r o t e c t i v e custody s e c t io n o f the
p r is o n , with inmates who have confirmed enemies w ithin the
i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment a n d /o r ar e p h y s i c a ll y immature or inadequate
and f e a r some form o f a s s a u l t w ith in general p o p u la tio n .

An example

o f t h i s types o f in d iv id u a l i s the inmate who has been sex ually abused.
The t h i r d housing u n i t , composed o f general population p r i s o n e r s ,
i s divided i n t o two wings.

B-wing i s comprised of those persons who

47

have demonstrated some m ot iv at ion f o r school and /or work programs and
have r ec eived no more than two major misconducts over a 12 month
pe r io d .^

On the o t h e r hand, C-wing i s f o r the p r is o n e r who

r e p r e s e n t s a management problem t o the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and does not
d e s i r e t o work nor enhance h i s educa tional development through
schooling.
Another general po pulati o n ar ea i s Unit 4 , where inmates must
expr ess a d e s i r e to work and/or go t o school.
expanded p r i v i l e g e s .

These inmates r e c e iv e

In o r d e r t o be in t h i s u n i t , an inmate must have

had no more than two major misconduct r e p o r t s over a 12 month p e riod.
The l a s t housing u n i t , sometimes r e f e r r e d to as the "honor u n i t , "
i s 5.

This u n i t i s r e se r v e d f o r those inmates who have served a t

l e a s t s ix months a t HVMF in a general population housing u n i t and
whose i n s t i t u t i o n a l r e c o rd i s f r e e o f any misconducts and engages in
some form o f educa tional development and/or work a c t i v i t y .

This

l i v i n g ar ea allows inmates more p r i v i l e g e s and r i g h t s than the o t h e r s ,
and i t i s t y p i c a l l y sought a f t e r by many inmates.

O

One of the keys t o un derstanding th e o p e r a tio n o f HVMF i s to
explor e t h i s pseudo-behavioral m o d ificatio n scheme i n s t i t u t e d by
administrators.

I d e a l l y , inmates would be given more p r i v i l e g e s and

fewer r e s t r i c t i o n s as they move up through the housing u n i t s .
Figure 3.2 i n d i c a t e s th e number and types o f p r i v i l e g e s each housing
u n i t allows the i n d iv id u a l inmate.

As r ep res en te d in the F igur e,

inmates in u n i t 5 have more p r i v i l e g e s than any o th e r housing u n i t .

48

Figure 3.2
NUMBER AND TYPE OF PRIVILEGES BY HOUSING UNIT
Unit #1 - Segregation S t a t u s :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Telephone c a l l s - one (1) per week ( l i m i t e d ) .
Access to legal m a t e r i a l s .
Reading m a t e r i a l s .
Personal pr o p erty (defined in OP-HVM-61.08).
Meals - fed in t h e i r rooms.
Showers - t h r e e (3) times pe r week minimum.
Recreation - one (1) hour per day, f i v e (5) days per week,
whenever c o n d i t i o n s permit.
Religious m a t e r i a l s and Chaplain v i s i t s .
V isits.

Unit #2 - P r o t e c t i v e Custody:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Telephone c a l l s - minimum one (1) per week.
Access t o l e g a l m a t e r i a l s .
Reading m a t e r i a l s .
Personal p r opert y.
Meals - fed in the din ing room with option to feed in the
unit.
Showers - d a i l y .
Recreation - s ix (6) times per week - two (2) hour time
frames.
Visits.
Hobbycraft - l i m i t e d to the u n i t .
Work assignments - l i m i t e d in u n i t and s pe cial assignments.
Academic/vocational school program.
Religious m a t e r i a l s and Chaplain v i s i t s .

Unit #3 - General Population:
B-Wing:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Telephone p r i v i l e g e s - minimum two (2) per week.
Access t o Law Library.
Re ligious m a t e r i a l s and s e r v i c e s .
Personal p r opert y.
Meals - fed in the dining room.
Showers - d a i l y .
Recreation - s ix (6) times per week - two (2) hour time
frames, twenty-two (22) men per group. Regular gym
activities.
Hobbycraft.
V isits.

49

10.
11.

Work assignments.
Academic/vocational program.

Unit #3 - General Population:
C-Wing:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Telephone c a l l s - minimum one (1) pe r week.
Access t o Law Library.
Religious m a t e r i a l s and s e r v i c e s .
Personal p r opert y.
Meals - fed in dining room with option to feed same in u n i t .
Showers - d a i l y .
Recreation - d a i l y , one (1) hour time frames, eleven (11) men
per group.
V isits.
Hobbycraft - li m i t e d in room, with r e s t r i c t i o n s .
Work assignments - in u n i t and grounds surrounding the u n i t .

Unit #4 - General Population - Expanded P r i v i l e g e s :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Telephone c a l l s - minimum one (1) per week.
Access to Law Li brary.
Religious m a t e r i a l s and s e r v i c e s .
Personal p ropert y.
Meals - fed i n dining room.
Showers - d a i l y .
Recreation - d a i l y , s i x (6) time per week, two (2) hour time
frames, f o rt y-tw o (42) men per group. Regular gym a c t i v i t i e s
V isits.
Hobbycraft.
Work assignments.
Academic/vocational school program.

Unit #5 - General Population - Full P r i v i l e g e s :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Telephone c a l l s - Unlimited.
Access to Law Libra ry .
Religious m a t e r i a l s and s e r v i c e s .
Personal pro per ty.
Meals - fed i n dining room.
Showers - d a i l y .
Recreation - d a i l y - 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hour time frames,
f o rt y-tw o (42) men per group.
V isits.
Hobbycraft.
Work assignments.
Academic/vocational school program.
Key to t h e i r rooms.

50

In e f f e c t , t h i s housing ar ea i s the l e a s t r e s t r i c t i v e and symbolizes a
p o s i t i v e e f f o r t on th e p a r t o f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s to reward good be havio r.
Moreover, t h i s o r g a n i z a t i o n a l design i s p r e d i c a t e d on the b e l i e f
t h a t co n tr o l can be maximized by providing a c l e a r s e t o f r u l e s and
r e g u l a t i o n s by which inmates a r e to ab ide.

T h e re fore , th e housing

u n i t c o n f i g u r a t i o n r e p r e s e n t s t h e formal a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s a tte m p t to
provide c ontrol on one hand, while pro viding a humane environment on
the o t h e r hand.

HVMF t y p i f i e s a new tre n d in c o r r e c t i o n s which

at tem pts to control a more problematic inmate p o p u la t io n , while s t i l l
appeasing the c o u r t s and o t h e r public i n t e r e s t groups concerning
inmate c a r e and maintenance ( Ir w in , 1980).
2.

History o f th e I n s t i t u t i o n and Formal Organizational Goals
On August 20, 1981, HVMF opened i t s doors to i t s f i r s t 22

inmates.

The i n s t i t u t i o n was forced to open e a r l y because o f

overcrowding in th e system, and i t c u r r e n t l y o p e r a t e s a t near
c a p a c i t y , c o n f i n in g approximately 391 inmates.
demographic in form ation on t h e s e inmates.

Table 3.1 shows the

As i n d i c a t e d , a s i z e a b l e

number ar e w ith in th e age b r a c k e t o f 26 to 35, with t h i s r e p r e s e n t i n g
58.8% o f the t o t a l p o p u la ti o n .

Furthermore, 69% o f th e popu lation i s

non-white, which includes Blacks, In d ia n s , and Mexican Americans.

In

a d d i t i o n , many o f the inmates (38.7%) have been t r a n s f e r r e d to t h i s
f a c i l i t y from th e only o t h e r maximum s e c u r i t y p r is o n in the s t a t e :
Marquette Branch P r is o n .

L a s t l y , the d ata reveal t h a t a v a s t m a j o r i t y

51

Table 3.1
POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS OF HURON VALLEY MEN'S FACILITY
(As o f August, 1982)
Number

P er ce nt

Age o f P r is o n e r s
Under 20
20-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
41-45
46 and o l d e r

5
66
135
94
43
28
20
39T

1.2
16.9
34.6
24.2
10.9
7.1
5.1
W U

270
121

69.0
31.0

Racial Breakdown
Non-white
White

m

mu

96
151
35
71
17
19
2
39T

24.6
38.7
8.9
18.2
4.3
4.8
.5
m u

14
24
57
164
132

3.6
6.2
14.6
41.9
33.7

Sending I n s t i t u t i o n s
Reception and Guidance Center - SPSM
Marquette Branch Prison
Michigan Reformatory
S t a t e Prison o f Southern Michigan
Michigan I n te n s i v e Program Center
R iv ersi de Correc tion al F a c i l i t y
Kinross C o r r e c tio n a l F a c i l i t y

Sentence Information
Maximum;
Less than 10 y e a r s
10-15
16-20
More than 20 y e a r s
L if e

wr

mu

52

o f th e inmate popu lation (90.2%) were sentenced to long s e n te n c e s , 16
y e a r s to l i f e of confinment.
Thus, th e p r is o n i s co n f in in g many inmates who have been co nvicted
o f s e r i o u s crimes and a r e going t o ser ve long sentences w ithin the
facility .

As a r e s u l t , the i n s t i t u t i o n s t r e s s e s c o n t r o l ;

n e v e r t h e l e s s , the i n s t i t u t i o n has n o t been p e r f e c t in t h i s a r e a .
Three months a f t e r i t s i n i t i a l opening, a co nvicted murderer escaped
in a food t r u c k , which alarmed r u r a l r e s i d e n t s as they were not
n o t i f i e d u n t i l hours a f t e r th e i n c i d e n t occurred.
Another inmate escaped while he was being taken to c o u r t , and t h i s
in d i c a t e d t h a t many o f the s e c u r i t y pre c a u c a tio n s e s t a b l i s h e d were
e i t h e r being implemented i n c o r r e c t l y o r i n e f f e c t u a l .

The s i t u a t i o n

was drawn to the p u b lic f o r e f r o n t when on April 30, 1982, inmates
w ithin th e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and d e t e n t i o n u n i t — Unit 1 — r i o t e d and
des tr oyed n e a r ly $50,000 worth of equipment and f u r n i t u r e .

The

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e response was t o lock down th e prison s t r u c t u r e and
i n v e s t i g a t e th e causes o f the d i s t u r b a n c e .

O

Also, o f f i c e r s

c o n t i n u a l l y complained t h a t th e computer lock ing system o f the pr ison
was i n adequate , r e l a y i n g s i t u a t i o n s o f where doors were a u to m a tic a lly
opened when they should have been locked.
The t e n s i o n mounted between n o t only o f f i c e r s and inmates b u t a l s o
o f f i c e r s and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

O f f i c e r s f e l t th e i n s t i t u t i o n was unsafe

and demanded changes be made, s p e c i f i c a l l y having more o f f i c e r s in th e

53

c a f e t e r i a and f i x i n g the computer locking system.

During i t s f i r s t 17

months o f o p e r a t i o n , the f a c i l i t y experienced a murder, s u i c i d e ,
numerous s t a b b i n g s , and b e a ti n g s o f both inmates and guards.

In

e f f e c t , the s i t u a t i o n looked dismal f o r such a s e c u r i t y conscious
institution.
In respon se , th e Warden was l a t e r a l l y t r a n s f e r r e d .

In h i s p l a c e ,

Robert Redman was d es ig n a te d as the new warden on February 13, 1983.
He i n h e r i t e d many o f th e problems faced by h i s pr ed ec es sor, b u t h is
i n i t i a l response was to co n tr o l the environment:

"My number one

r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i s keeping the p r i s o n e r s w ith in the co nfines o f these
w a l l s . R e d m a n brought with him 23 y e a r s o f c o r r e c t i o n s
experience and a philosophy which acce n t u a te d c ontrol of inmates.
S h o r tly a f t e r h i s a r r i v a l , he was co nf ro nted by union o f f i c i a l s
who claimed he was n o t a ttem pting t o bar ga in f a i t h f u l l y concerning an
employee g r ie v a n c e . 11

Moreover, s h o r t l y a f t e r Redman's a r r i v a l , an

inmate was found stabbed in the c a f e t e r i a , something which many
inmates f e l t was a p r e c u r s o r to f u t u r e inmate v io le n c e .

Warden Redman

responded quickly and sought t o s h i f t the e n t i r e d i r e c t i o n of the
o r g a n i z a t i o n , in c lu ding a more r elax ed y a r d schedule f o r inmates and a
r e s t r u c t u r i n g o f housing u n i t arrangements.

While in the p a s t th e

i n s t i t u t i o n had run on a s o f t versio n o f behavior m o d i f ic a t io n , Redman
a l t e r e d t h i s scheme and d e s ig na te d a l l a r e a s general population ex ce pt
f o r the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and d e t e n t i o n a r e a s .

54

In e f f e c t , f our o f the housing u n i t s became general population
a r e a s , each having i d e n t i c a l s t r u c t u r e s and o f f e r i n g s i m i l a r
privileges.

Also, th e p r o te c t io n u n i t (Unit 2) was disbanded and made

general populatio n, f o r c i n g those inmates to e i t h e r t r a n s f e r o u t o f
th e i n s t i t u t i o n or i n t o s eg reg ati o n o r r e s i d e w ith in general
po pulation.
The n e t e f f e c t was an o r g a n i z a ti o n a l s t r u c t u r e which sought more
co ntr ol over inmates.

The new warden was attem pting to gain c ontrol

w ithin th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment through methods which had proven
e f f e c t i v e in the p a s t , i . e . , through c o n s i s t e n t a p p l i c a t i o n o f r u l e s
and the equal g r a n t i n g o f p r i v i l e g e s to a l l inmates.

The re fore , the

p r i s o n ' s formal o r g a n i z a t i o n a l goals emphasized not only custody and
s e c u r i t y o f the i n s t i t u t i o n b u t a l s o included th e w el far e and s a f e t y
o f th e s t a f f , car e and w e lf a r e o f p r i s o n e r s , v i a b l e and progre s sive
programs f o r r e h a b i l i t a t i o n , and i n s t i t u t i o n a l maintenance,
12
housekeeping, s a n i t a t i o n , and s a f e t y s ta n d a r d s .
3.

Research Method:

E s t a b l i s h i n g R el a t io n s and Inte rviewing

I n i t i a l fieldwork began on November 30, 1982.

A lto g eth er , t h e r e

were seven continuous months o f doing f i e l d r e s e a r c h , averaging around
f ou r days a week.

The ac tual amounts o f time v a r i e d , depending upon

what had been scheduled f o r a p a r t i c u l a r day.

The t y p i c a l day began

a t about 9:00 a.m. and concluded around 3:00 p.m.

However, t h i s did

change as the demands o f the r e se a r c h became a l t e r e d .

For example,

in te rv iew s with o f f i c e r s were not completed a t the f a c i l i t y ; i n s t e a d ,

55

they were done a t a l o c a l ta vern where a number o f o f f i c e r s s p e n t
th e i r free t i m e J 4

This was chosen as the inte rv ie w s i t e because a

m a j o r i t y o f th e o f f i c e r s frequented th e ta vern a f t e r work.

Although

my i n i t i a l purpose was to explor e th e concepts o f power and control
w ithin the f a c i l i t y and among various groups, the f i r s t few weeks were
t y p i c a l l y s pent t a l k i n g with o f f i c e r s in the school or with inmates in
t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e dayrooms.

Thus, the i n v e s t i g a t i o n began very

s u p e r f i c i a l l y , and i t was n o t u n t i l one month i n t o th e re se arch t h a t
my time began to be more c o n s t r u c t i v e l y used.
As suggested by C arroll (1974), th e a ctu al r e l a t i o n s with the
var ious groups o f a pris on s e t t i n g can b e s t be e s t a b l i s h e d through
tem po ra ri ly s eg reg atin g o n e s e l f with one group and then proceeding to
the o t h e r s when f i n i s h e d .

This s t r a t e g y was most h e l p f u l ,

p a r t i c u l a r l y in r e l a t i o n to inmates, because they were th e most
suspicio us o f the r e s e a r c h .
I nterv iews with o f f i c e r s were conducted when conven ient f o r the
officers.

T y p ic a lly , th ese in te rv ie w s l a s t e d f o r t y - f i v e minutes to

one hour.

The method o f asking q u e s tio n s was based on an int e rv ie w

guide approach, with o f f i c e r s responding t o q u e s ti o n s which were
open-ended.

These q ues ti ons were the same asked o f inmates and

administrators.

See Appendix A f o r the complete inte rv ie w guide.

15

A t o t a l o f 20 o f f i c e r s were inter view ed , with some o f the
inter vie w s being accomplished in a group f ashio n.

In t h i s method,

f ou r or f i v e o f f i c e r s were interviewed simultaneously.

A random

56

s e l e c t i o n procedure was i n i t i a l l y attempted in s e l e c t i n g o f f i c e r s .
Twenty o f f i c e r s were randomly s e l e c t e d from the c u r r e n t c o r r e c t i o n s
officers' l i s t .

However, t h i s procedure proved t o be i n e f f e c t i v e , due

in l a r g e p a r t to the f a c t t h a t many o f f i c e r s were wary o f d i s c u s s in g
anything with someone u n f a m il i a r to them.16

Neverth eless , o t h e r

o f f i c e r s were w i l l i n g to be interview ed and a l s o convinced t h e i r
c o u n t e r p a r t s t h a t the end r e s u l t would be to t h e i r b e n e f i t . 1^
All th e in te rv ie w s were hand recorded by myself in t h e i r presence
and f u r t h e r note ta k i n g occur red in my c a r in the parking l o t o f the
ta v e r n subsequent to th e in t e r v ie w s .
Inte rviews with a d m i n i s t r a t i o n took place in the r e s p e c t i v e
o f f i c e s o f the in te rv ie w e e s.

These in te rv i e w s l a s t e d anywhere from

t h i r t y minutes t o two hours and r e p r e s e n te d many of the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
p o s i t i o n s w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n .

This included th e Warden, Deputy

Warden, two A s s i s t a n t Deputy Wardens, t h r e e Resident Unit Managers,
one A s s i s t a n t Resident Unit Manager, I n s t i t u t i o n a l Chaplain,
I n s p e c t o r , and the School P r i n c i p a l .

These in te rv ie w s followed th e

same in te rv i e w guide used f o r th e o f f i c e r s .

Also, f i v e o f the eleven

in te rv iew s were tape recorded and t r a n s c r i b e d a t a l a t e r d a te .
Inmate in te rv ie w s were more d i v e r s e and time consuming.

The

i n i t i a l t h r e e months o f in te rv i e w in g were done using a co n v er satio n al
approach.

Patton (1981) r e f e r s to t h i s method as highly informal and

u s u a l l y employed as a supplement to "ongoing p a r t i c i p a n t o b s erv ati o n
fieldw ork."

57

Over f i f t y co n v e r sa ti o n a l in te rv ie w s with inmates were completed
over the f i r s t t h r e e months o f the r e s e a r c h ; in a d d i t i o n , f o r t y
inmates were randomly chosen subsequent t o th ese c o ns erv ati on al
in te rv i e w s and asked q u e s ti o n s from the i n t e r v i e w

guide.

A table of

random numbers was used to develop a l i s t o f prospective
in te r v ie w e e s .

The t a b l e was used j o i n t l y with an i n s t i t u t i o n a l l i s t

in deter mining th e s p e c i f i c inmates t o be interv iew ed .

Moreover,

inmates were guaranteed s u b j e c t anonymity and were t o l d t h a t t h e i r
involvement in th e r e s e a r c h was completely v o lu n tary .
To in s u r e v o l u n t a r i n e s s on the p a r t o f inmates, a l l were r e q u i r e d
18
t o approve and sign an i n s t i t u t i o n a l waiver.
The inmate r eceiv ed
a copy o f the waiver and a nother copy was a l s o placed i n t o h is
in stitu tio n al jacket.

All f o r t y o f th e in t e rv i e w s were tape

recorded.^
4.

Recording, Keeping, and Typing F i e ld n o te s and Inte rviews
As suggested by C a r r o l l , "unrecorded information does n o t become

data."

Thus, an a tte m p t was made t o r ec or d every i n c i d e n t which

seemed r e l e v a n t and important.
d i f f i c u l t task.

This by i t s e l f was an extremely

In a d d i t i o n , i f the t o p i c a l a r e a was too s e n s i t i v e to

r e cord a t the moment, i t was recorded a t a more a p p r o p r i a t e time.

20

A f t e r any p a r t i c u l a r day o f note t a k i n g , the no tes were typed and
e l a b o r a t e d i n t o s in g le - s p a c e d f i e l d n o t e s .
The f i e l d n o t e s included a l l o f the even ts which were experienced
durin g a given p eriod o f o b s e r v a t io n .

The notes were kep t in a

58

s e p a r a t e f i l e and in chr on ological or d er.

T y p i c a ll y , a d d i t i o n s to the

f i e l d n o t e s were made when items came t o mind a t a l a t e r d a t e .

By th e

end o f th e r e s e a r c h , t h e r e were c l o s e to t h r e e hundred pages of
fieldnotes.

Furthermore, the i n te r v ie w s which were recorded y i e l d e d a

s i g n i f i c a n t number o f t r a n s c r i b e d pages, numbering approximately two
hundred and f i f t y .
I t should be noted t h a t only twelve i n te r v ie w s o f the f o r t y - s i x
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and inmate i n t e rv ie w s were t r a n s c r i b e d .
f o r t h r e e re as ons:

This was done

1) th e c l a r i t y o f many o f the tapes made i t

d i f f i c u l t to und er sta nd e x a c t l y what was being s a i d , thus many had t o
be d isca rd ed ; 2) the focus and d i r e c t i o n o f the in te rv ie w s made i t
d i f f i c u l t to d i s c e r n what was a c t u a l l y being s t a t e d .

Some inmates and

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s s t r a y e d o f f th e t o p i c a l a r ea; t h e r e f o r e , i t was
d i f f i c u l t to d is c o v e r what p r e c i s e l y was being conveyed by the
respondent; and 3) th e c o s t a s s o c i a t e d with these twelve
t r a n s c r i p t i o n s was c l o s e to $500; t h u s , t r a n s c r i p t i o n o f a l l o f the
tap es would have run over $2,000, something n o t f e a s i b l e r e l a t i v e to
21
the re s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e ;
N ev er th ele ss , many o f th e in te rv ie w s were augmented with notes
which were taken du rin g the course o f the i n t e r v i e w s .

This y i e l d e d

much valuable information in the development o f concepts and
propositions.

F i n a l l y , info rm at ion was c o l l e c t e d from newspaper

accounts; documentary m a t e r i a l , such as i n s t i t u t i o n a l f i l e s of
inmates; and e x i s t i n g p o l i c i e s and pr oc ed ure s' manuals.

In sum, over

59

the seven months o f f i e l d r e s e a r c h , some e i g h t hundred pages o f
m a te r ia l were c o l l e c t e d .

This amount o f data proved t o be enormous,

p a r t i c u l a r l y when a n a l y s i s procedures began.
5.

Analysis o f the Data:
Because o f the s heer volume o f f i e l d n o t e s , documents, newspaper

accounts , p o l i c i e s and pr oc ed ures, i t became necessary to
conc e p tu a l iz e the m a te r ia l i n t o some c o h er en t scheme.

The c r e a t i o n of

a typology i s useful in att em p tin g t o s y n th e s iz e th e m ate ria l i n t o
s p e c i f i c conceptual c a t e g o r i e s .
ta k in g two forms:

Patton r e f e r s to th e se t y p o lo g ie s as

"Indigenous ty p o l o g i e s " o r " a n a l y s t - c o n s tr u c t e d

t y p o l o g i e s . " The former r e f e r s t o c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n o f information
through an under standing o f "verbal c a t e g o r i e s " used by the people
s tu d i e d .

The l a t t e r i s a c r e a t i o n o f the r e s e a r c h e r when he searches

f o r p a t t e r n s , c a t e g o r i e s , o r themes w i th in the d a t a .
As pointed o u t by Lofland (1971), t h i s l a t t e r approach i s
p a r t i c u l a r l y dangerous, s in c e the r e s e a r c h e r may mistakenly i n f e r
concepts o r ideas onto the da ta when they ar e not a c t u a l l y p r e s e n t .
This can only be c o n t r o l l e d through a continual checking o f o n e ' s data
with th e ac tu al respondents ; in s h o r t , asking them i f the answers you
a r e providing make sense .
course of the r e s e a r c h .

This was done on many occasions during the
For example, f i e l d n o t e s from March 31, 1983

i n d i c a t e d how acces s to r e s o u r c e s makes an in dividual powerful:
Don (inmate) f e e l s t h a t money and the am enities t h a t money buy
a r e very t i g h t i n the prison and t h i s u s u a ll y gives someone some
power in the p r i s o n . . . . a d e f i n i t e form o f power - ac ces s to
resources.

60

A typology i s developed t o e x p lain the types of power among the
groups in the subsequent ch a p te r .
o t h e r data which were c o l l e c t e d .

However, i t i s r e l e v a n t to examine
This d a ta included major

misconducts, c r i t i c a l i n c i d e n t s , and pris on a p p r o p r i a t i o n s .

Together

t h i s provides data which allows i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f n o t only the socia l
bases o f power a t HVMF but a l s o o b j e c t i v e s measures o f c ontr ol w ithin
22
a comparable prison s t r u c t u r e .
6.

Summary:
As p r i o r re se arch has attempted t o i n v e s t i g a t e power and contro l

in pr ison s t r u c t u r e s in a general s e n s e , t h i s r e s e a r c h was undertaken
as an atte m pt t o understand the types o f power and how they d i f f e r e d
among or g a n iz a tio n a l groups.

To achieve such an end, a q u a l i t a t i v e

methodological approach was employed.

Data were c o l l e c t e d over a

seven month per iod by means o f formal and informal i n t e r v i e w in g , the
a n a l y s i s o f documents, newspaper acco unts , and p o l i c i e s and
procedures.

As t h e d ata was c o l l e c t e d , i t was recorded i n t o a

chronological f i l e .

Analysis of the d ata included the development of

a typology o f power f o r a l l o r g a n i z a t i o n a l groups.

Furthermore,

o b j e c t i v e measures o f control were explor ed a t both HVMF and MBP,
attem pting to compare the two f a c i l i t i e s .

61

Endnotes - Chapter 3
^ I t was easy t o ac ces s t h i s pris on f a c i l i t y because o f th e
r e l a t i o n s h i p developed with th e Warden. On many occasions he had come
to speak to c l a s s e s which I ta u g h t a t Michigan S t a t e U n iv e r s it y . His
help was extremely b e n e f i c i a l t o the r e se a r c h p r o j e c t .
2To say t h a t t h e r e i s no o th e r i n s t i t u t i o n designed s i m i l a r l y to
t h i s one would be an over statem en t. However, i t i s d e f i n i t e l y n o t a
t r a d i t i o n a l pris o n s t r u c t u r e .
A t th e time o f t h i s w r i t i n g , t h e r e was an i n m a t e - s t a f f r a t i o of
l e s s than 2:1 . This 1s not t y p i c a l o f t r a d i t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s , where
a t times the r a t i o could g e t as high as 200:1.
^ I t should be noted t h a t t h i s was c o n s ta n t l y changing a t HVMF,
p a r t i c u l a r l y th e f u n c t io n s o f th e Deputy Wardens. However, to my
knowledge, t h i s i s th e most c u r r e n t o r g a n i z a ti o n a l scheme a t HVMF.
5This i n s t i t u t i o n a l arrangement was p r e d ic a te d on the philosophy
t h a t more b e n e f i t s and p r i v i l e g e s would be given to those inmates who
conformed to th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s .
A d m i n i s t r a t i v e s e g re g a ti o n was rese rved f o r those people who
were deemed extremely dangerous and could not f u nctio n w it hin general
po p u lati o n . They have, t y p i c a l l y , record s which in d i c a t e d
p r o p e n s i t i e s f o r v i o l e n c e ; t h e r e f o r e , they were permanently se gre gat ed
from the r e s t o f the inmate pop ulation .
7 What a major misconduct e n t a i l s w i l l be explored more
thoroughly in subsequent c h a p t e r s .
8While being sought a f t e r by a s i g n i f i c a n t number of inmates,
some, however, avoid t h i s housing u n i t because they f e l t a l l the
" s n it c h e s " r e s i d e d in t h a t ar e a .
A c c o r d i n g to one p ress r e l e a s e (Ann Arbor News, May 28, 1982),
the cause was a mixture o f guard negligence and a f a u l t y locking
mechanism.
^ Y p s i l a n t i P r e s s , March 13, 1983, "Sec urit y No. 1 Concern o f
New Warden."
1] The i n c i d e n t a rose when a union r e p r e s e n t a t i v e was a t t e n d i n g a
grievance conference and a r r e s t e d ten minutes i n t o th e conference.
She was a r r e s t e d because a computer check r ev ea led she had a contempt
o f c o u r t charge a g a i n s t her. Union o f f i c i a l s claimed t h a t the
i n s t i t u t i o n was h a r a ss in g union members. This lead to a p r o t e s t in
f r o n t o f the i n s t i t u t i o n and f u r t h e r d i v i s i o n between the union and
administration.

62

l^ T h is i s taken from P olicy D i r e c t i v e PD-HVM-11.01,
"Organization and R e s p o n s i b i l i t y , " Michigan Department o f C o r r e c t io n s ,
page 1.
^ N e e d l e s s to say a f t e r 6 hours o f fieldwork and 140 m il es o f
d r i v i n g I was thoroughly exhausted. All t o t a l e d I had p u t 9000 miles
in t r a v e l during th e cour se o f the r e s e a r c h .
l^ T h is ta vern was l o c a t e d 2 miles nor th o f the f a c i l i t y . I t was
suggested by one o f th e o f f i c e r s t h a t I f r e q u e n t th e ta v e r n because I
could gain v alu ab le info rm ati on . This su ggestion proved t o be
extremely helpful in the course o f th e r e s e a r c h .
i 5 I t should be noted t h a t th e i n te r v ie w guide was o r i g i n a l l y
p r e - t e s t e d with a group o f inmates a t the S t a t e Prison o f Southern
Michigan. A f t e r t h e i r i n p u t , a more e x a c ti n g guide was c r e a t e d . I t
was t h i s guide which was used in th e int e rv i e w in g process a t HVMF.
i ^T h is apprehension on the p a r t o f o f f i c e r s was due to the f a c t
t h a t two o f t h e i r c o l l e a g u e s went to a l o c a l newspaper and d es crib ed
the problems a t th e p r is o n . In a d d i t i o n , th e se two were reprimanded
by th e i n s t i t u t i o n ' s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . Subsequently, many o f f i c e r s were
apprehensive to reveal an ything, t o anyone, about th e i n s t i t u t i o n .
170ne p a r t i c u l a r o f f i c e r suggested t o h i s c o u n t e r p a r t s t h a t the
r e s e a r c h might reveal th e problems o f f i c e r s faced in the i n s t i t u t i o n .
He was instrum en tal in gaining information from o t h e r o f f i c e r s . In
f a c t , i t was he who suggested t h a t I i n t e r v ie w th e o f f i c e r s a t the
lo cal t a v e r n , something which I mentioned e a r l i e r as h elp ful in
gaining v a lu a b le knowledge from o f f i c e r s .
18I h i s waiver was a c l i e n t r e l e a s e form provided by the
Department o f C o r r e c tio n s . I t i s l o c a t e d in Appendix B.
l ^ I n a d d i t i o n , th e f o r t y i n d i v i d u a l s chosen f o r th e in t e rv i e w s
had t o have a t l e a s t s ix months o f time in the prison and s i x months
a t Marquette Branch p r is o n . In t h i s way, i t was f e l t t h a t comparative
s ta tem ents could be made about the two p r is o n s .
20This was an extremely important time, s in c e i t was in the c a r
where I took down many o b s e r v a t io n s . Furthermore, th e o b s e rv a tio n s
were c l a r i f i e d and e l a b o r a t e d on once I got back to th e U n iv e r s i ty .
I f any o t h e r o b s e rv a t io n s were remembered, they were recorded in the
margins o f the typed f i e l d n o t e s f o r t h a t day.
21 In the f u t u r e , I would su gg est t h a t r e s e a r c h e r s who use the
q u a l i t a t i v e approach c o n s id e r th e tremendous c o s t s a s s o c i a t e d with
such a desig n, both in terms o f money and time sp ent.

63

22Marquette Branch P rison (MBP) i s th e only o t h e r c l a s s i f i e d
maximum s e c u r i t y pris on in th e S t a t e . Along with th e S t a t e House o f
C o r r e c t i o n s , MBP holds 983 inmates. Moreover, i t i s a more
t r a d i t i o n a l l y designed prison s t r u c t u r e , with b a rre d c e l l s and a high
i n m a t e - s t a f f r a t i o . T y p i c a l l y , th e r e s i d e n t s a t HVMF have come from
MBP o r a t l e a s t s p e n t some time t h e r e .

CHAPTER IV

PERCEPTIONS OF POWER:

ADMINISTRATORS, OFFICERS, AND INMATES

HVMF was a pr ison s t r u c t u r e which emphasized c ontr ol follo win g the
Weberian notion o f le g a l a u t h o r i t y .

Accordingly, t h i s type o f

a u t h o r i t y has a d e f i n i t e h i e r a r c h y in which r u l e s ar e universa l and
formal, o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p o s i t i o n s determined by sp ecial t r a i n i n g , and
the d i v i s i o n o f l a b o r c o n t i n g e n t upon th e t a s k s being performed
( R o th sch ild - W h itt, 1979).
In g e n e r a l , p r i s o n o r g a n i z a t i o n s have h i s t o r i c a l l y oper at ed on
t h i s kind o f model, where power i s c e n t r a l i z e d in th e hands o f
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and d e l e g a t e d to su b o rd in a t e s ( o f f i c e r ) t o e x e r c i s e
upon inmates.

With th e p o l i t i c a l i z a t i o n o f the t y p ic a l inmate today,

p a r t i c u l a r l y th e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f black inmates with c i v i l r i g h t s and
personal and r a c i a l i d e n t i t y , t h i s l e g a l type o f a u t h o r i t y has been
que stioned as an e f f e c t i v e s t r a t e g y in c o n t r o l l i n g a problematic
prison po p u lati o n .
Grosser (I960) has mentioned how p r is o n o r g a n i z a t i o n s were u s u a ll y
o u t o f th e purview o f general s o c i e t y and t h a t prison management,

64

65

which attempted to provide e q u ili b r i u m to the prison s t r u c t u r e , was
unencumbered by a probing pu bli c a n d /o r i n t e r e s t groups.
today t h i s i s n o t the ca s e .

However,

On th e c o n t r a r y , c u r r e n t prison

o r g a n i z a t i o n s have been inundated by p u b li c o r g a n i z a t i o n s , both
s e r v i c e and p h i l a n t h r o p i c , and in p a r t i c u l a r the Federal c o u r t s .

In

e f f e c t , the j u d i c i a l i n t r u s i o n by th e c o u r t s has made the o p e r a tio n of
c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s much more pr ob lematic, even to the p o i n t
where many a d m i n i s t r a t o r s have had t h e i r e n t i r e systems taken over and
r e s t r u c t u r e d by j u d i c i a l mandate.1
This i n f l u x o f var ying i n t e r e s t s groups has caused what S tatsn y
and Tyrnauer r e f e r t o as a " p o l y c e n t r i c power c o n f i g u r a ti o n " in our
maximum s e c u r i t y p r i s o n s (se e Figure 2 . 3 ) , where inmates, guards,
unions, c o u r t s , l e g i s l a t u r e s , and th e mass media in flu e n c e the
o r g a n iz a t io n o f the p r is o n .

The r eal e f f e c t has been on the i n t e r n a l

o r g a n iz a tio n o f th e pr ison environment and the f u r t h e r reg im entation
o f r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s .
Given th e r a t h e r d i f f i c u l t p o s i t i o n a d m i n i s t r a t o r s f in d themselves
i t i s ne ces sary t o see what types o f power they employ in attem pting
to co n tr o l t h e i r i n s t i t u t i o n a l environments.

I t i s contended t h a t

because o f the e x t e r n a l and i n t e r n a l demands placed on a d m i n i s t r a t o r s
in our p r i s o n s , they a r e limited', both l e g a l l y and s t r u c t u r a l l y , in
the forms of power they can employ in providing co n tr o l and s t a b i l i t y
to th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l s e t t i n g .

66

This c h a p te r e x p l o r e s the mechanisms which a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ,
o f f i c e r s , and inmates used in providing co n tr o l t o the prison
environment w ithin HVMF.

T r a d i t i o n a l l y , pris on o r g a n iz a tio n s have

attempted to e x e r c i s e b u r e a u c r a ti c a u t h o r i t y through th e use o f
c o e r c iv e measures.

I t i s the t h e s i s o f t h i s c h a p te r t h a t under

c u r r e n t c o n d iti o n s o f f i c e r s and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s cannot r e l y on
b u r e a u c r a t i c a u t h o r i t y in c o n t r o l l i n g and s t a b i l i z i n g the prison
environment.

The l i t e r a t u r e has suggested t h a t prison environments

e x h i b t many informal and accomodative r e l a t i o n s h i p s .

As a r e s u l t ,

con trol i s preserved through th e development o f va rious forms o f power
among a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , o f f i c e r s , and inmates.

This c h ap ter employs the

s o c ia l bases o f power developed by French and Raven and o t h e r
t h e o r i s t s to examine t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f power in a prison s t r u c t u r e .
These types o f power a r e :

c o er civ e power, based on th e a b i l i t y to

i n f l i c t t h r e a t s o f punishment or punishment; reward power, p redicated
on some type o f reward f o r compliance; l e g i t i m a t e power, gaining
compliance through an acceptance and agreement with th e orders of
su p e r v i s o r s ; r e f e r e n t power, dependent upon an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f a
power holder with a power r e c i p i e n t ; e x p e r t power, r e p r e s e n t i n g
in f lu e n c e p r e d i c a t e d on sp ecial knowledge; access to in fo rmation,
s i g n i f y i n g a p o s i t i o n o f power r e l a t i v e t o the contr ol o f in form atio n;
and providing o f r e s o u r c e s , c o n t i n g e n t upon how i n d i v i d u a l s can gain
compliance through th e g r a n t in g o f key r esou rces to i n d i v i d u a l s .

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The a n a l y s i s beg ins with an e x p la n a ti o n and e x p l o r a t i o n o f types
o f power among a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

The a n a l y s i s provide s a s i m i l a r

i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o o f f i c e r and inmate type s o f power.

F i n a l l y , the

c h a p t e r provides a s y n t h e s i s o f th e kinds o f power among th e groups,
o f f e r i n g a p o s i t i o n which emphasizes pris on e q u i l i b r i u m as a f u n c t io n
o f i n t e r a c t i n g bases o f power.

U lt i m a t e l y , p r is o n c o n tr o l i s viewed

as an i n t e r a c t i o n o f many forms o f power among groups.
1.

P e r c e p t io n s o f Power Among A d m in istr a to rs
Because o f th e p e n e t r a t i o n o f the o u t s i d e world i n t o th e p r is o n

s t r u c t u r e and th e high le v e l o f a l i e n a t i o n between p r i s o n e r s and
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e power has been d r a s t i c a l l y modified.
Jacobs (1977) has documented the change in a u t h o r i t y and l e a d e r s h i p a t
t h e S t a t e v i l l e P e n i t e n t i a r y , su ggest in g t h a t e a r l y on t h i s p r is o n was
m aintained by th e personal dominance and charisma o f a p a r t i c u l a r l y
powerful warden.

However, with t h e s h i f t in j u d i c i a l p o l i c y , going

from hands o f f t o t o t a l submersion i n t o c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , the
power o f t r a d i t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y was s i g n i f i c a n t l y reduced.

Instead,

t h i s p e n i t e n t i a r y and o t h e r s l i k e i t a c r o s s th e country have become
more b u r e a u c r a ti z e d and l e g a l - r a t i o n a l in t h e i r o p e r a t i o n s ,
implementing many changes in t h e formal o p e r a ti o n o f t h e pr ison
structure.
More im p o r t a n t l y , th e procedures o f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and t h e i r
s t a f f s have become more accountab le and s u s p e c t t o p u b li c s c r u t i n y ,
p
the reb y l i m i t i n g t h e i r d i s c r e t i o n a r y a u t h o r i t y and power.
This i s

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very c l e a r a t HVMF.

Through co n v e r sa tio n s and in te rv ie w s with

inm ates, o f f i c e r s , and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , i t was p o s s i b l e to conclude
t h a t a d m i n i s t r a t i v e power had s i g n i f i c a n t l y diminished in comparison
t o th e "old days."

As suggested by a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , the c o e r c iv e power

was gone:
A:
I t ' s n o t l i k e i t used t o . . . . In the old
days, you could do j u s t about anything you wanted and
inmates knew i t and r e s p e c te d i t . Now, you have to
l i s t e n t o a l l the complaints from everyone, i n c lu d in g
the inmates . . . Why t h e s e guys have i t b e t t e r now than
they ever had i t on th e s t r e e t s . I th ink th e o l d e r guys
t o l d them young guys t h a t they h a v e n ' t seen anything
un le ss they were up a t Marquette 15, 20 y e a r s ago. That
was p r is o n .

A:
When I s t a r t e d in th e system, you did not have
a l l t h e s e le ga l r u l e s t o follow . . . . A l l you needed
was co n tr o l and you did t h a t by being hard on the
inmates . . . . When inmates knew where you were coming
from, i t was easy to co n tr o l them. Now i t s completely
d i f f e r e n t . . . . We have no power l i k e we use t o .

A:
The c o u r t s , media and 1ib e r a l -d o - g o o d e rs ar e
th e ones t h a t cause a l l th e problems in pr ison . . . .
Maybe i f they were to work here f o r a w h il e , they would
see we have no co n tr o l . . . . Control i s as f a r as
inmates allow i t t o be.
A dm inistrators could only i d e n t i f y t h r e e kinds o f power which they
employed:

c o e r c i v e , reward, and ac ces s to in fo r m a t io n , and i n d i c a t e d

t h a t the o t h e r forms o f power — r e f e r e n t , l e g i t i m a t e , pro vid in g o f
r e s o u r c e s , and e x p e r t — were v i r t u a l l y n o n - e x i s t e n t .

Re fe re nt and

l e g i t i m a t e power bases were seen as weak because th e s t r u c t u r a l
make-up o f the o r g a n iz a tio n did n ot allow inmates t o l e g i t i m i z e the

69

organization.

The p e r c e p ti o n among a m a jo rit y o f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s was

t h a t inmates were to be c o n t r o l l e d and whether o r n o t they agreed with
p o l ic y was not im p o rtan t nor r e l e v a n t .
the o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Thus, inmates had no s ta k e in

Moreover, th e providing o f r esources was l i m i t e d ,

so inmates were n o t persuaded to conform because t h e r e was nothing
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s could o f f e r .

This was a l s o t r u e in r e l a t i o n to e x p e r t

power; t h e r e was no v a lu a b le knowledge a d m i n i s t r a t o r s could provide.
Coercive Power
Coercive power does r e s i d e in th e formal s t r u c t u r e o f the p r is o n .
This type o f power was d efined e a r l i e r as the a ctu al punishment o r the
t h r e a t o f a p p l i c a t i o n o f punishment by someone upon a nother person to
gain conformity o r compliance.

As a form o f power, t h i s i s probably

a t th e r o o t o f a l l c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , and HVMF does n o t d i f f e r
in t h i s r e g a rd .

This type o f power takes two d i s t i n c t forms:

t r a n s f e r and d e t e n t i o n time.

T r an s fer i s def in ed as the actual

removal from the f a c i l i t y and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n t o anot her prison
structure.
This approach was the most feare d by inmates, and th e e x e r c i s e o f
t h i s type o f power was what one a d m i n i s t r a t o r viewed as the "bottom
l i n e " in s t a b i l i z i n g the environment.

Another a d m i n i s t r a t o r s t a t e d i t

t h i s way:
I:
Do you th ink most guys ar e a f r a i d o f being
t r a n s f e r r e d o u t o f here?

70

A:
I would sa y, I d o n ' t think I would say a f r a i d ,
b u t most guys w o u l d n 't l i k e to be t r a n s f e r r e d o u t o f
here.
I:
So does i t provide a sense o f c o n t r o l , the
idea t h a t i f you screw up too much you g e t t r a n s f e r r e d
o u t here?
A:
C o r r e c t . This f a c i l i t y has the uniqueness o f
being a good c le a n f a c i l i t y , i t ' s g o t a mixture, o f s t a f f
t h a t a l l p r i s o n e r s can r e l a t e t o , the food i s a l o t
b e t t e r , th e r e c r e a t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s a r e a l o t more
modern and a r e more. And as we upgrade our vocational
t r a i n i n g and our s c h o o lin g , t h a t ' s going to be an a s s e t
in our p a r t , and a method o f c ontrol f o r u s , you know.
And they see t h a t , and t h e y ' l l b i t c h and moan, b u t when
they s i t down and compare t h i s to Jackson
and
Marquette,
they say w a i t a m inute, you know.
The p o i n t i s t h a t r e c a l c i t r a n t inmates were made more t r a c t a b l e when
i t was made c l e a r to them t h a t they might be s e n t back up to MBP.

3

This was p a r t i c u l a r l y d i s t u r b i n g t o the t y p i c a l inmate because o f the
4
c l o s e proximity o f f a m ily , r e l a t i v e s , and f r i e n d s t o HVMF.
The
consensus among inmates was t h a t th e p r is o n was new and very c le a n .
Because o f t h i s , inmates tended t o comply with th e r u l e s and
r e g u l a t i o n s o f the p r is o n .

As one inmate s a i d , "Doing time i s the

same everywhere .

. . you might as well do i t here.

This place i s

smaller, cleaner,

and I am c l o s e r t o my people. .

.So why fuck i t up?"

However, a d m i n i s t r a t o r s echoed th e sentim ent o f some o f the
o f f i c e r s about th e problem with t r a n s f e r and control o f some inmates:
A:
. . . But as f a r as t r a n s f e r s , some have
t r a n s f e r r e d and we've gone w ithout t r y i n g to t r a n s f e r
them, o t h e r s have been denied. I would say probably the
ones t h a t have been denied in the ca ses t h a t have proven
to be a pain in th e as s h e r e , and previous a t Marquette
and t h a t kind o f t h i n k i n g , t h e r e have been those times
where i t ' s j u s t kind o f , t h e y ' r e f u t u r e t r a n s f e r s ,

71

t h e y ' v e j u s t worn o u t ev er yplace. So they might end up
here and be ours f o r 3 o r 4 months, and then maybe
Marquette f o r 3 o r 4 months and then maybe Jackson f o r 3
o r 4 months, and maybe back and f o r t h . Because th e r e
a r e th ose people in the Department who j u s t g e t moved,
and in a s e n s e , you know, everybody has t h e i r t u r n , so
to speak.

A:
Someone has to tak e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r th ese
inmates . . . and we a r e the ones stuck with i t . You
cannot j u s t t r a n s f e r people o u t when you fee l extreme
ca s e s . . . the f a c t i s t h a t some o f th e s e guys j u s t
move from one p l a c e t o a nother because nobody wants
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r them.

A:
You know t h a t you can t r a n s f e r and i t has to
be r e a l . . . b u t a l o t o f th e se r e a l a s sh o le s know t h a t
they will be back because nobody wants them around . . .
n e i t h e r Marquette or us want them b u t we j u s t keep on
sending them and they send them back. I t j u s t goes
round and round.

A:
A l o t o f guys a r e scared o f t r a n s f e r s b u t i t
can cause problems . . . . You can n o t t r a n s f e r
everyone, so you j u s t g e t r i d o f tho se guys who ar e
causing t r o u b l e . . . l i k e them r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r s . Ship
one o u t and th e r e s t cool down . . . b u t i t i s something
t h a t has to be monitored.
While f o r some i n d i v i d u a l s the system i s nothing b u t a merry-go-round,
key o f f i c i a l s see i t as n ec es sa ry and needed i n c o n t r o l l i n g the
s o - c a l l e d trouble-makers in th e system.

The warden o f the i n s t i t u t i o n

put i t t h i s way:
I:
Is t h e r e a t h r e a t here o f t r a n s f e r f o r the guy
who's c o n t i n u a l l y a headache, back up to Marquette?
A:

Certainly.

I t ' s one t h a t ' s necessary.

72

I:
I f you d i d n ' t have t h a t you th ink t h a t you
w o u ld n 't have as much leeway in t r y i n g to contro l
c e r t a i n people?
A:
I d o n ' t think so. Like I s a id b e f o r e ,
was in a maximum s e c u r i t y prison d o in ' tim e, I ' d
r a t h e r be here than in Marquette. Probably some
have never been in Marquette, t h a t might be p a r t
problem.

if I
much
o f them
o f the

I:
So i f , you can obviously send up a some kind
o f n o t i c e t o Lansing, Lansing makes some kind of
de cis io n?
A:

That's c o rre c t.

I:
Is t h a t a p r e t t y sure t h i n g , i f a guy wants
t o , do the people know t h a t i n s i d e . . .?
A:
Sure. I f th e g uy's screwing up or i f h e ' s
purposely not working or involved in programming, j u s t
s i t t i n g around, w e ' l l lay a t r a n s f e r on him up t o
Marquette and w e ' l l make room f o r somebody who wants to
be h ere.
In terms o f pure c o e r c io n , the a d m i n i s t r a t o r s f e l t t h a t i t was
e s s e n t i a l t h a t t r a n s f e r be included as p a r t o f t h e i r formal system o f
control.
The second type o f coercion was d e te n ti o n or "hole tim e."

At HYMF

i f an ind iv i d u a l was found g u i l t y o f a misconduct, he was s e n t to Unit 1
f o r d e t e n t i o n purposes.®

The punishments vary in amount o f time spent

in d e t e n t i o n ; however, t h i s form o f coercion was r e l a t i v e l y weak and not
r e a l l y co nsidered d e t e n t i o n by inmates, o f f i c e r s , or a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .
was common t o hear inmates d e s c r i b e how the "hole" a t HVMF was nothing
compared to Jackson o r M a rq u e tte 's.

This d i s i l l u s i o n e d many o f f i c e r s ,

p a r t i c u l a r l y s in c e th e inmate could take most o f h is belongings to the
hole with him.®

In e f f e c t , the hole was r e a l l y nothing b u t a

It

73

converted c e l l with a cement s la b f o r a bed.

Everything e l s e was

s i m i l a r to the general population housing u n i t c e l l s .
The a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n s i s t e d t h a t t h i s was an adequate d e t e n t i o n and
punishment u n i t , one t h a t had met a l l the le ga l requirements .

However,

o t h e r " s t r e e t l e v e l " a d m i n i s t r a t o r s 7 were o f the opinion t h a t i t did
n o t adequately punish th e wrongdoer.

One s t a t e d :

A:
I have no a u t h o r i t y in t h i s place . . . the
higher ups only c a r e about i f they a r e going to g e t sued
by inmates . . . . The hole i s a jo k e and no one but the
inmates have any a u t h o r i t y in the p lace . . . . I f they
want t o control inm ates , they should b u i l d a more
r e s t r i c t e d h o l e , with l e s s p r i v i l e g e s and more
punishment.
Other a d m i n i s t r a t o r s a t the housing u n i t l ev el were o f the same
opin io n , b u t most f e l t t h a t i f co n t r o l was going to be maintained by
j u s t coercion the i n s t i t u t i o n would n o t s u rv iv e .

These a d m i n i s t r a t o r s

voiced the opinion t h a t o t h e r mechanisms o f c on tr ol should be
developed and employed:
A:
There has to be i n c e n t i v e s in t h i s place.
Right now th e inmates d o n ' t have such . . . t h e r e ar e
n o t enough jobs and th e rewards a r e l i m i t e d . . . I f
they expand more o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o inm ates, th in g s might
be b e t t e r in t h i s place f o r everyone.

A:
Many guys have no reason to change . . . l i k e
Jones (not h is r e a l name), he i s going to be doing a
long term and he needs a reason to l i v e . . . r i g h t now
he i s a l l depressed and lo n e l y and u n le ss we give him
something, he i s gong t o be a problem f o r us.
So, while a d m i n i s t r a t o r s r e l i e d on c o e r c iv e power in t h e i r d e a l in g s
with inmates, a s iz e a b l e number a l s o b eli ev ed in the development of

74

o t h e r means in c o n t r o l l i n g the inmate populati on.

While the

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n did see the value o f expanded o p p o r t u n i t i e s in the
development o f a s t a b i l i z e d prison environment, the evidence i n d i c a t e d
the o p p o s it e , as the reward power a t HVMF was somewhat l i m i t e d .
By developing a formal mechanism o f co n tr o l which was p r e d ic a te d
on c o e r c io n , a d m i n i s t r a t o r s f u r t h e r extended the d i s t a n c e between
themselves and inmates.

In the long r u n , th e development o f any

rewards o r i n c e n t i v e s f o r inmates was going to be tenuous a t b e s t ,
l a r g e l y in response t o a co n t r o l system which r e l i e d on coercion as an
a r b i te r of disputes.

Furthermore, t h i s p e r p etu ated th e e x i s t i n g

a l i e n a t i o n among these groups and c r e a t e d an atmosphere of d i s t r u s t
and f e a r .

While co n tr o l may be r e a l i z e d , th e c o s t was a s u b s t a n t i a l

c o n t r i b u t i o n toward t h e maintenance o f a h ig hly v o l a t i l e and
a n t a g o n i s t i c inmate s o c i e t y , which sought to e s t a b l i s h i t s own
h ie r a r c h y and o r g a n i z a ti o n in response to the perceived r e p r e s s i o n o f
the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
Reward Power
When a d m i n i s t r a t o r s were asked to ex p la in the reward s t r u c t u r e of
the i n s t i t u t i o n , th e s e kinds o f respons es were given:
A:
Only, God, I think the only b a s ic reward,
whatever, I th ink the only b a s ic th ing a guy g e t s l i k e
t h a t i s , r a t h e r t h a n , oh, I d o n ' t know, t h e r e might be
va rio us j o b s , t h e r e ' s no r eal i n c e n t i v e , I w ou ld n 't
think ex cept to g e t th e h ell o u t o f the i n s t i t u t i o n ,
t h e r e ' s guys who want a b e t t e r j o b someplace f o r one
t h i n g . And th ese people l i k e i n f i r m a r i e s , p o r t e r s in
the i n f i r m a r y , or a p o r t e r up here or a shoe s hine guy,
o r the b arber shop j o b s —those a r e j u s t . . . examples,
and the guy s a y s , yeah , I should be a ble t o . . . do a
b e t t e r j o b , t h a t kind o f th in g .

75

Another disc ussed th e s u b j e c t t h i s way:
I:
How about a d m i n i s t r a t i o n in the formal sense ,
do you reward p o s i t i v e behavior on t h e p a r t o f th e guy,
th e guy who does h i s time, you know, he has a job o r
h e ' s going to s ch o o l, he d o e s n ' t r e a l l y caus e t r o u b l e ,
he d o e s n ' t have any t i c k e t s —i s t h e r e any kind o f formal
reward system?
A:

T h a t ' s what y o u ' r e supposed to do.

I: So t h e y ' r e not r e a l l y being rewarded f o r
anything t h a t ' s expected.
A:
I f they go above and beyond, o f co u r se ,
t h e r e ' s t h in g s l i k e s p e c ia l p a r o l e . Probably another
r e a l big t h i n g , e s p e c i a l l y on inmates in maximum
s e c u r i t y , probably c l o s e to i t i s the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n
g e t s to know who they a r e .
In a d d i t i o n , many a d m i n i s t r a t o r s were wary o f d is c u s s in g the
formal reward s t r u c t u r e s of th e f a c i i t y .

The consensus among

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s was t h a t i t was l i m i t e d f o r good reason:

the f a c i l i t y

should punish th e wrongdoer and not commend him f o r doing something
which was r e q u i r e d .
was t o be made o f i t .

Also, th e impression re ceived was t h a t not much
This l i m i t a t i o n o f reward power on the p a r t of

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s can have both p o s i t i v e and negative e f f e c t s .

F irst,

with th e l i m i t e d formal reward system, inmates a r e going t o have t o
compete f o r fewer r e s o u r c e s , producing a f i e r c e lev el o f competition
f o r rewards among the inmate population.

P o s i t i v e l y speaking, th e

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i s a b le to g e t those inmates who want to work and who
p
w ill do a good j o b , r e g a r d l e s s o f th e type o f work demanded.
Conversely, s in c e a m a jo rit y o f p r i s o n e r s a r e n o t going to be able
to o b ta in employment, they a r e s t i l l l e f t with the need f o r re so u r c e s

76

and "goodies" t o cope with t h e i r i n c a r c e r a t i o n .

In response t o t h i s

s i t u a t i o n , i t i s e v i d e n t t h a t th e lack o f le ga l o p p o r tu n i ty s t r u c t u r e s
w ith in th e pris on s e t t i n g causes an i n c r e a s e in the power and
prevalence o f i l l e g a l o p p o r tu n ity s t r u c t u r e s , along with th e i n c r e a s e
o f r e s o u r c e power among c e r t a i n inmates w ith i n the in fo r m a l, inmate
pr is o n s t r u c t u r e .

Limited formal reward power produces powerful

and/o r i n f l u e n t i a l inmate l e a d e r s w ithin th e inmate s o c ia l system, in
p a r t i c u l a r those inmates who have acces s o r co n tr o l o f i l l e g a l goods
and s e r v i c e s .
Access t o Information
The r o l e o f Information in c o n t r o l l i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s has been
g
documented thoroughly by w r i t e r s in o r g a n i z a t i o n a l th eo ry .
Because
o f th e p r e c a r io u s na tu r e o f th e o r g a n i z a t i o n , i t i s im perative t h a t
information be c o n s t a n t l y c o l l e c t e d and maintained by prison
ad m in istrato rs.^
use o f s n i t c h e s .

This information i s u s u a ll y o btained through the
Knowing t h a t t h e r e a r e many inmates who ar e w i l l i n g

t o " s n i t c h out" o t h e r i n m a t e s , ^ a d m i n i s t r a t o r s a r e a ble t o use t h i s
information in c o n t r o l l i n g the i n s t i t u t i o n .

However, t h e r e i s a

d i s t i n c t i o n between v o l u n t a r i l y r e c e i v i n g inform atio n from inmates
through " s n i t c h k i t e s , "

12

and gai ni ng in fo rm at ion through a ctual

r e c r u i t m e n t and encouragement.

A m a j o r i t y o f inmates a t HVMF f e l t

t h a t t h e r e were an excessi ve number o f s n i t c h e s a t HVMF, and t h a t a
s i z e a b l e number were r e c r u i t e d and promised p r i v i l e g e s i f they would
give information about o t h e r inmates and t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s .

77

On the c o n t r a r y , every a d m i n i s t r a t o r interview ed s t a t e d
un equivocally t h a t s n i t c h e s were n o t being r e c r u i t e d , n e i t h e r formally
nor in fo r m a ll y :
I:
How about s n it c h e s ?
s n i t c h e s in t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n ?

Do you have a l o t o f

A:

Every p r is o n has a l o t o f s n i t c h e s .

I:

Voluntary?

A:
I d o n ' t know t h a t t h a t was always th e cas e
h ere. In f a c t I ' v e heard t h a t i t w a s n ' t , people were
promised a l l kinds o f t h i n g s , I d o n ' t b e l i e v e in t h a t .
I f somebody . . . two weeks ago I g o t a ' s n i t c h k i t e '
t h a t inmates were going to have a d is t u r b a n c e in
Unit 2. We immediately went down and i n v e s t i g a t e d i t ,
what th e inmate s a i d was t r u e , we made some changes and
ev e r y t h i n g went back to calm.
I:
Do you thin k t h a t you need s n i t c h e s , do you
need t h a t kind o f information t o c o n tr o l the i n s t i t u t i o n ?
A:
I d o n ' t know t h a t you need i t to c o n t r o l , I
th in k you need i t to avoid problems.
I:
What abou t, does the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n here
a c t i v e l y r e c r u i t s n i t c h e s , do you go o u t and t r y t o f i n d
people?
A:

No.

I:
There a r e no formal promises o f b e n e f i t s or
good time o r whatever?
A:
I f t h e r e a r e , i t ' s w i th o u t my knowledge and i f
I f i n d o u t about i t , I ' l l take a c t i o n . T h a t ' s n o t the
way i t ' s supposed to be, t h a t ' s not the way i t should be.
Another a d m i n i s t r a t o r summed i t up t h i s way:
I:
Does th e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t r y to r e c r u i t
s n i t c h e s a t a l l , g e t in fo r m a tio n , t h i n g s l i k e t h a t ?
A:
No. As f a r as r e c r u i t , you mean t r y i n g to
e s t a b l i s h a person as such?

78

I:

Yeah.

A:
Such a c o nversation as yeah, keep your eyes
open, l e t me know w h a t's happening, t h a t kind o f thing?
I:

Yeah.

A:
No, we have, I have, I think t h e r e a r e people
who, you know, I fee l I might be a b l e to g e t information
from . . . Because I w o n ' t , I w o n 't t e l l a p r i s o n e r I
would do anything f o r him because I c a n ' t . . . And I
d o n ' t want people to do t h a t kind o f s h i t because a l l i t
does i s , you know, y o u ' r e a r o t t e n no-good son o f a
b i t c h i f you do t h a t and a guy goes o u t t h e r e . . . and
th e whole s hot . . .
That . . . kind o f s h i t i s
w o r th le s s to me, I w o n 't do t h a t to them.
While the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n denied the a c tu a l r e c r u i t m e n t o f s n i t c h e s ,
the r o l e o f information i s c r u c i a l in m aintainin g p r is o n o r g a n i z a t io n
and s t a b i l i t y .
While a d m i n i s t r a t o r s may not a tt e m p t to r e c r u i t s n i t c h e s , they
were s t i l l in a p o s i t i o n

o f t r y i n g t o o b ta i n

needed

information about

th e p r i s o n e r p o p u la t io n ,

e . g . , who was going

to g e t a s s a u l t e d , where

th e contraband was l o c a t e d , who was p r e ss in g o t h e r inmates f o r sex ,
etc.

There was a consensus among a d m i n i s t r a t o r s about th e importance

o f inform ation:
A:
Oh yeah , w ithout a doubt. I t ' s , I d o n ' t th ink
t h e r e ' s no way we could run i t i f we d i d n ' t have some
type o f , r e c e iv e information . . .
Or some p r is o n e r s in
her e about a l l they want to do i s come here to do t h e i r
tim e, and they d o n ' t want any problems. And i f they see
o r hear th in g t h a t ' s happening, t h e y ' l l say something to
an o f f i c e r . Not n e c e s s a r i l y come a l l the way up here,
b u t t h e y ' l l t e l l th e o f f i c e r about i t . And in tu rn the
o f f i c e r w il l t e l l a Sgt. o r a Cpt. and i t g e t s t o us,
you know. And t h e r e may be b i t s and pieces o f
information t h a t w e 'r e a l l aware o f up h e r e , b u t th e r e
may be t h a t one key, t h a t one l i t t l e piece o f
information w e ' l l need t h a t w il l come from them and wil l
g e t the whole p i c t u r e t o g e t h e r , and we s i t back and
d is c u s s i t and we a l l know what a c t i o n to take.

79

A:
I d o n ' t want to say we go o u t and t r y t o g e t
s n i t c h e s , b u t h e l l , we need Information about what i s
going on in the p la ce . . . . I f we g e t i t from s n it c h e s
t h a t i s o . k .................. We d o n ' t r e c r u i t them though
. . . . Usually they come t o us with the information
. . . . You have g o t t o l i s t e n .

A:
Snitches a r e everywhere in prison and t h a t i s
j u s t a f a c t . . . . We d o n ' t r e a l l y need them because a
l o t o f t h e i r in form ation i s b u l l s h i t and l i e s . . . .
b u t sometimes i t i s c r e d i b l e and proves a c c u r a t e so we
use them.
I t becomes obvious t h a t t h i s information en ables a d m i n i s t r a t o r s to
c o n t r o l events in the i n s t i t u t i o n , thereby allowing them to monitor
any p o t e n t i a l problem a r e a s .

Also, the demand f o r information i s so

g r e a t t h a t i t c r e a t e s and enhances the a lr e a d y high le ve l of
a l i e n a t i o n and f r u s t r a t i o n between inmates and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .
As a r e s u l t , a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , o f f i c e r s , and inmates become
div id ed .

S ta stny and Tyrnauer d e s c rib e the so c ia l o r g a n i z a t io n in

t h i s f ash ion:
The c o n t r a d i c t i o n s and d i v i s i o n s a r e c l e a r l y
p e r c e p t i b l e , even a c r o s s c a s t e l i n e s , inmates as well as
s t a f f have grown ade pt a t manipulating them to t h e i r own
advantage. In th e f o r t r e s s p r is o n , ' d i v i d e and r u l e ' i s
a maxim t h a t must take i t s place nex t to 'accommodate
and s u r v i v e ' as a universal pr ecept of pris on l i f e .
The r e s u l t i n g demand f o r information c o n t r i b u t e s to the p r e c e p t divide
13
e t impera,
where inmate t r u s t and r e s p e c t in th e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i s
s i g n i f i c a n t l y diminished.

T here fore , the perce ption on the p a r t of

inmates was not only d i s t r u s t and a l i e n a t i o n with a d m in i s tr a tio n but

80

a l s o with o t h e r inmates.
one inmate p u t i t :

In e f f e c t , no one can be t r u s t e d , because as

"everyone can be a p o t e n t i a l s n i t c h . . . and you

c a n ' t take t h a t chance, so you hang only with a couple o f c l o s e
friends . . . .

I f you a s s o c i a t e with anyone e l s e , you could be asking

for trouble."
As a form o f power, the r o l e o f information cannot be o v e r s t a t e d .
I t only has i t s value in an o p p o s itio n a l sense , i . e . , i t can be used
in t r y i n g to c ontrol a p opulation t h a t i s in l a r g e p a r t a n t a g o n i s t i c
to in s titu tio n a l goals.

The n e t e f f e c t i s th e f u r t h e r dichotomization

o f th e pris on o r g a n i z a t i o n and the p e r p e tu a tio n o f d i s r u p t i v e
behaviors on the p a r t o f inmates.

For example, word was going around

in the i n s t i t u t i o n t h a t one o f f i c i a l o f th e p ris on h ie rarc hy was
a c t i v e l y r e c r u i t i n g s n i t c h e s and paying them o f f with c e r t a i n b e n e f i t s
and p r i v i l e g e s . ^

The p e rception o f the inmates was t h a t , as one

inmate p u t i t , t h i s ind iv i d u a l was the most "evil b a s ta rd " in the
system.

His p o s i t i o n c r e a t e d s t r e s s and a l i e n a t i o n among th e inmate

population towards t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y s in c e he was very
15
n o t i c e a b l e in h i s d e a l i n g s with inmates.
The crux o f t h i s argument i s t h a t while information i s e s s e n t i a l
to th e o p e r a ti o n o f th e p r i s o n , dec ep tive methods o f o b ta in in g
information v i s - a - v i s th e inmate population can lead to p o t e n t i a l l y
volatile situations.

By gai ni ng information in a negative f a s h io n ,

t h a t i s , through m an ip ulat ion, d e c e i t , and c l a n d e s t i n e o p e r a t i o n s ,
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s develop and n u r t u r e an inmate s o c ie ty in d i r e c t

81

o p p o s itio n to i n s t i t u t i o n a l harmony and inmate development.

The

i m p lic a tio n s o f t h i s type o f arrangement w ill be discu ssed in a l a t e r
chapter.

At t h i s p o i n t , we move t o an examination o f th e kinds o f

power employed by o f f i c e r s in t h e i r a tte m p t to c o ntrol the
c o r r e c t i o n a l environment.
2.

Officers:

Perceived Power Among O f f i c e r s

No o t h e r p o s i t i o n w ith in the p r is o n h ie r a r c h y has re ceived l e s s
a t t e n t i o n in th e l i t e r a t u r e than th e r o l e o f c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r s
(Jacobs and Retsky, 1975) J 6

While t h e r e has been s ystem atic study

and r e se a r c h i n t o the l i v e s o f inmates, th e l i t e r a t u r e on c o r r e c t i o n a l
worker a t t i t u d e s , b eh a v io r s , and r o l e s w ith in our c o r r e c t i o n a l
i n s t i t u t i o n s has been d e f i n i t e l y la c k i n g .

O r g a n iz a tio n a ll y , they a r e

p o s i tio n e d in th e middle, e x i s t i n g and t r y i n g to fu nctio n with the
demands of two d i s p a r a t e groups, a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and inmates.

The

p e r s p e c t i v e o f f e r e d in t h i s a n a l y s i s i s t h a t the r o l e o f the
c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r i s s t r u c t u r a l l y p o s i t i o n e d which prevents
b u r e a u c r a t i c a u t h o r i t y y e t f o s t e r s o t h e r types o f power.

More

im p o r t a n t ly , the s t r u c t u r a l c o n d i tio n o f t h i s p o s i t i o n makes i t very
d i f f i c u l t f o r an o f f i c e r to s a t i s f y th e demands o f th e competing
groups; t h e r e f o r e , th e r o l e u s u a ll y demands the development o f
s p e c i f i c kinds o f power u s u a ll y n o t a s s o c i a t e d with th e p o s i t i o n .
At the crux o f t h i s argument i s the f a c t t h a t c o r r e c t i o n a l
o f f i c e r s a r e viewed as the c o e r c iv e agents o f the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
the c o n t r a r y , i t i s contended t h a t as a type of power, t h i s was

On

82

s e v e r e l y l i m i t e d , even t o th e p o i n t

where o f f i c e r s per ce ived t h e i r

a u t h o r i t y and personal

in q u e s ti o n .

s a f e t y to be

T h e re fore , t h e r e

were f o u r forms of power among o f f i c e r s e x i s t i n g a t HVMF:

coercive,

reward, l e g i t i m a t e , and r e f e r e n t .
On the o t h e r hand,

o f f i c e r s did

acce ss t o i n f o r m a tio n ,

or providing

n o t have th e

powers o f e x p e r t ,

of resources

a v a i l a b l e . Expert

power r e l i e s on some knowledge which i s used t o gain compliance;
however, th e f a c t i s t h a t th e o f f i c e r r o l e pr ev en ts any a b i l i t y to
develop t h i s power.

Because th e o f f i c e r was viewed as the enemy by

inmates, i t was d i f f i c u l t to gain any in formation which would be
he lp f u l in completing th e requirements o f th e jo b .

In e f f e c t , inmates

did n o t t r u s t many o f f i c e r s and information which was given did not
enable e x p e r t power to develop, e s p e c i a l l y when much o f the
information was q u e s ti o n a b l e .
In a d d i t i o n , the o f f i c e r r o l e makes i t d i f f i c u l t f o r information
to be gat her ed .

As a r e s u l t , acces s t o in formation and the co n tr o l o f

information was q u i t e d i f f i c u l t .
information from inmates.

They were n o t a b le to gain c r e d i b l e

While a d m i n i s t r a t o r s may r e c r u i t s n i t c h e s

in th e environment, i t was much more problematic f o r o f f i c e r s , sin ce
they were a c t u a l l y i n t e r a c t i n g with inmates, and such an a c t i v i t y
t y p i c a l l y s e p a ra te d them from much o f the inmate p opula tion.
Furthermore, o f f i c e r s were a l s o l i m i t e d in r e l a t i o n to the
pr oviding o f r e s o u r c e s .

Since many o f the items which were sought by

inmates were i l l e g a l , i t was d i f f i c u l t f o r the t y p i c a l o f f i c e r to

83

provide such r e s o u r c e s .

However, t h i s i s not to s ugge st t h a t i l l e g a l

commodities, such as con traband, were n o t provided by o f f i c e r s .

They

were provided, n e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e prov isio n o f contraband was only with
a s e l e c t few i n d i v i d u a l s .

Some experienced o f f i c e r s s t a t e d t h i s p o in t:

A:
There a r e n o t t h a t many o f t h e s e young guys
( o f f i c e r s ) b r in g in g s h i t in . . . . I thin k t h a t p i s s e s
o f f a l o t o f inmates. Since t h e r e a r e n ' t t h a t many . .
. t h a t i s n ' t to say some guys d o n ' t do i t . They do i t
b u t t h e r e j u s t i s n ' t t h a t many people doing i t .

A:
Some o f t h e s e new o f f i c e r s do b r in g contraband
i n , e s p e c i a l l y dope . . . . What u s u a ll y happens i s t h a t
a guy ( o f f i c e r ) who has been around and knows th e check
p o i n t s b r in g s th e s h i t i n . The young o f f i c e r s r e a l l y
d o n ' t know t h e s e kinds o f t h i n g s . . . . I t takes time
and plus t h e r e a i n ' t too many guys doing t h a t l i k e in
th e o t h e r p r is o n s . . . Marquette and Jackson.

A:
Marijuana always w ill be in pr ison . . . .
There i s no way you can s to p i t coming in the j o i n t
. . . b u t th e guys who give i t t o inmates ar e th e ones
who have worked in o t h e r p r is o n s and they know they can
make money doing i t . . . i t does cause a l o t o f
problems.

A:
I d o n ' t know who i s br in g in g the s h i t
(marijuana) in b u t someone has got to be . . . . I do
know t h a t i t ' s n o t as bad as Jackson . . . . S h i t , in
Jackson you can g e t anything you want . . . n o t as many
people.
T h e re fore , t h i s type o f power was not as s tr o n g l y developed as
o t h e r s among o f f i c e r s .
turn.

I t i s th e se o t h e r type o f power t h a t we now

84

Coercive Power
Coercive power i s the b a s i s upon which many w r i t e r s of
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l be ha vior d e s c r i b e th e compliance s t r u c t u r e o f prison
( E t z i o n i , 1961).

The f a c t was t h a t many o f f i c e r s a t HVMF f e l t they

had no power, a t l e a s t very l i t t l e t o keep inmates in s t e p .
an y th in g , the o p p o s it e was t r u e .

If

One o f f i c e r r e l a t e d :

A:
The o f f i c e r s in t h i s plac e a r e nothing b u t
w a i t e r s f o r th e inmates in th e system. O f f i c e r s have to
w a i t on th e se guys hand and f o o t and t h a t i s what t i c k s
o f f a l o t o f the guys. We have to pass t h e i r notes and
l i s t e n to a l l t h e i r b i t c h i n g about how they have been
r ipped o f f by the system.
Related to t h i s d e s c r i p t i o n was th e consensus among o f f i c e r s t h a t
t h e r e was no r e a l punishment o f inmates.

Because o f t h e i r

o r g a n i z a ti o n a l p o s i t i o n , many o f th e o f f i c e r s interview ed f e l t
be tray ed o r even l e f t o u t , n o t only in the i n s t i t u t i o n b u t a l s o in
s o c ie t y :
A:
We ar e the Indians i n the c o r r e c t i o n s system.
Everyone s h i t s on us. We have no t o g e th e r n e s s in t h i s
p la ce . . . . We a r e th e screws no one r e a l l y c a r e s
about . . . we a r e shipwrecked in the s o c ie ty and ar e
always l a b e l e d as the bad guys . . . they
[ a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ] t r e a t us l i k e a s s h o le s and we wi ll
e v e n t u a l l y become nothing b u t a s s h o l e s .

A:
Who gives a fuck about c o r r e c t i o n s o f f i c e r s ?
We have to deal with a l l th e a s sh o l e s in th e system and
they ex pect us to l i k e i t . . . . I t ' s t h i s kind o f
a t t i t u d e we have t o l i v e with . . . then they wonder why
we ar e a l l a l c o h o l i c s .

A:
I d o n ' t know why anyone c a l l s us c o r r e c t i o n s
o f f i c e r s . . . we ar e nothing b u t guards . . . people

85

who o th e r people d o n ' t give a s h i t about . . . . I wish
some o f those people in Lansing would come down and see
the s h i t we have to p u t up w ith.
•

•

•

A:
The only reason I became a guard i s because I
was 1a i d - o f f from my job as a s h e r i f f . . . . As soon as
t h a t picks up, I'm g e t t i n g th e fuck o u t o f t h i s place
. . . . A l o t o f th e se a d m i n i s t r a t o r s j u s t ca re f o r th e
inmates. T h a t ' s because inmates f i l e l a w s u i t s and the
public th in k s we a r e a l l a s s h o le s . . . . We c a n ' t even
do our j obs w ith o u t being thought o f as bad by th e
p u b l ic .
The d e s p a ir t h a t many o f f i c e r s f e l t was r e l a t e d to t h e i r r a t h e r
p recari ous r o l e and th e lac k o f any kind o f perceived help and change
17
from the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
Because they were stuck in th e middle
and perceived t h a t a d m i n i s t r a t o r s c ar ed more about inmates and t h e i r
r i g h t s , o f f i c e r s had very l i t t l e i n p u t i n t o how they were t o o p e r a te
in t h i s r a t h e r u n c e r t a i n environment.

This i s not to conclude t h a t

t h e i r co erciv e power i s t o t a l l y diminished; i t was s e v e re ly r e s t r i c t e d
because o f the lack o f a u t h o r i t y and co er ci on they could a c t u a l l y
enforc e.

The only form o f coercion t h a t they r e l i e d on was the

w r i t i n g o f t i c k e t s f o r major and minor v i o l a t i o n s .

18

However,

t i c k e t w r i t i n g was problematic f o r o f f i c e r s f o r two major reas on s.
F i r s t , o f f i c e r s pe rceived t h a t nothing would be done to inmates.
One o f f i c e r put i t t h i s way:

"Your only formal a u t h o r i t y i s in the

t i c k e t s t h a t you w r i t e , b u t t i c k e t s a r e n o t w r i t t e n by a l o t o f
o f f i c e r s because they do not r e a l l y do anything in the pla ce.

A lot

o f th e t i c k e t s a r e thrown away by s u p e r i o r s anyway." Another o f f i c e r
s t a t e d t h a t he did n o t w r i t e up a t i c k e t on one inmate whom I observed

86

disobeying a d i r e c t o r d e r because "I c a n ' t co un t on them
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and hearing o f f i c e r s .

They a l l only c a r e about

inmates, while us o f f i c e r s a r e in c o n s t a n t danger. When one o f us
g e t s k i l l e d , then t h e y ' l l f i n a l l y l i s t e n . "

The f a c t was t h a t o f f i c e r

pe r c e p tio n s questioned the ac tu al a u t h o r i t y of th e formal procedure;
c onc om itan tly, i f an in div id ual was found g u i l t y o f a v i o l a t i o n t h e r e
was no punishment, a t l e a s t n o t l i k e in th e "old day s."
One seasoned o f f i c e r s t a t e d the way i t was in the old days and how
he wished he would r e t u r n :
beat
have
guys
many

A:
I t i s n o t l i k e in the old days when you could
the s h i t o u t o f an as s h o le . I wish they d id s t i l l
t h i s f o r some o f th e s e guys in t h i s p lace. Some
need a good a s s k ic k i n g , then we w o u ld n 't have t h a t
problems a t a l l in t r y i n g t o keep them in l i n e .

Another v eter an o f f i c e r a l s o r e l a t e d the same message when I asked him
t o compare HVMF with some o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s in the p a s t:
A:
There i s no r e a l punishment in t h i s pla ce.
What would have happened in the old days i s t h a t the guy
would have go tt en h i s as s b e a t f o r about two weeks
s t r a i g h t and the o t h e r inmates would have known i t r i g h t
away . . . the sad t h in g i s t h a t th e inmates know t h a t
t h e r e i s no r eal punishment and they f l a u n t i t in our
faces.
While th e r e was a formal e x i s t e n c e o f c o e r c i v e power in the h ie r a rc h y
a t HVMF, th e o f f i c e r s f e l t t h a t i t was weak and not r e a l l y punishing
troublesome inmates.

My c o nte ntion was t h a t c o e r c iv e power was t h e r e

but i t was i n e f f e c t i v e o r very weak.

In s h o r t , o f f i c e r s cannot r e a l l y

coerce inmates to do anything, o r as one d i s i l l u s i o n e d o f f i c e r put
it:

"Inmates run t h i s place and every j o i n t in t h i s coun tr y. We have

nothing to say about noth in g ."

87

Second, because t i c k e t w r i t i n g produced more f r u s t r a t i o n and
d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n among o f f i c e r s , they i n f r e q u e n t l y iss u e d them.
o f f i c e r s f e l t t h a t t i c k e t w r i t i n g does more harm than good.
o ffic e r stated:

Many

A young

" I f you r e s o r t t o t i c k e t s everytime, you w il l

probably l o s e with th e guy f o r good and t h i s can cause problems with
him in the long r u n ."

Moreover, o f f i c e r s manipulated th e i ss u an ce of

t i c k e t s depending upon th e o f f e n s e and th e p a r t i c u l a r i n d i v i d u a l .

At

one time during th e cour se o f the r e s e a r c h , I observed two inmates
pushing and shoving each o t h e r in one o f th e housing u n i t s .

An

o f f i c e r broke th e d i s t u r b a n c e up, b u t he j u s t s e n t th e inmates on
t h e i r ways.

L a te r, I asked him why he d i d n ' t w r i t e a t i c k e t .

s t a t e d "What fo r?

He

I t only produces t r o u b l e between th ose two guys and

myself.

I f someone g o t stabbed o r s e r i o u s l y h u r t , then I would have
19
to w r i t e a t i c k e t , b u t no one d i d . "
He made i t c l e a r t h a t the good c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r knows where

and when t o be in th e p r is o n .

Other o f f i c e r s s t a t e d t h i s in r e l a t i o n

to homosexuality and drug behavior among inmates:
A:
I f I see t h r e e o r fo ur guys crowding around a
g uy's c e l l , I know something i s going down, e i t h e r they
a r e g e t t i n g high o r someone i s sucking o r fucking. I f I
g e t in the middle o f t h a t s h i t , I would be cr azy because
I ' l l e i t h e r g e t s e r i o u s l y h u r t o r k i l l e d . I am not
going to go down t h e r e and w r i t e t i c k e t s . I t would be
plain stupid.

A:
One t h i n g t h a t you d o n ' t want t o g e t involved
in i s the i l l e g a l b u l l s h i t between inmates . . . . I f I
know inmates a r e gong to be smoking (m a ri juana), I ' l l
l e t i t s l i d e i f i t i s n ' t going to cause any problems
. . . . Once you t r y to s t e p i n , then you got problems.

88

A:
Not too many guys g e t o f f i n t o sex i n t o t h i s
p l a c e , b u t i f I see two guys holding hands o r k i s s i n g
o u t in the dayroom, I ' l l l e t them know t h a t I w o n 't
stand f o r i t . . . b u t i f they go somewhere e l s e where
i t s n o t public I d o n ' t c a r e , u n l e s s th e guy i s squeezing
someone f o r se x, then I move in on i t .
The p o i n t i s c l e a r :

c o er civ e power did e x i s t among o f f i c e r s a t HVMF,

b u t i t was very weak as a tool t o gain compliance among inmates;
i n s t e a d , o f f i c e r s r e l i e d on a s e l e c t i v e enforcement o f the r u l e s ,
depending on the s i t u a t i o n and the o f f e n d e r .

This was a r e s u l t o f an

i n e f f e c t i v e formal mechanism o f co n tr o l and punishment.

As a r e s u l t ,

o f f i c e r s had the p er cep tio n t h a t the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n was only concerned
about inmates and t h e i r problems and t o t a l l y d i s i n t e r e s t e d in the
20
p l i g h t o f th e c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r and h i s / h e r r o l e .
Reward Power
Because o f th e e r o s io n o f t r a d i t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y , c o r r e c t i o n a l
o f f i c e r s r e l i e d on o t h e r forms o f power to gain compliance from
inmates.

A second form o f power which was e x h i b i t e d by o f f i c e r s was

reward power.

Reward power gains conformity o r compliance through the

p r o v is io n o f some type o f remuneration or b e n e f i t f o r p o s i t i v e
behav io r.

Within th e realm o f the pr ison environment t h i s u s u a l l y

tak es two forms.
F i r s t , reward power can mean th e c r e a t i o n , development, and
p e r p e t u a tio n o f accommodative r e l a t i o n s h i p s between inmates and
o f f i c e r s (Cloward, 1960).

This g i v e - t a k e r e l a t i o n s h i p i s ubiquitous

a t HVMF and was e s s e n t i a l i f co n tr o l was going to be main tained.

One

89

o f f i c e r discus sed how t h i s was not only needed b u t a l s o made the
o f f i c e r r o l e more bearable:
in the plac e.

"You have to bend the r u l e s to g e t along

You w r i t e some t i c k e t s in the p l a c e , b u t you know t h a t

t i c k e t s cannot be w r i t t e n a l l the time, so you t r y the b e s t you can to
deal with 84 inmates, knowing t h e r e ar e only two o f you in the p l a c e . "
P a s t resear ch had suggested t h a t th es e accommodative r e l a t i o n s h i p s
lead to a "co rru ption of a u t h o r i t y " (Sykes, 1958) and a l l forms o f
21
illegal a c tiv itie s.
These symbiotic r e l a t i o n s h i p s were a l s o
e x i s t e n t a t HVMF.
An o f f i c e r re layed h i s own f r u s t r a t i o n s about t h i s behavior:
A:
I am s ic k and t i r e d of guys brin ging a l l t h i s
s h i t from the kitchen in to the housing u n i t s . I t i s
something t h a t j u s t has to s to p . But the problem i s
t h a t so many o f f i c e r s allow i t to happen and you c a n ' t
g e t co nsis tency . . . in r u l e enforcement . . . . I
remember one time when two o f f i c e r s stopped a guy with a
whole c o a t f u l l o f s t u f f from the k i tc h e n . The inmate
responded t h a t o f f i c e r (so and so) allowed i t t o come to
the u n i t . When they checked i t o u t with the o f f i c e r ,
who was t h e i r s u p e r i o r , he reprimanded them f o r
en forc ing the r u l e s . All they were doing was t h e i r
jo b s . That type o f s h i t i s what r e a l l y p i s s e s me o f f
about t h i s j o b .
Other o f f i c e r s summed i t up t h i s way:
A:
Inmates s t e a l food, k n iv e s, and o t h e r th i n g s
and the o f f i c e r s allow i t t o happen because they g e t
favors from the inmates t h a t make t h e i r job e a s i e r . In
r e t u r n , the inmates w ill give th in g s to the o f f i c e r s
because they l i k e them.

A:
The kitch en i s where a l l the a c t i o n occurs
. . . guys br ing a l l s o r t s o f s h i t o u t o f t h e r e t o the
housing u n i t s . . . . I t ' s good f o r them and o f f i c e r s
because they help each o t h e r out. The inmate g e t s more

90

food and the o f f i c e r g e t s p a r t o f i t and no h a s s l e from
the inmate.
This type o f behavior on the p a r t o f o f f i c e r s was a fu nctio na l
a d a p ta ti o n to th e p r e c a rio u s na tu r e o f t h e i r r o l e .

In response to

t h i s , o f f i c e r s provided rewards to inmates, in the form o f th ese
accommodative r e l a t i o n s h i p s , to gain compliance.
A second form o f reward power i s based on the f l e x i b i l i t y o f r u le
enforcement.

All o f f i c e r s a t HVMF held t h a t c o n s is t e n c y , f a i r n e s s ,

and f l e x i b i l i t y in th e enforcement o f r u l e s was what made a good
officer.

Concerning f l e x i b i l i t y , one o f f i c e r p u t i t t h i s way:

A:
I f you (inmate) ar e doing time and y o u ' r e
d e c e n t, y o u ' l l be a l r i g h t in t h i s p l ace. Rules ar e
meant to be b e n t in a place l i k e t h i s ; you have to be
f l e x i b l e in how you deal with th e inmates. I f you ar e
not f l e x i b l e , then you w ill be in t r o u b l e .
This notion o f f l e x i b i l i t y in r u l e enforcement was e v i d e n t , e s p e c i a l l y
in

the

housing u n i t s where a m a jo ri ty o f inmate time

wass p en t. While

in

one

o f the housing u n i t s , In o t ic e d an ind iv i d u a l

on the phonef o r

over a h a l f hour.
f o r one inmate.
do and h e ' s

I asked the o f f i c e r why he allowed t h a t much time
He s t a t e d :

"Since t h e r e i s nothing e l s e f o r him to

not always giving me t r o u b l e , why not?

phone t a l k i n g with h i s woman,

h e ' s n o t botherin g me.

me in good with him in t h i s p l a c e . "

If he's
P lus, t h i s

onthe
puts

Other o f f i c e r s r e l i e d on the same

strategy:
A:
Some o f f i c e r s give more phone c a l l s to guys
who a r e s t r a i g h t , b u t the guys who ar e i n t r o u b l e , the
o f f i c e r s squeeze to g e t them o u t o f t h e i r u n i t s . There
i s no formal mechanism f o r the reward o f th e
i n d i v i d u a l s , so inform ally the e x t r a b e n e f i t s o f the
o f f i c e r s provides some o r d e r and c o ntrol in th e p lace.

91

A:
Phone c a l l s a r e r e a l l y im po rta nt f o r guys in
t h i s place . . . you c u t o f f t h e i r c a l l s and they g e t
p i s s e d . So what I do i s give them a l i t t l e e x t r a and
they a r e good to me.

A:
I ' l l be easy on the r u l e s i f the guy i s not
causing t r o u b l e . . . . I f he i s i n t o a l l those b u l l s h i t
games, then I want h i s as s o u t o f my u n i t . The problem
i s t h a t nobody wants him . . . b u t i f your smart you can
g e t the r e a l troublemakers o u t o f th e plac e.

A:
For th e inmate who d o e s n ' t f o rc e him self on
anyone you got to give him a break . . . . I do t h a t by
givin g him more dayroom time and he r e s p e c t s t h a t . . .
You know, y o u ' r e n o t always on th e guy and inmates
admire t h a t in an o f f i c e r .
However, what i s important about reward power in th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l
s e t t i n g i s t h a t i t ca nn ot be r e t r a c t e d , or more s p e c i f i c a l l y , the
tak in g away o f these rewards as a form o f co ercive power becomes q u i t e
dangerous.

Because c o n tr o l has become dependent upon thes e

accommodative r e l a t i o n s h i p s and f l e x i b i l i t y in r u l e enforcement, a l l
in an informal sense, i t i s d i f f i c u l t and q u i t e problematic to r e l y on
formal s anctio ns to c ontrol inmate behavior.

The informal s t r u c t u r e

supplements the gaps c r e a t e d by the formal mechanisms o f c ontrol
(Cressey, 1965).

While the formal mechanisms were weak in

e f f e c t u a t i n g c ontrol a t HVMF, i n f o r m a l i t y p r e v a i l e d , along with the
r i s i n g e x p e c t a tio n s o f inmates on how the system would o p e r a t e .
s h o r t , the informal r e l a t i o n s h i p s based on reward power between
o f f i c e r s and inmates provided c e r t a i n t y to th e environment.

Any

In

92

change o f t h i s s i t u a t i o n would cause r e p e rc u s sio n s and d i s e q u i l i b r i o u s
e f f e c t s i n the i n s t i t u t i o n a l s e t t i n g .
Understanding t h i s was e s s e n t i a l t o maintain ing a s t a b l e prison
environment.

As an o f f i c e r s t a t e d :

A:
Once inmates ex p ect something you cannot take
i t away from them. This i s where a l l the problems s t a r t
to happen. I f you give them a benny, make sur e t h a t
they do n o t t h in k t h a t i t i s now expected f o r th e r e s t
o f the time. I f they do, then you a r e i n t r o u b l e .
In e s sen ce, because o f th e s t r u c t u r a l makeup o f th e o r g a n i z a t i o n ,
o f f i c e r s were fo rced to r e l y on many informal r e l a t i o n s h i p s to
adequately succeed in completing t h e i r j o b s .

In f a c t , some o f f i c e r s

who were known to be s t r i c t and r i g i d e i t h e r req uest ed to be moved to
non-housing u n i t s o r were c o n t i n u a l l y bounced from one p o s i t i o n to
22
anoth er in the o r g a n i z a t i o n .
The ines c apable conclusion i s t h a t
informal reward power ( c o rr u p t io n ) i s a fu n c tio n a l response t o th e
perceived in adequacies o f th e formal mechanism o f c o n t r o l , and once
employed by o f f i c e r s i t i s very d i f f i c u l t t o r e t r a c t .

Knowing t h i s

f a c t , o f f i c e r s r e l i e d h eav ily on t h i s type o f power in gaining con tr ol
and compliance, wh ile a t the same time provided themselves a modicum
o f s a t i s f a c t i o n and s a f e t y .
Legitimate Power
The t h i r d type o f power e x i s t i n g among c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r s a t
HVMF was l e g i t i m a t e power.

Legitimate power takes the form o f

acceptance on the p a r t o f the inmate t h a t th e o f f i c e r has th e r i g h t to
enf or ce the r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s w ith in the i n s t i t u t i o n .

In e f f e c t ,

93

the Inmate l e g i t i m i z e s the o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p o s i t i o n and r o l e o f the
o f f i c e r , which in tu rn allows th e o f f i c e r to co n tr o l and r e g u l a t e
inmate beh av ior.
quite rare.

At HVMF the prevalence o f t h i s type o f power was

However, i t did e x i s t with some inmates.

This s t a t e e x i s t e d because o f the u n c e r t a i n t i e s o f th e o f f i c e r
r o l e and th e s t r u c t u r a l p o s i t i o n i n g o f th e o f f i c e r in the
organization.

I t was common t o hear a t HVMF t h a t th e o f f i c e r who was

f a i r , c o n s i s t e n t , and j u s t t o inmates would probably do well in h i s
i n t e r a c t i o n s with inmates.

In p a r t i c u l a r , the inmate wil l

" l e g iti m i z e " the r o l e o f the o f f i c e r i f he i s being t r e a t e d f a i r l y and
c o n s i s t e n t l y by the o f f i c e r .

While t h e r e i s a kernel o f t r u t h in t h i s

p o s i t i o n , t h i s does n o t ex p l a i n the d i v e r s i t i e s and com plexit ie s faced
by c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r s .

Personal a t t r i b u t e s and q u a l i t i e s only

account f o r a m in o rit y o f th e l e g i t i m i z a t i o n o f the o f f i c e r r o l e .

In

f a c t , l e g i t i m a t e power among o f f i c e r s a t HVMF was q u i t e l i m i t e d
because o f many s t r u c t u r a l q u a l i t i e s endemic to the pris on s t r u c t u r e .
One method o f keeping co n tr o l in an o r g a n i z a t i o n i s to send
c o n f l i c t i n g , i n c o n s i s t e n t , a n d /o r u n i n t e l l i g i b l e messages throughout
23
th e o r g a n i z a t i o n .
This causes o r g a n i z a t i o n a l members to scramble
in t h e i r a tte m p t to f u l f i l l o b j e c t i v e s .

I r o n i c a l l y , by producing

confusion and d i s o r g a n i z a t i o n , the c o n t r o l l i n g age nts can keep
c o a l i t i o n s and c l i q u e s in check and y e t a t the same time f u l f i l l t h e i r
or g a n iz a tio n a l o b j e c t i v e s .
a t HVMF.24

This type o f d i s o r g a n i z a t i o n was p r e v a l e n t

94

O f f i c e r s had a p l e t h o r a o f r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s which r e s t r i c t e d
t h e i r behavior and confused them about t h e i r d u t i e s and f u n c t io n s .
The o r g a n i z a t i o n a l e f f e c t was t h a t much u n c e r t a i n t y e x i s t e d w ithin the
o f f i c e r t a s k environment.

A group o f o f f i c e r s disc ussed how th e r u l e s

changed from day to day a t HVMF and the e f f e c t s on the prison s e t t i n g :
A:
By fucking with th e inmates' minds i s where
the problems begin. The inmates need t o have r u l e s and
r e g u l a t i o n s c o n s i s t e n t l y en forc ed. But th e problem i s
t h a t th e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n always changes th e r u l e s o f the
game f o r both inmates and s t a f f . In consis te ncy p i s s e s
o f f a l o t o f th e inmates. Convicts want and need
c o n s i s t e n t r u l e s . How can we ex pect them to follow the
r u l e s when th e r u l e s a r e always changing?

A:
I know t h a t we j u s t got a new a d m i n i s t r a t o r ,
b u t s h i t a l l t h e s e r u l e changes everyday makes t h i s job
a pain in the a s s . . . . I f I d i d n ' t have to work h e r e ,
I w o u l d n 't . . . and then they wonder why inmates k i l l
guards.

A:
A dm inistrators n o t only j e r k around inmates,
b u t they do i t to us . . . they d o n ' t want us to be one
group because then our union would g e t s t r o n g e r . All
th e se d i f f e r e n t r u l e s p u t inmates a g a i n s t o f f i c e r s and
o f f i c e r s a g a i n s t themselves.
This message was c o n s i s t e n t among the o f f i c e r s and one summed i t up
t h i s way:
The a d m i n i s t r a t o r s do not want th in g s t o be co n s ta n t;
they always change the r u l e s to disband groups and the
s t a f f . The a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ar e more concerned about
l i t t l e th in g s than those th in g s t h a t a r e r e a l l y
im po rta nt in the p l a c e , l i k e th e s a f e t y o f the o f f i c e r s .
Because o f th e u n c e r t a i n t y produced by a d m i n i s t r a t i v e r u l e
changing and c o n tin u al r e d e f i n i t i o n o f o r g a n iz a tio n a l p o l i c i e s and

95

procedures, c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r s were stuck i n th e f o r e f r o n t in
t r y i n g t o en forc e i n c o n s i s t e n t p o l i c i e s and procedures.

The

behavioral e f f e c t was t h a t inmates placed t h e i r f r u s t r a t i o n s and
a n x i e t i e s on the o f f i c e r s , them r e p r e s e n t i n g th e formal pr ison
h ie r a rc h y .

O f f i c e r s , in t u r n , were n o t l e f t with any a b i l i t y to

l e g i t i m i z e th e system.

Their l e g i t i m a t e power was eroded by the

formal s t r u c t u r e and i t s many d i r e c t i v e s , which were n o t properly
conceived nor p r a c t i c a l in main tai ning s t a b i l i t y to th e prison
environment.
As a r e s u l t , o f f i c e r s had l e g i t i m a t e power b u t i t was rese rved f o r
those inmates who understood t h e r a t h e r l o o s e l y defined c h a r a c t e r of
th e o f f i c e r r o l e .

T y p i c a l l y , t h e s e i n d i v i d u a l s were th e o l d e r inmates
OC

who understood the system and how the "madness'

worked in the

p r is o n :
A:
I t seems to me t h a t the o l d e r inmates
understand th e o f f i c e r ' s job and buy i n t o the system of
r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s . On th e o t h e r hand, the younger
inmates cause more problems because they d o n ' t buy the
r u l e s o f the e n f o r c e r s .

A:
Them o l d e r guys know what p r is o n l i f e i s a l l
about. They know t h a t your j u s t doing your job and
d o n ' t want any h a s s l e . . . .
You never have any
problems with them.

A:
I t ' s t h e bugs (young inmates) t h a t cause a l l
the problem . . . they a r e the ones involved in spud
j u i c e , dope, and sex . . . they d o n ' t give a s h i t about
nothing and most have been s t a t e r a i s e d so they know
nothing b u t p r is o n .

96

Since the inmate population i s younger today and a t HVMF you had many
young, s e r i o u s o f f e n d e r s , i t was d i f f i c u l t f o r them to not only
l e g i t i m i z e th e o f f i c e r r o l e b u t a l s o t h e i r own i n c a r c e r a t i o n .

The end

r e s u l t was t h a t most inmates did n o t l e g i t i m i z e the o f f i c e r r o l e ,
exc ep t f o r th e o l d e r inmates who understood how to "do ti m e."

These

o l d e r inmates were a b le to s t a b i l i z e the p r is o n environment f o r the
OC

o f f i c e r , th ereby making h i s j o b much e a s i e r .
In i n terv iew s and c o n v e r s a tio n s with o f f i c e r s , many r elay ed the
importance o f some o f th e o l d e r inmates in making t h e i r j obs more
b e a r a b le .

Of p a r t i c u l a r s i g n i f i c a n c e was th e s t a b i l i t y f a c t o r th ese

o l d e r inmates provided t o the s t a f f during the d i s tu r b a n c e which
occurred April 30, 1 9 8 2 . ^

One o f f i c e r e x p l i c i t l y desc rib ed the

s i t u a t i o n in th e housing u n i t where the d i stu r b a n c e occurred.

He

s t a t e d t h a t one inmate t o l d him t h a t something was going to happen and
t h a t he should g e t o u t o f the u n i t .

The information proved to be

ac c u r a t e and the o f f i c e r f e l t t h a t i f the inmate did not r e s p e c t h i s
p o s i t i o n he probably would have been k i l l e d o r s e r i o u s l y i n j u r e d .
Another o f f i c e r d e s c ri b e d how h i s u n i t was calmed down by an o ld e r
inmate when the d i s tu r b a n c e occurred:
This guy prevented th e whole place from jumping. He was
re sp e c t e d and admired because he had been around f o r a
while. He got a l l the o t h e r inmates back in t h e i r c e l l s
and I th in k he calmed the whole fucking place down.
What can be concluded about l e g i t i m a t e power among o f f i c e r s a t
HVMF was t h a t i t was s t r u c t u r a l l y l i m i t e d and u s u a ll y more p r ev alen t
in the i n t e r a c t i o n s between o f f i c e r s and o l d e r members o f the inmate
population.

97

Ref er en t Power
The l a s t type o f power base i d e n t i f i a b l e among o f f i c e r s a t HVMF
was r e f e r e n t power.

Re fe re nt power i s def in ed as power which i s

determined by th e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n an inmate has with an o f f i c e r ,
s p e c i f i c a l l y where an inmate r e s p e c t s and d e s i r e s t o emulate the
officer.

This type o f power i s e x h i b i t e d when an o f f i c e r s e rv e s as a

r o l e model f o r th e inmate.

At HVMF t h i s type o f power base was

developing, r e l a t i v e to two f a c t o r s :

s t r u c t u r a l p o s it i o n i n g and

o ffic e r respect.
As in the case o f l e g i t i m a t e power, o f f i c e r s , because o f the
n a tu r e o f t h e i r f u n c t i o n , could n o t develop a r o l e which inmates would
seek to emulate.

In f a c t , o f f i c e r s were u s u a ll y thought o f as

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and t h e i r d e s ir e to r e p r e s s
inmates' i n t e r e s t s .

Again, th e o f f i c e r r o l e did n o t g e n e r a l l y allow

the development o f a p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between keeper and kept.
One inmate s t a t e d a common opinion among a l l inmates:
A:
All tho se o f f i c e r s a r e j u s t lackeys f o r the
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . They j u s t s i t on t h e i r f a t a s se s and
c o l l e c t 20,000 d o l l a r s a y e a r . Th eir j o b s a r e nothing
b u t a big waste o f money, j u s t l i k e t h i s whole fucking
system.
As in the case o f l e g i t i m a t e power, the o f f i c e r s and t h e i r r o l e s were
c o n f l a t e d by inmates, where t h e r e was no r eal d i s t i n c t i o n between the
o f f i c e r as a person and the person as doing a s p e c i f i c jo b .

Instead,

inmates thought o f the two as the same and viewed the o f f i c e r s in a
negative l i g h t .

98

Because o f the changing na tu r e o f th e p o l i c i e s and pr oce du res,
along with th e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f o f f i c e r s with r e p r e s s i v e r u l e s and
r e g u l a t i o n s , they were l e f t with very l i t t l e o p p o r tu n ity t o s e t a
p o s i t i v e example f o r inmates.

This s i t u a t i o n puts i n t o q u es ti o n the

r o l e o f not only o f f i c e r s b u t a l s o tr e a tm e n t o f f i c i a l s in t r y i n g to
change a t t i t u d e s o f inmates, p a r t i c u l a r l y i f the tr e a t m e n t s t r a t e g i e s
a r e p r e d ic a te d on some type o f t r u s t and r e l i a n c e between inmates and
therapists.
R eferent power i s developed through th e r e s p e c t e s t a b l i s h e d with
an inmate.

While th e p o s i t i o n o f being a c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r i s

p r e c a ri o u s and u n c e r t a i n , e f f e c t i v e o f f i c e r s a r e a ble to develop a
sense o f r e s p e c t with inmates by being f a i r and c o n s i s t e n t .

However,

th e p iv o ta l p o i n t i s t h a t t h i s r e s p e c t r e q u i r e s a degree of
i n f o r m a l i t y and f l e x i b i l i t y in r u l e enforcement.

In t h i s way,

o f f i c e r s provide a sense o f f a i r n e s s and c e r t a i n t y t o an in m ate's
e x i s t e n c e , allowing th e o f f i c e r to e x h i b i t an a b e r r a n t form o f
r e f e r e n t power.

This type o f power i s anomalous because i t r e p r e s e n t s

a d iv e r s i o n from p o l i c i e s and procedures o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n in
at tem ptin g t o e f f e c t i v e l y complete o n e ' s job.

While r u l e s a t HVMF

were c o n t i n u a l l y changing, i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y demanded c o n s i s t e n t
and c l e a r r e g u l a t i o n s .

O f f i c e r s provided t h i s through the n e g o t i a t i o n

o f t h e i r own environments.
r e f e r e n t power.

In t h i s way they were a ble to develop

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An o f f i c e r s t a t e d t h i s type o f n e g o t i a t e d environment when asked
about r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s a t HVMF:
A:
You do what you think i s r i g h t and you
d is r e g a r d an ythin g th e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n says. You a r e th e
one who i s doing the j o b , and you do anything t h a t you
think w il l make yo ur jo b more e f f e c t i v e and easy in the
long run.
Another o f f i c e r s t a t e d the same t h i n g b u t in a d i f f e r e n t f a sh io n :
A:
Them a d m i n i s t r a t i o n types d o n ' t c a r e about us
or our j o b s . So, why should I s t i c k my neck o u t f o r
them. I ' l l do an ything t o keep myself s a f e . . . .
If
t h a t means l e t t i n g them burn down the p la c e t h a t ' s f i n e
with me.28
An environment can only be c e r t a i n i f the r u l e s a r e c o n s i s t e n t , o r i f
they do n o t change with such r a p i d i t y t h a t o f f i c e r s ca nnot keep up
with the changes.

To deal with t h i s , o f f i c e r s a t HVMF s e l e c t e d those

r u l e s which they f e l t were e f f e c t i v e in pr oviding c e r t a i n t y t o the
environment, thereby making them more r e s p e c te d among inmates.
However, what was problematic a t HVMF was t h a t many o f f i c e r s were
29
new to the c o r r e c t i o n a l system,
something which did not allow them
t o be be s e l e c t i v e in t h e i r r u l e enforcement.

The n e t e f f e c t was t h a t

they u s u a ll y changed t h e i r behaviors r e l a t i v e to the r u l e changes.
This c r e a t e d a s i t u a t i o n where th e r e f e r e n t power base was
s i g n i f i c a n t l y eroded and u n c e r t a i n t y e s c a l a t e d .

I t was not u n t i l they

become s o c i a l i z e d i n t o the world o f c o r r e c t i o n s t h a t t h i s power
developed and was p e r p etu ate d by o f f i c e r s .

The i n t e r e s t i n g long-term

e f f e c t was t h a t wh ile r e f e r e n t power was c r e a t e d through the
s o c i a l i z a t i o n pro cess o f o f f i c e r s , and as a r e s u l t , th e inmate defe red

100

t o o f f i c e r s , th e d e l e t e r i o u s f i n a l e f f e c t was t h a t th e inmate le arned
a form o f d e c e i t and manipulation in th e process.
T h e re f o re , because o f the p o s i t i o n th e o f f i c e r s found themselves,
they were un able, in p a r t , to e f f e c t i v e l y help the inmate in h is
s o - c a l l e d r e h a b i l i t a t i o n p rocess .

In a d d i t i o n , what was occurri ng a t

HVMF was t h a t the development o f r e f e r e n t power was in r e a c t i o n t o th e
u n c e r t a i n environment produced by an a d m i n i s t r a t i o n which was changing
the r u l e s o f the game.

In resp onse, o f f i c e r s developed a sense of

r e s p e c t and r e f e r e n t power through man ipulation o f the pris on
h i e r a r c h y , and i t allowed them to s t a b i l i z e and co n tr o l t h e i r
environment.

Subsequent behavior on the p a r t o f inmates was le arned

and r e a c t e d t o in t h e same f a s h io n —d e c e i t and manipulation became
v i r t u e s and any hope o f e f f e c t i v e change in an in m a te 's behavior was
l a r g e l y diminished.
As the s t r u c t u r a l o r g a n iz a t io n o f the p r is o n environment le a d s to
the development o f s p e c i f i c types o f power among o f f i c e r s , the same
was t r u e among inmates.

In f a c t , i t i s contended t h a t the

o r g a n i z a t i o n o f the p r is o n en ables more d i v e r s e forms o f power t o be
c r e a t e d by inmates.
following s e c t i o n .

These s p e c i f i c kinds o f power a r e examined in the
A f t e r such an examination i s completed, a

s y n t h e s i s o f the types o f power i s provided.
3.

Per ce ptions o f Power Among Inmates
There were f i v e b a s ic types o f power found among inmates a t HVMF.

These f i v e a r e:

c o e r c i v e , r e f e r e n t , providing o f r e s o u r c e s , e x p e r t ,

101

and l e g i t i m a t e .

The bases o f power o f reward and acces s t o

information were not e v i d e n t .

Reward power r e l i e s on some type of

remuneration; however, inmates had very few items which they could
reward o t h e r inmates.

As a r e s u l t , many o f the am enities were ke pt

and o t h e r means were used t o gain compliance.

Furthermore, very few

inmates were a ble to ac ces s key information and use i t as a conformity
mechanism.
Information was n o t as c r u c i a l f o r inmates as i t was f o r
adm inistrators.

Since a d m i n i s t r a t o r s r e q u i r e d information on what was

o c c u r rin g w ith in the environment to c o n t r o l , i t immediately had
value.

However, inform atio n was u b iq u ito u s among th e inmate

population and i t s value was n o t as g r e a t .
was n o t as s i g n i f i c a n t .

Th e re fore , acces s t o i t

Neverth eless , the t r a d i t i o n a l l i t e r a t u r e does

s uggest t h a t some inmates who do have access t o information ar e
powerful, p a r t i c u l a r l y inmate c l e r k s who ar e in p o s i t i o n s which enable
them t o acces s c e r t a i n info rm ation, e . g . , whose c e l l i s to be searched
and when ( P r e l e s n i k , 1972).

T y p ic a lly , t h i s was not the cas e a t HVMF,

s in c e th e r e were no inmate c l e r k s .

Other power bases a r e more

r e l e v a n t and the following paragraphs a r e devoted to them.
Coercive Power
The f i r s t type o f power among the inmate population was co ercive
power.

Coercive power, as def ine d e a r l i e r , i s punishment o r t h r e a t of

punishment to gain conformity.

The c u r r e n t l i t e r a t u r e in pr ison

o r g a n i z a t i o n s t r e s s e s th e r o l e o f f o r c e among inmates t o gain

102

compliance from o t h e r inmates, p a r t i c u l a r l y powerful inmate groups or
gangs.

Jacobs (1977) s t a t e s :

When the gangs emerged a t S t a t e v i l l e in 1969, they
placed the old con power s t r u c t u r e in physical and
f i n a n c i a l je opardy. For th e f i r s t time tho se c o n v ic t s
with good j o b s were n o t n e c e s s a r i l y p r o te c t e d in t h e i r
d e a l i n g s , l e g i t i m a t e o r i l l e g i t i m a t e . Seeing s tr e n g t h
in numbers, th e gang members attempted to take what they
wanted by f o r c e .
While f o rc e and p r is o n vi olence have been documentad in the
l i t e r a t u r e , t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n showed n o t only decreased v io len ce and
f o rc e b u t a l s o a l e s s developed group o r gang system a t HVMF.

30

At

HVMF, th e r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r s o f the v a r io u s Islam denominations could
r e s o r t to c o e r c iv e measures t o gain conformity among inmates,
p a r t i c u l a r l y fo ll o w e rs ; however, t h i s was not evidenced.

The use o f

f o rc e by inmates a g a i n s t o t h e r inmates was r eser v ed f o r p a r t i c u l a r
actions.

However, t h i s i s n o t to conclude t h a t f o r c e did n o t e x i s t .

Coercive measures used by the inmate population were u s u a lly
reser v ed in developing o n e ' s "re sp ect" in the i n s t i t u t i o n .

I t was

e x h i b i t e d by "new f i s h " in t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n with o l d e r and wis er
inmates.

One has to develop r e s p e c t , i n i t i a l l y using co erciv e

methods, to surv ive in the i n s t i t u t i o n .

One inmate s t a t e d the

following about how one developed r e s p e c t in the i n s t i t u t i o n :
I:
Ok, what about inmates, per s e , what gives an
i n dividual inmate r e s p e c t among th e se o t h e r inmates?
A:
Well, i n t e g r i t y towards each o t h e r , the f a c t
t h a t you d o n ' t s n i t c h , the a b i l i t y to stand up t o your
own.

103

I:

Cover y o u r s e l f , you mean.

A: You're p r e ss e d , o r whatever, and you
handle y o u r s e l f .

can

I:

What 1f you back down?

A:

T h a t ' s the worst t h in g you can do

I:

Why?

A:

Because y o u ' r e gonna have everybody a f t e r you.

In p r is o n .

I:
In o t h e r words, you open y o u r s e l f up and
everybody's gonna t r y t o turn you o u t some way or
another?
A:
Oh yeah, one way o r th e o t h e r . Try to take
you f o r e v e rything you got. T h e r e 's a couple in here
t h a t l e t s t u f f s l i d e by, d o n ' t have n o t h i n ' no more.
I:

When you say they d o n ' t have nothing . . . ?

A:
Well, they make s t o r e o r d e r and they g o t t a
hand i t a l l o u t t o those people who're cornin' in h e r e ,
give me t h i s .
I:
What should you do i f somebody comes a t you
lik e that?
A:

Blow h i s face out.

I:

So then th e word's o u t.

A:
Yeah, r i g h t . There a r e d i f f e r e n t ways, t h a t ' s
the q u i c k e s t way. But, of c o u r s e , you c a n ' t j u s t s top
and h i t somebody one time, you g o t t a r e a l l y mess
somebody up. I mean i f you t e l l him, w e l l , you c a n ' t
. . . .
But b a s i c a l l y i t ' s l i k e you j u s t t e l l by the
s i t u a t i o n w h a t 's r e q u ir e d to g e t y o u r s e l f o u t o f i t , b u t
t h e r e ' s a l o t o f d i f f e r e n t ways o f handling i t .
Sometimes t h a t ' s the only way i t could be, you g o t t a
mess somebody up . . . and then everybody unde rstan ds,
well . . . and t h a t ' s i t . T h a t ' s the most s u r e s t way.
A m ajo rit y o f inmates a t HVMF b e l ie v e d t h a t adequate f o rc e was the
only method a v a i l a b l e to p r o t e c t o n e s e l f .

While the use of co ercive

104

power was p r e v a l e n t among the inmate population f o r p r o t e c t i o n
purposes and th e development o f r e s p e c t , o t h e r inmates s t i l l b elie v ed
t h a t i f you t r e a t e d people f a i r l y o r d e c e n t ly you would s t i l l have
your r e s p e c t :
A:
Like i f I give somebody r e s p e c t , I have to g e t
r e s p e c t . I f he r e s p e c t s me, I t r e a t a person the way he
t r e a t s me. I f h e ' s decent with me . . . . T h e r e 's some
people t h a t you know y o u r s e l f . . . t h a t you d i d n ' t
l i k e r i g h t o f f th e b a t . . .

A:
I f a man t r e a t s me l i k e a man, then I ' l l do
the same f o r him . . . .
I f someone t r i e s to f r o n t me
o f f , then I got to t e l l him t h a t i t i s not going to be
tolerated.

A:
P r is o n e r s only g e t r e s p e c t i f they give i t
. . . no one wants t o be moved i n on . . . you need
r e s p e c t and i f you r cool with o t h e r peo ple, t h e y ' l l be
good to you.

A:
I know you got to e s t a b l i s h y o u r s e l f . That
incl udes l e t t i n g i t be known t h a t you a i n ' t going to
tak e no s h i t . . . . Now you can do t h a t in a number o f
ways. I think th e b e s t way i s through t r e a t i n g a man
f a i r . . . b u t t h a t d o e s n ' t mean l e t t i n g him ta k in g
advantage o f you.

A:
Respect i s something you g e t i f you give. You
g o t t o g e t i t because i f you d o n ' t you a r e n ' t s h i t . . .
t h a t type o f r e p u t a t i o n w ill k i l l you in here . . . .
You can g e t i t w ith o u t t e a r i n g some dudes head o f f . You
know, you got to give i t to g e t i t .
The important p o i n t i s t h a t th e development o f r e s p e c t and an
image i s e s s e n t i a l t o s urv iv al w ith in the i n s t i t u t i o n .

Because o f the

105

sense of a l i e n a t i o n inmates f e l t from s t a f f and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , they
had no p o s i t i v e means to express t h e i r own in d iv id u a l i d e n t i t i e s .

In

response to t h i s s i t u a t i o n , th e use o f c o e r c i v e power was i n e v i t a b l e
in m aintaining o n e ' s se lf - im a g e and s o c ia l p o s i t i o n w it h i n the
institution.

The le v e l o f a l i e n a t i o n among most inmates was

r e l a t i v e l y high and r e f l e c t e d d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n with th e reward
s t r u c t u r e of the p r i s o n .

31

A m a j o rity o f th e inmates would ag ree with the following s ta t e m e n t
an inmate made:

"The only reward t h a t t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n gives to

inmates i s th e p r i v i l e g e o f being h e r e . "

While a d m i n i s t r a t o r s did

have an i n s t i t u t i o n a l design which was based on more p r i v i l e g e s and
32
r i g h t s f o r good beh av io r ,
th e p e r c e p ti o n o f inmates was t h a t i t
was not much r e l a t i v e to the d e p r i v a t io n they experien ced .

The

consensus among th e inmates was t h a t the only kind o f power e x e r c is e d
in the pris on environment by a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and s t a f f was c o e r c i v e in
n a tu r e .
The a b i l i t y to express concern and d i s c u s s i s s u e s with
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s was somewhat l i m i t e d .
was a Warden's Forum,

33

Inmates did ex p l a in how t h e r e

b u t t h a t 1 t was l a r g e l y i n e f f e c t i v e in

providing any s u b s t a n t i v e r e l i e f t o t h e i r pains o f imprisonment.

What

was observed was the e x i s t e n c e o f a h ighly fragmented o r g a n i z a t i o n of
inmates which sought t o deal with i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n s e p a r a t e d ,
d iv i d e d , and a l i e n a t e d from the formal p r is o n h i e r a r c h y .

These

co n d iti o n s p e r p e tu a t e d an i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment which allowed

106

a r t i f i c i a l or s u p e r f i c i a l r e a l i t i e s to be c o n s tr u c t e d by inmates, and
in response t o t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s , o t h e r kinds o f power developed among
th e inmate po p u latio n .
Re fer en t Power
In r e a c t i o n to th e a l i e n a t i o n and l o s s o f i d e n t i t y , inmates looked
f o r someone t o emulate.

Those inmates which were emulated developed a

sense o f r e f e r e n t power.

Every Indiv idual needs a r e f e r e n t p o i n t o r a

model to emulate.

In the world o f p r i s o n , t h i s image u s u a l l y takes

th e form o f a s tr o n g male i d e n t i t y .

I ndividua l inmates who were a ble

t o p o r tr a y th e tough, v i r i l e male r o l e e x h i b i t e d a sense o f power in
the i n s t i t u t i o n and were a ble to manipulate o t h e r s f o r t h e i r own
se lf -aggra ndiz e ment.

Inmates looked up to and admired th ese

i n d i v i d u a l s , even to the p o i n t o f a tt e m p tin g to be l i k e the admired
i n d i v i d u a l , o r as one inmate put i t "they masquerate t h e i r v ic e s as
virtues."

However, w i th in HVMF, th e s t r o n g e s t form o f r e f e r e n t power

was n o t ic e d among th e various r e l i g i o u s groups.
There were f i v e b a s i c r e l i g i o u s groups a t HVMF:

The Sunni

Muslims, the Moorish Science Temple o f America (Moors), the American
Muslim Mission, and th e Melanie Muslims.**4
C h r i s t i a n groups a l s o e x i s t e d .

35

Assorted l o o s e l y k n i t

These r e l i g i o u s groups served two

purposes in the inmate so c ia l system:

f i r s t , they provided a needed

group i d e n t i t y which s t r e s s e d th e f u l f i l l m e n t o f c e r t a i n r e l i g i o u s and
s p i r i t u a l i d e a l s , while a t the same time they allowed weaker
i n d i v i d u a l s th e a b i l i t y t o g e t p r o t e c t i o n from enemies w it h in not only

107

the i n s t i t u t i o n b u t th e system as a whole.

36

These r e l i g i o u s groups

t y p i c a l l y expressed a s t r i c t and uniform code, with c e r t a i n
punishments f o r even minor d e v i a t i o n s from the groups norms.

37

These groups v o l u n t a r i l y se g re gat ed themselves from each o t h e r .
Figure 4.1 r e f l e c t s a diagram of the s o c ia l l o c a t i o n o f t h e se major
r e l i g i o u s groups in the d ining h a l l .

This vol un tar y s egre gation was

used as a means o f e x p r e s s i n g group s o l i d a r i t y and s i n c e r i t y in
re lig io u s convictions.

All o f th e Muslim groups b eliev ed in the

purpose o f t h e i r a c t i o n , t h a t was a devotion t o th e r e l i g i o n o f Islam
and the improvement o f o n e s e l f in th e process .

Because o f th e str ong

i d e n t i f i c a t i o n th e s e members had with each o t h e r and t h e i r r e l i g i o u s
b e l i e f s , the l e a d e r s e x h i b i t e d a s tr o n g sense o f r e f e r e n t power among
t h e i r ad h e r e n ts.
Discussions with members o f th e se r e l i g i o u s groups expressed the
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and def er en ce they had to t h e i r r e l i g i o u s le a d e r s and
the importance o f having a b e l i e f system while i n c a r c e r a t e d .

These

r e l i g i o u s groups were o f p a r t i c u l a r importance to many o f the black
inmates; in f a c t , one r e l i g i o u s group allowed only black s among t h e i r
38
ranks.
The im po rt an t p o i n t i s t h a t they ar e t i g h t l y bound as a
group.

Because o f t h i s o t h e r inmates and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s perceived

them as a t h r e a t to i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y o r as a f r o n t f o r o t h e r
39
a c t i v i t i e s , s p e c i f i c a l l y p r o t e c t io n o f t h e i r members.
One inmate
voiced a concern t h a t many inmates echoed l a t e r :

108

FIGURE 4.1

SEGREGATION OF RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS
GROUPS IN DINING HALL
Exit

Exit

Exit

35
I• o I

n m

(American Muslim Mission)
eee

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l e e el

_

C±D

(Moorish S c ie n c e Temple)

reel m

n m

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^

r e e l

Q

r 1 l,t " j
3

m

(Moor Leaders)
ODD

S

S

S

E

E

E

R

R

R

V

V

V

1

1

1

N

N

N

G

G

G

(Bikers)
lo o o o i lo o o o l
lo o o o l lo o o o l

o o oo
E

oooo

IPOQPJ L. ( I
L

A

L

1

R

1

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l o o o i l o o oi

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e - Black Prisoners
o - White Prisoners
© • Officers

i

109

A:
They worry. 'Cause a c t u a l l y , OK, th e Moselms
o u t s i d e in the s t r e e t s , may be o r i g i n a l l y where they
came from, a r e a r e l i g i o n — Islam r e l i g i o n —they ar e a
r e l i g i o n , one o f th e most law abiding ones, r e a l l y . I
d o n ' t know, I mean they have s e t r u l e s in t h e i r r e l i g i o n
t h a t i f you d o n ' t follow them, i t ' s worse than any kind
o f punishment we g e t because t h e y ' l l k i l l you. In here
i t i s n ' t as much a r e l i g i o n as i t i s a gang. Mostly
i t ' s j u s t a f r o n t f o r r e l i g i o n . Some o f them t h a t I
know o f t h a t r e a l l y look a t i t as r e l i g i o n .
I:

You mean t h e y ' r e s i n c e r e ab ou t i t .

A:
Right, t h e y ' r e r e a l l y i n t o i t on a r e l i g i o u s
b a s i s . Where a l o t o f them, i t ' s j u s t to g e t t o g e t h e r
w it h , and I ' v e seen them myself, t o p l o t a g a i n s t the
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i t s e l f and how we can go about g e t t i n ' to
do t h i s and g e t t i n ' to do t h a t . T h e r e 's no way I think
an i n s t i t u t i o n should . . .
I:
Are they powerful enough t o do t h i n g s , to g e t
people t h a t a r e o u t s i d e of t h e i r group?
A:
I t i s b e lie v e d t h a t t h a t ' s what s t a r t e d the
r i o t . That i s what s t a r t e d i t , from th e people I know,
t h a t i s what s t a r t e d i t . They were the people t h a t
started i t .
Others put i t t h i s way:
A:
S h i t , t h e r e a i n ' t no r e l i g i o n in pr ison . . .
a l l t h a t i s i s b u l l s h i t smoke screen so them guys can
fuck with a d m i n i s t r a t o r s heads. I d o n ' t know too many
t h a t r e a l l y c a r e about t h e i r a l l ah.

A:
Religion i s p r o te c t i o n in t h i s p lace. I t
allows these weaker guys t o g e t some gang to p r o t e c t
them and o t h e r guys l i k e them. You d o n ' t need i t
r e a l l y , except i f your a s i s s y or weakling.

A:
Many o f those Muslims mean what they say , but
a l o t d o n ' t give a fuck about anything b u t themselves
. . . .
They a r e n ' t r e a l l y a gang a t a l l , b u t they
a r e n ' t no r e a l r e l i g i o n e i t h e r .
I t s p r o t e c t io n . . .
d o n ' t l e t no one b u l l s h i t you.

110

The v a l i d i t y o f th e r e l i g i o u s c o n v i c tio n s o f th e var io u s Muslim
groups was not th e i n t e n t o f t h i s r e s e a r c h ; n e v e r t h e l e s s , i t was c l e a r
t h a t they were e s s e n t i a l elements to th e inmate s o c ia l system a t
HVMF.

In f a c t , t h e i r r e f e r e n t power was so g r e a t t h a t many o f f i c e r s

and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s had attempted t o d i f f u s e t h e i r power w it h in the
i n s t i t u t i o n . 40

Again, the presence o f these groups i n d i c a t e d the

s o l i d a r i t y o f inmates v i s - a - v i s th e formal pris on o r g a n i z a t i o n .

In

e f f e c t , groups provided ac ce ss t o a l l e v i a t i n g many o f th e f r u s t r a t i o n s
and problems t h a t inmates experienced (Cloward, 1960).

This b r i n g s

i n t o ques tio n o t h e r methods o f accommodation which o f f i c e r s and
inmates r e l i e d on in m ain tai ning i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y .
The l i t e r a t u r e on pris on s o c i e t y i s r e p l e t e with examples of how
keepers and kep t a r r i v e a t some type o f symbiotic r e l a t i o n s h i p in
providing control t o the pris on o r g a n i z a t i o n (Sykes, 1958; Sykes and
Messinger, 1960; and Cloward, 1960).

This was a l s o t r u e a t HVMF.

On

one occ asion, an o f f i c e r was observed "shaking down"41 an inmate as
he e n te r e d the housing u n i t .

The i n s i d e o f th e in m ate 's c o a t was

l i n e d with sandwiches from the dining h a l l .
"are some o f th e se f o r me?"

The o f f i c e r responded

The inmate nodded in the a f f i r m a t i v e and

was l e t on h i s way.
While th e se tenuous r e l a t i o n s h i p s e x i s t e d , o t h e r inmates expressed
the idea t h a t th e degree o f accommodation was n o t as developed in HVMF
as in o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s in th e s t a t e .
difference:

Inmates r elay ed t h a t

Ill

A:
Where you, i t ' s th e back . . . I had i t
crammed f u l l o f food, I was in th e ki tchen w o r k i n ',
r i g h t ? I was c le a n in g 1 t o u t , me and anot he r guy was
c l e a n i n ' i t o u t , and i t was f u l l o f cheese and
hamburgers, th e whole b i t . And the u n i t . And more o r
l e s s what he was t r y i n ' to say was y o u ' r e cornin' back in
the k i t c h e n , y o u ' r e f i r e d . Well, when I g o t back in my
a r e a , and I was supposed to be workin1 in th e k i t c h e n ,
the cop in th e u n i t c a l l e d th e fuc ke r and s a i d hey,
leave . . . a l o n e , he s a i d I d o n ' t want him in the
k itc h en no more. And the i n s p e c t o r went over t h e and
. . . t h e i r a s s e s a r e o u t . . .fuck with me, t o r e up the
t i c k e t . I had a n ic e t i c k e t f o r i t and he t o r e i t up.

A:
Marquette was n ice . . . you could g e t
anything you wanted - drug s, booze, p i l l s , money . . .
her e i t i s t i g h t e r , b u t t h in g s a r e going to change. You
w a i t and see what happens to t h i s place in a couple o f
years.

A:
Other j o i n t s have a l l s o r t s o f s h i t i f you got
th e money . . . t h e r e i s n ' t no money in t h i s p lace . . .
p r i s o n e r s c a n ' t rob each o t h e r . . . .
O f f i c e r s know
how to deal with inmates b e t t e r because they know i f I
s c r a t c h h i s back, h e ' l l s c r a t c h mine. T h a t ' s n o t
happening h e r e , b u t i t w i l l .

A:
You g o t to g e t a long with the p o lic e
( o f f i c e r s ) i f you want t o s u rv iv e . . . t h i s p la ce i s
new and they a i n ' t s t a r t d e a li n g and j e f f i n g (working
with o f f i c e r s ) y e t . . . not l i k e o t h e r pla c e s in the
s t a t e . . . b u t give i t tim e, a l l s o r t s o f th i n g s w ill
change.
More i m p o r t a n tly , the group a f f i l i a t i o n was tenuous in the
institution.

While the r e l i g i o u s groups were n o t i c e a b l e w ithin the

inmate s o c ia l system, many inmates tended to s ta y to themselves or
only a f f i l i a t e d with very few f r i e n d s , “homies," or c l i q u e s ( Ir w in ,

112

1980).

There i s a s p e c i f i c reason f o r such a s o c ia l o r g a n i z a t i o n

inmates—no one wants t o be recognized as a gang member.

of

Oneinmate

put i t t h i s way:
I:
Are th e s e groups a l s o members o f th e s e groups,
o r ar e they j u s t l i t t l e c l i q u e s o f guys t h a t g e t
t o g e t h e r and . . . ?
A:

C liqu es .

You know, you g o t maybe 8, 9 guys

I:

What do you mean by t h a t ?

A:
Well see any time t h a t you g e t a group
t o g e t h e r , a l l eyes ar e on you. On-oh, we got a group
over h e r e , everybody s t a r t s w at ch in' you. But i f your
message i s r e la y e d in twos, or one by one . . .
I:
Oh, so in e f f e c t t h e y ' r e a group, b u t they
d o n ' t hang to g e th e r ?
A:
Yeah, 'c ause they d o n ' t wanna be recognized as
a group . . .
I:

Do a d m i n i s t r a t o r s know who t h e se guys are?

A:
No, nobody knows who they a l l a r e , you know
who a few o f them a r e , b u t you d o n ' t know who a l l of
them a r e .
I t ' s l i k e . . . nobody knew . . . somebody
h u r t you, one o f y our b r o t h e r s would take them o u t. . .
I t ' s the same t h i n g with t h i s group h e r e , th e r e might be
35 guys involved in t h i s group, b u t you d o n ' t see no
more than 2 o r 3 a t a time and you d o n ' t know who they
a l l . . . because everybody mixes and t a l k s and bull
s h i t s with everybody. They know who they a r e , b u t you
d o n ' t know who they a r e .
The long-term e f f e c t was t h a t th e s o c i a l i z a t i o n process w ithin the
i n s t i t u t i o n was l i m i t e d to a few people, producing a highly fragmented
o r g a n iz a tio n o f inmates which sought to s ur vive and cope in t h e i r own
manner.

While in the p a s t , one had groups which were s t r o n g , s o l i d i f i e d ,
and cohesive in p r is o n s e t t i n g s , t h i s r e se a r c h sug ge sts t h a t the
inmate s o c i e ty a t HVMF was l o o s e l y connected with s e l f - s e r v i n g and
protective cliques.

These cliques , served the purpose o f p a s t

fu nct io nal groups in th e environment:

they provided needed

r e l a t i o n s h i p s and re so u r c e s to the in d iv id u a l inmate as means of
coping with i n c a r c e r a t i o n .

As a r e s u l t , t h e r e was value w ithin th e

inmate so c ia l h ie r a r c h y i f one could provide r e so u r c e s.
Providing o f Resources Power
Sykes (1958) has s t a t e d t h a t inmates experience pa ins of
imprisonment, one o f those pains being l o s s o f m ateria l p os ses sions .
This pain, along with the o t h e r s ( l o s s o f autonomy, denial of
heterosexual r e l a t i o n s h i p s , f e e l i n g s o f i n s e c u r i t y , and the
r e s t r i c t i o n o f movement), produced an homogenous inmate s o c i e t y which
or ganized in an a tt e m p t to a l l e v i a t e th e se p ain s.

The end r e s u l t was

a cohes ively s t r u c t u r e d s o c ia l o r g a n i z a t i o n o f p r i s o n e r s which
op er ated in a subrosa fash ion and fu nctio ne d r e l a t i v e to the degree of
d e p r i v a t io n ex per ienced by th e group.

Concomitantly, t h i s r esear ch

suggests a s i m i l a r s t r u c t u r a l a d a p ta ti o n to i n c a r c e r a t i o n a t HVMF but
t h a t the l ev el o f homogeneity among inmates i s no longer p r e s e n t .
Many c u r r e n t w r i t e r s have suggested t h a t the modern prison i s
fragmented, looking a t how th e makeup o f our l a r g e p e n i t e n t i a r i e s have
s h i f t e d along r a c i a l , s o c i a l , economic, and p o l i t i c a l l i n e s (Ir win,
1980; Fox, 1980, Jacobs, 1977; and Huff, 1977).

While the

114

compositional c h a r a c t e r o f maximum s e c u r i t y prison has d r a s t i c a l l y
changed over the p a s t 20 y e a r s , the fu n c tio n a l argument o f inmate
s o c i e t y s t i l l holds t r u e today:

inmates ex per ienc e a high lev el of

a l i e n a t i o n and f r u s t r a t i o n over t h e i r i n c a r c e r a t i o n .

In e f f e c t , the

" p r i s o n i z a t i o n " process s t i l l e x i s t s and i s a p p l i c a b l e today, b u t the
s o c ia l groupings and s o l i d a r i t i e s o f th e p a s t have faded.

Inmates
42
s t i l l group t o g e t h e r ; however, the groups a r e much s m aller
and
more h e d o n i s t i c i n t h e i r outlook towards i n c a r c e r a t i o n .
A m a j o r i t y o f inmates a t HVMF had expr essed th e f a c t t h a t the
l a r g e gangs and t r a d i t i o n a l inmate s o c ia l system had broken down, with
much s m aller groups and a more s e l f - c e n t e r e d approach to i n c a r c e r a t i o n :
A:
I know a couple o f guys t h a t when I f i r s t came
to p r is o n , they had 20 y e a r s i n , I'm p r e s s i n ' 40 y e a r s .
You j u s t d i d n ' t have t h i s syndrome o f c l i e n t - g u a r d
r e l a t i o n s h i p s . I t j u s t d i d n ' t e x i s t , you d i d n ' t t a l k to
guards. You know, t h a t was bad b u s in e s s e s . You d i d n ' t
t a l k to the guard by y o u r s e l f , you know, t h a t w a s n 't
done. Today i t ' s done. A l o t o f th in g s l i k e th e (?) of
a l o t o f guys in h e r e , c e l l b e a t e r s ( ? ) , they d i d n ' t (?)
from t h a t kind when I came i n t o th e p e n i t e n t i a r y . . .
f o r 72 c e n ts . . . And th e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ta kes the
view o f t h i s way, we can use our psychology on th ese
young people because, number one, most o f them ar e
i g n o r a n t , most o f them h a v e n ' t f i n i s h e d high school l e t
alone thought about c o l l e g e , OK? Now the ones t h a t have
gone to c o l l e g e a r e the ones t h a t a r e , have some type of
edu ca tion ar e t r y i n g to . . . a l o t o f t h i s nonsense
because they know i t ' s . . . But w e 're not concerned
about the o l d - t i m e r . . . t h a t ' s the way th e
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n f e e l s , w e 'r e concerned about th e young
guy, h e ' s the guy t h a t ' s been giv in g us problems because
he has t h a t ' I d o n ' t give a damn' a tt i t u d e - - w h y ? Hey,
I'm doin ' l i f e s e n te n c e s , a guy may be 3 o r 4 l i f e
sentences or he may be doin' time . . . time.

115

A:
I n s t i t u t i o n a l time i s n ' t s h i t l i k e i t use to
be. H e l l, when I came to the p e n i t e n t i a r y , we had hard
time. Now e v e r y th in g i s a piece o f cake . . . th e r e
a i n ' t no hard time . . . t h a t ' s gone. No gangs anymore,
j u s t young a s s h o le s th in k in g t h e i r bad and can fuck over
anyone.
•

•

*

A:
Whites use t o run the p l a c e , b u t t h a t s h i t has
changed.
You g o t a l l s o r t s o f people coming to prison
. . . only c a r i n g ab out themselves and t h e i r time. In
them old days, you had people r e s p e c t i n g groups. I t has
changed . . . who knows w h a t's going t o happen.
Because o f t h i s you f i n d an inmate

a s s o c i a t i n g with only a few people

who shar e the same i n t e r e s t s and d e s i r e s as he has and doing h i s own
time in h i s own f a s h io n .

And one o f the b e s t ways to cope with o n e's

i n c a r c e r a t i o n i s through the use o f n a r c o t i c s .
The presence o f contraband items in c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s i s
f a i r l y common, and very few pr is ons do n o t have some type o f problem
in c o n t r o l l i n g drug markets.

Because o f the r e l a t i v e newness of HVMF,

th e e l a b o r a t e contraband system was n o t as developed as in o th e r
i n s t i t u t i o n s : however, because o f the demand f o r such s u b sta n ces ,
inmates who were a b l e t o supply t h e i r f ello w inmates with n a r c o t i c s
were a ble to wield much power i n the inmate socia l system.
S p e c i f i c a l l y , inmates who had ac ces s t o t h i s form o f reso urce were
a b le to l i v e comfortably in the pris on environment and command
a u t h o r i t y upon o t h e r inmates.
In a d d i t i o n , i t i s important to see how t h i s form o f power i s
d i s t i n g u i s h e d from reward power.

Reward power i s when someone i s

given some type o f remuneration f o r compliance.

On the o t h e r hand,

116

p rovid in g o f r e s o u r c e s 1s an acces s i s s u e .

Inmates have t h i s kind of

power i f they a r e a b l e t o access th ose needed r e s o u r c e s .
c a s e , th e inmate who can e n t e r drug markets has power.

In t h i s
Moreover, t h i s

i s d i f f e r e n t from the inmate who can provide a few e x t r a c i g a r e t t e s to
an o th e r f o r a s e r v i c e or good.

The p e n e t r a t i o n i n t o t h i s subrosa

s i t u a t i o n i s what e s t a b l i s h e s power.

No type of power i s probably so

p i v o ta l in under standing inmate s o c i e t y and s o c ia l co n tr o l w it hin
p r is o n s today.

The fo llow ing e x c e r p t s show t h e power in such a

position:
I:

Is drugs t h a t important in

an i n s t i t u t i o n ?

A: Of c o u r s e , t h a t ’s l i k e you say money, money i s
important—drugs i s money, t h a t ' s t h e i r money, you know.
I:
And i f you co n t r o l th e drugs in the
in s titu tio n s , you're really co ntrolling a l o t of units.
A:

You b e t .

I:

So, t h a t ' s a very

p i v o t a l , im po rt an t f a c t o r .

A:
R ight, t h a t ' s l i k e the goal you t r y t o achieve
while y o u ' r e in h e r e , you know.

A:
Those who g o t i t in with them o f f i c e r s g ot
conn ec tions. They got drugs with them coming i n t o the
p lace . . . .
Everybody need some s a t i s f a c t i o n , so you
go to the man. In h e r e , i t ' s th e white boys. They got
the drugs and power cause they give what you want.

A:
You know everyone wants t o g e t a l i t t l e high
sometimes, so you go and g e t i t . . . you be running
t h a t kind of s t u f f everybody l i k e s you and wants t o be
you r f r i e n d . But t h a t can be dangerous because they t r y
to rob you i f you a r e n o t c a r e f u l .

117

A:
Nobody has r e a l power in he re ex c e p t them
people with s t u f f (m a ri ju ana). I f you be running i t ,
well you g o t what you want and what o t h e r s want . . .
t h a t makes you k in g , so you t r y to g e t some . . . i f you
g o t connections on th e o u t s i d e , you can g e t i t in and
make money. Them o f f i c e r s and v i s i t o r s b r in g s i t in
. . . and t h a t ' s what i s done.

A:
I t ' s n o t r e a l l y drugs i s power; i t ' s money
. . . b u t dope and j u i c e i s what gives you power . . .
you g o t one, then you g o t th e o t h e r . T h a t ' s t h a t .

A:
Many d o n ' t want to t a l k abou t t h i s kind o f
s t u f f because i t ' s no good . . . .
I t causes problems,
b u t I ' l l t e l l you i f you g o t someone doing i t f o r you
( b ri n g i n g i t i n ) , you can l i v e any way you want with no
one both er in g you.
Because of th e a l i e n a t i o n and frag mentation o f the inmate s o c ia l
system, drugs were u s u a ll y c o n t r o l l e d by a s e l e c t few i n d i v i d u a l s and
sold t o small c l i q u e s o r groups o f inmates.

In t h i s way, th e s u p p l i e r

was a b le to co n tr o l h i s d i s t r i b u t i o n and the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n was kep t
o f f guard on who was o p e r a t in g t h e market.

In s h o r t , key inmates a t

HVMF s o ld drugs t o i n d i v i d u a l s i n a small group f a s h i o n , d ealin g
d i r e c t l y with u s e rs and o f te n circumventing middle men in the
o p e r a tio n .

The end r e s u l t s were t h a t the s a l e s were d i r e c t and the
43
payment was u s u a lly up f r o n t to the d e a l e r .
While th e s a l e s were o f te n d i r e c t , an o t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g p o i n t was
t h a t much o f th e s e l l i n g was done by a few inmates who had some type

o f acces s to drug connections e x t e r i o r to th e p r is o n s e t t i n g .

Also,

118

s in c e th e money supply a t HVMF was very t i g h t ,

44

and the demand f o r

i l l e g a l n a r c o t i c s was high, e s p e c i a l l y mar iju an a, the d e a l e r s were
o f te n in p o s i t i o n s o f c o n t r o l l i n g much o f the c a p i t a l r a i s e d in the
in stitu tio n .^

This c o n c e n tr a tio n o f wealth allowed d e a l e r s to

in f lu e n c e many beha vior s of o t h e r inmates and o f f i c e r s .

When inmates

were asked t o d e s c r i b e th e in f l u e n c e o f drugs a t HVMF, they s t a t e d th e
following:
A:
Right. Like 3 or 4 months, th e whole pris on
was t e n s e . From December t o March, t e n s e . I mean thes e
a r e white pe ople, they b r in g in the weed and cool o f f , I
mean 2 Block, 3 Block, 4 Block, 5 Block,. They j u s t
b r in g in weed and . . . and they give i t to people who
. . . stop a l l the t e n s i o n , s top a l l th e .
I:
Do they a c t u a l l y , they g e t a l l t h i s weed t h a t
they pay f o r .
A:

Right.

I:

And they give i t t o people t o calm them down?

A:

Right.

I:

OK, w h a t ' s the payback?

A:
They d o n ' t lo s e n o t h i n ' . They do t h i s , you
know, I ' v e spoken to them, they w i l l c ontrol a l l the
blocks. For i n s t a n c e somebody over in 3 or 4 Block does
something r e a l ugly, l i k e squeezin' a guy, pushing a
guy, f o r s ex , o f f i n t o th e h o le . They w i l l , t h a t whole
block, punish t h a t whole block and l e t t i n ' you know f o r
a reason t h a t t h e y ' r e n o t g e t t i n g any weed f o r months.
And anybody from any o t h e r block t h a t give s them weed,
w i ll c u t t h e i r block o f f . T h a t' s how they do t h a t .

A:
People who got drugs can g e t a l o t from people
in here . . . they know t h a t people want what they g o t ,
so they use i t f o r j u s t about ev er y th in g . I f you need
some weed to keep you going, you t a l k to the man who can

119

g e t i t f o r you . . . w i t h marijuana you can r e a l l y cool
t h i s place o u t . . . . I t ' s l i k e t h i s in a l l o f thes e
p r is o n s . This pla ce a i n ' t no d i f f e r e n t .
What was produced was a s i t u a t i o n where i n s t i t u t i o n a l c a p i t a l was
c o n cen tr ated and power c e n t r a l i z e d with a few inmates.
Conversely, th e s h o r t- te r m e f f e c t was t h a t the inmate s o c ie ty was
p a c i f i e d u n t i l the n e x t supply o f drugs was d e l i v e r e d .

In the

i n t e r i m , inmates attempted to cope with imprisonment using i l l e g a l
means.

I t was a t t h i s j u n c t u r e t h a t inmate v i o l e n c e , a s s a u l t s , and

r o b b e rie s s u r f a c e .

I n i t i a l l y , to deal with t h i s problem,

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s allowed no form o f purchasing in the i n s t i t u t i o n and
46
ran th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t o r e through a c r e d i t accounting system.
However, a t the time o f t h i s w r i t i n g , a d m i n i s t r a t o r s a t HVMF were
consid e ri ng the use o f " s c r i p t " 47 by inmates in t h e i r purchasing of
s t o r e goods.

What th e long-term e f f e c t o f s c r i p t on the i n s t i t u t i o n a l

environment w ill have i s u n c e r t a i n , b u t i t can be s peculated t h a t
a s s a u l t s , r o b b e r i e s , and holdups may i n c r e a s e due to th e i n c r e a s e in
the money supply.

Also, th e r e l a t i v e power p o s i t i o n o f th e d e a l e r s

w ill be u n a f f e c t e d , only the method o f payment w ill be a l t e r e d .
I n stead o f having money t r a n s f e r r e d to a d e a l e r ' s account or paying
him o f f with c i g a r e t t e s , u s e rs w ill pay with i n s t i t u t i o n a l s c r i p t .
One e f f e c t may be th e t h e f t o f s c r i p t from d e a l e r s ; however, t h i s i s
u n l i k e l y s in c e d e a l e r s w ill probably pay f o r p r o t e c t i o n , using o t h e r
consumers as strong-arm men o r providing drugs to them f o r p r o t e c t i o n
s e r v i c e s ( Ir w in, 1980).

120

The value o f r e s o u r c e s cannot be o v e r s t a t e d ; i t i s not only
important when examining drug d i s t r i b u t i o n , b u t i t i s a l s o e s s e n t i a l
t o psychological and physical s urv ival w i th i n the i n s t i t u t i o n .
Because o f the s e p a r a t i o n o f inmates from a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and the
fragmentation o f the inmate s o c ia l system, inmates a t HVMF sought
48
psychological r e l i e f through work, school o r hobbyc ra ft.
However,
none o f these a c t i v i t i e s were r e a l l y too well developed a t HVMF.
Disgruntled inmates s t a t e d i t t h i s way:
I:
Is t h a t a valued t h in g among inmates in h e r e ,
having a j o b , t r y i n g t o . . . g e t money?
A:
Yeah, i t ' s probably what everybody t r i e s to
do, and . . .
I:
And i f y o u ' r e denied ac ce ss to a j o b , how do
you g e t money?
A:
don't.
I:

I f you d o n ' t have anybody from th e s t r e e t you
You say nobody from the s t r e e t , what do you

mean?
A:
Family sending you money, o r f r i e n d s , or
something l i k e t h a t .
I:
Does t h a t f orc e guys to g e t i n t o c e r t a i n
i l l e g a l s t u f f to make money?
A:
Yeah, I ' d say so, yeah. I t ' s the same as on
th e s t r e e t . And t h a t ' s what t h e y ' r e her e f o r , they
d i d n ' t make any money o u t on the s t r e e t , so they s t o l e
i t — I mean, i f i t ' s n o t s t e a l i n g , i t ' s something.

A:
Not enough jo b s a r e her e f o r inmates to do.
You j u s t s i t around t h i s place a l l day . . . .
This
prison i s boring and c o n v i c t s d o n ' t l i k e t h a t . . . you
know i f you got nothing to do your hands g e t r eal t i r e d
. . . they g o t h o b b y - c r a f t but s t i l l t h a t a i n ' t enough.

121

A:
Nobody has any money in t h i s j o i n t . T h a t ' s
because t h e r e a r e n ' t any j o b s . . . .
I t e l l you they
b e t t e r g e t jo b s i f they want t h i s place t o s ta y
t r o u b l e - f r e e . When inmates d o n ' t have any money, t h a t
i s when they s t a r t to s t e a l s t u f f from each o t h e r .
T h a t ' s when th e t r o u b l e s t a r t s . Guys go around s t i c k i n g
each o t h e r f o r t h e i r p ro p e rty . You c a n ' t l e t anyone
s t e a l your s h i t o r e l s e everyone w i l l come a f t e r you
. . . .
I t ' s t h i s kind o f s h i t they g o t t o change.
Resu ltin g from t h i s s t r u c t u r a l c o n d i tio n was t h a t inmates r e l i e d
on subrosa a c t i v i t e s t o deal with t h e i r i n s t i t u t i o n a l p a in s , causing a
t o t a l s t a t e o f d i s t r u s t and d i s o r g a n i z a t i o n among the inmate
p opu la tion.

The f i n a l product was t h a t a m inori ty o f inmates l i v e d

r e l a t i v e l y well because o f the accumulation and d i s t r i b u t i o n o f highly
sought a f t e r goods.

This i l l e g i t i m a c y was ex ac er bated by an

underdeveloped l e g i t i m a t e s e c t o r w ith in th e s t r u c t u r a l - c o n t e x t u a l
environment o f the p r i s o n .

In s h o r t , a genuinely c a p i t a l i s t i c

economic system was p e r p e t u a te d w ith in the p r is o n e r s o c i e t y , with few
*

holding power over the re so u r c e s and a m a j o r i t y scrambling to g e t
money to purchase tho se r e s o u r c e s .
Expert Power
While the pro viding o f key re so u r c e s was an im po rta nt kind of
power w ithin HVMF, an o t h e r i n f l u e n t i a l type o f power e x i s t e d w ithin
the world o f p r i s o n e r o r g a n i z a t i o n ; t h i s form of power i s e x p e r t
power.

In our e a r l i e r d e s c r i p t i o n of t h i s type o f power, we s t a t e d

t h a t an i n dividual has e x p e r t power i f he i s able to convey some
s p e c i f i c kind o f knowledge to an o th e r person.

The source of the power

122

I s the knowledge p r e s e n t .

In th e c o r r e c t i o n a l s e t t i n g , t h i s knowledge

t y p i c a l l y means awareness o f th e le g a l system.
S t a r t i n g with th e e a r l y 6 0 ' s and c a r r i e d i n t o th e middle 7 0 ' s , we
saw th e t r a d i t i o n a l "hands-off" d o c t r i n e o f th e c o u r t s being eroded.
In i t s place we fin d a l l th e procedural gu ar an tees to p r i s o n e r s t h a t
in s u r e due p r o c e ss , e s p e c i a l l y those in r e l a t i o n t o pr ison d i s c i p l i n e
(Jac obs , 1977; Hawkins, 1976; and Goldfarb and Singer, 1973).
Probably more than any o t h e r i n t e r v e n t i o n i n t o c o r r e c t i o n s t h i s
changed the o p e r a ti o n and maintenance of t r a d i t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s .
One o f the most s i g n i f i c a n t impacts was the c r e a t i o n o f law l i b r a r i e s
49
and th e providing o f leg al m a t e r i a l s to inmates.
In e f f e c t , the
c o u r t s have given inmates ac ces s to the c o u r t s to g r ie v e the
c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e i r confinement.
This monumental d e c i s i o n a f f e c t e d the o p e r a tio n o f many
c o r r e c t i o n a l systems and in tr od uce d i n t o th e system th e " w r it w r i t e r "
o r " j a i l h o u s e l a w y e r ." 50

Because o f t h e i r advances, j a i l h o u s e

lawyers were a b l e to ac ce ss th e le g a l system, impact the c o r r e c t i o n a l
system and in f lu e n c e th e inmate s o c ia l system.

S p e c i f i c a l l y , inmates

who a r e knowledgeable about the l e g a l system a r e a ble to e x e r c i s e
tremendous amounts o f power w ith in the inmate so c ia l arena.

Putting

a s i d e t h e i r e f f e c t s on the l e g a l machinery o f criminal j u s t i c e and the
o p e r a t i o n s o f c o r r e c t i o n a l systems, knowledgeable inmates who
understand the e x t e r i o r l eg al system can p o s i t i o n themselves i n t o
b a s t i o n s o f power w i t h i n th e p r i s o n e r world.

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Such was the cas e a t HVMF.

Observations and d i s c u s s io n s with
51
inmates i n d i c a t e d concern f o r t h e i r appeals and r e t r i a l s .
A day
does not go by w ithout inmates d i s c u s s in g p o i n t s o f law and the s t a t u s
of t h e i r cases.

Inmates who ran th e law l i b r a r y were w e l l - o f f .

They

always had a s u f f i c i e n t supply o f c i g a r e t t e s and o t h e r re so u r c e s a t
t h e i r command.

Sur ro gat e lawyers were being paid o f f with b a s ic goods

in r e t u r n f o r help on t h e i r c a s es.
In one in m ate's c e l l , p i l e s o f papers and le g a l c a s e s were c l ip p e d
to a clo th e slin e .
was working.

The c e l l ' s occupant r e l a t e d they were the ca s es he

Also, t h a t o t h e r inmates always kep t him busy with t h e i r

work and he did n o t have time to do h i s own.

He even r e l a y e d an

i n c i d e n t on why he was t r a n s f e r r e d to HVMF from MBP:
A:
T h a t ' s why I'm here . T h a t ' s why I'm her e from
Marquette. I was t o l d t h a t a lr e a d y . When they r i o t e d
(?) and Marquette, they l a i d th e whole prison down and
they locked you up in your c e l l 24 hours a day. We was
e a t i n ' 3 meals a day in our c e l l s - b r e a k f a s t we had a
bowl o f c e r e a l , lunch we had a peanut b u t t e r sandwich.
I:

That was i t .

A:
That was i t , and a cup o f milk. At nighttim e
we had a sandwich, a bologna sandwich and a cheese
sandwich—t h a t was supper. And a cup o f c o f f e e ,
ev er y th in g e l s e was . . . G e t t i n ' a l o t o f t r e a t s from
the s t o r e . . . e x i s t e n c e . I f i l e d a l a w s u i t , downtown
Marquette. And p r i o r to t h a t the National Laywers (?)
o f D e t r o i t came up to Marquette t o i n v e s t i g a t e the
s i t u a t i o n . And I g o t c a l l in the o f f i c e . . . k i c k i n '
around what was th e cause o f th e r i o t , what do you
in te n d t o do about i t ? F ile d a l a w s u i t , a t the same
time they f i l e d an (?) l a w s u it on c o n d i t i o n s a f t e r the
r i o t in a l l the Michigan p r is o n s . Well, mine was ( ? ) .
My s u i t was to have us go o u t o f our c e l l s to the mess
h all f o r 3 w e ll- b alan ced d a i l y , OK. Went downtown f i l e d
a l a w s u it ex p a r t e , which means . . . , g o t a hearing in

124

4 days, had th e h e a r i n g , the Attorney General came in
with h i s bag o f l i e s and th e following day we went o u t
f o r b r e a k f a s t , and the n ex t day, the nex t 2 days we went
ou t f o r supper, and the following we were on 3 meals.
And the (?) came up t o my c e l l , g e t your bags packed,
y o u ' r e le aving . . . c h allen g in g . . .
This type o f inmate was n o t only powerful in r e l a t i o n to th e
inmate socia l system b u t he was a l s o fe a re d by a d m i n i s t r a t o r s :
A:
There a i n ' t nobody in here powerful. T h e re 's
one guy I th ink t h a t ' s p r e t t y powerful. And h i s name i s
. . . and h e ' s th e Inmate a t t o r n e y .
I:

Lawyer.

A:
Yeah, he j u s t had . . . about 3 or 4 d i f f e r e n t
murder c a s e s .
I:

What gives him the power?

A:
Well, h e ' s j u s t l i k e a person in s o c i e t y ,
whenever you g o t a good r e p u t a t i o n goin' f o r y o u r s e l f ,
t h a t r e p u t a t i o n a u t o m a t i c a l l y make you powerful.
I:

And h i s r e p u t a t i o n i s one o f what?

A:

One o f . . .

I:

Why, because he knows the law?

A:

Because he knows the law.

I:
How does the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n deal with a guy
t h a t a r e they a f r a i d o f him?
A:
They g o t to be a f r a i d o f them because he keep
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n in check.
I:

Through what, how does he do i t ?

A:

Through c o u r t .

I:

Ah, so h e ' s always f i l i n g l a w s u its ?

A:

Right.

He win 'em too .

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I:

Do you thin k h e ' l l be t r a n s f e r r e d ?

A:
They t r a n s f e r r e d him to Jackson, I was in
Jackson with him and I did 6 y e a r s t h e r e in Jackson with
him and they t r a n s f e r r e d him from down th e r e to
Marquette and from Marquette to h e r e . And I c o u l d n ' t
say how long t h e y ' l l keep him here in t h i s p l a c e , h e ' l l
probably s t r a i g h t e n t h i s place o u t bef or e he l e a v e s .

A:
You know them guys t h a t sue t h i s place cause a
l o t o f problems f o r them a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . . . they know
they (lawyers) can s h u t t h i s place down i f th e
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s fuck up in t h i s plac e . . . guys a r e
always f i l i n g o r t h r e a t e n i n g t o f i l e l a w s u its and o th e r
inmates know i t . . . they got a l o t o f power because o f
it.

A:
There a r e some guys in here who g o t l o t s o f
power . . . them inmate lawyers . . . thos e guys who s i t
in t h a t law l i b r a r y . They always g o t some o f these dumb
inmates doing s h i t f o r them because they help them in
t h e i r cases . . . Nobody fucks with them because we
f i g u r e they help us a l l a g a i n s t t h i s b u l l s h i t they put
you through.
Because o f th e hope t h a t every inmate had o f being r e l e a s e d from
p r i s o n , o t h e r inmates were able to e x p l o i t t h i s s i t u a t i o n and enhance
themselves i n t o l a s t i n g power p o s i t i o n s w it h in the co n v ic t socia l
system.

Recognizing the f a c t t h a t th e c o u r ts were c o n t i n u a l l y

" i n t e r f e r r i n g " with th e o p e r a tio n o f th e p r i s o n s , a d m i n i s t r a t o r s were
wary to provide l e g i t i m a t e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r inmates to gr ieve t h e i r
incarceration.

52

A fu n c tio n a l response was the development o f w r i t

w r i t e r s o r j a i l h o u s e lawyers who attempted to ac ce ss th e c o u r t s f o r
t h e i r c l i e n t s , and a t the same time e x p l o i t e d them f o r the l i t t l e
money and/or am enit ie s they had.

In r e a l i t y , the denial of formal

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o p p o r t u n i t i e s , in t h i s sense leg al r e p r e s e n t a t i o n f o r inmates, c r e a t e d
a s i t u a t i o n where p a r t i c u l a r inmates e x e r c i s e d a tremendous amount of
power over o t h e r inmates, ther eby r e l i e v i n g t h e i r own lev el of
d e p r i v a t io n while ex a c e r b a t in g o t h e r s .

As in the case o f r e s o u r c e s , a

very few inmates were ab le to l i v e o f f t h e i r a b i l i t i e s a t the expense
o f a m a j o r i t y o f the p r is o n e r p o p u l a tio n , causing f u r t h e r d i v i s i o n s in
an al ready h ig hly divi ded inmate o r g a n i z a t i o n .
Legitimate Power
The l a s t type o f power e x h i b i t e d by inmates was l e g i t i m a t e power.
Legitimate power i s where an inmate may show deference t o anothe r
inmate because he f e e l s t h a t inmate has been around o r understands the
53
system. As observed a t HVMF, many o f th e o l d e r inmates
n o t only
l e g i t i m i z e th e system b u t were l e g i t i m i z e d themselves.

Their

ex periences over the y e a r s has not only ta u g h t them th e o p e r a tio n of
the system ( e x p e r t power) b u t a l s o given them some type o f adm iration
and r e s p e c t . As one inmate s t a t e d , "the old guys used to run the
54
prisons,
but now they ar e l e f t alone because th e young dudes ar e
ta king over."

The degree o f l e g i t i m a t e power e x e r c is e d by these o ld e r

inmates was r e l a t i v e l y weak, p a r t i c u l a r l y s in c e they could not
55
e x e r c i s e any o t h e r type of power.
Their power was l i m i t e d b u t y e t
r e s p e c te d .
As inmates gained knowledge, th e e x p e r t i s e o f the o l d e r inmates
became l e s s v alu ab le and r e l i a n c e on o l d e r inmates diminished.
r e s u l t , t h e i r power was reduced and they u s u a lly faded i n t o the

As a

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background o f I n s t i t u t i o n a l l i f e .

As ano ther inmate put i t , "No one

w ill fuck with the old guys because t h e y 'v e done t h e i r time and got
th e ir respect."

This notion o f l e g i t i m a t e power suggests t h a t forms

o f power do change with time and t h a t some are more r e l e v a n t in
understanding inmate s o c i e t y than o t h e r s .

Moreover, t h i s argument can

a l s o be transposed to o f f i c e r s and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

The concluding

s e c t io n o f t h i s a n a l y s i s examines a l l t h r e e groups, s y n th e s i z in g th e
f in d in g s in an at tem pt to understand control w ithin HVMF.

I t is

hypothesized t h a t i n t e r a c t i o n of the types of power among th e groups
provides e q u ilib riu m t o th e p r is o n o r g a n i z a t i o n .
4.

Social Bases o f Power:

A S yn th es is

Organizations a r e t y p i c a l l y composed of various groups.

Within

the realm o f c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , t h i s can be broken down in to
three types:

inmates, o f f i c e r s , and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

Each group

e x h i b i t s c e r t a i n behaviors w ith in the or g a n iz a tio n a l s e t t i n g to
f u l f i l l i t s own g o a l s .

These groups each have t h e i r own g oa ls and/or

o b j e c t i v e s as f u n c t io n s o f a p a r t i c u l a r o r g a n iz a tio n a l s t r u c t u r e , t h a t
s t r u c t u r e being highly formalized and regimented.
Being aware of t h i s f a c t allows one t o examine the d i f f e r i n g power
arrangements among th e groups.

Within th e pris on s t r u c t u r e a t HVMF,

i t was s t a t e d t h a t d i f f e r e n t s o c ia l bases of power were employed by
the groups to gain compliance of both group and non-group members.
I n t e r e s t i n g l y enough, a l l t h r e e groups a t HVMF r e l i e d on co ercive
power t o gain compliance o f people w ithin the o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Inmates

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used forc e o r th e t h r e a t o f f o rc e with o t h e r inmates and s t a f f ;
o f f i c e r s and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s r e l i e d on i t in t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n s with
inmates.

While some used i t more f r e q u e n tl y and r e l i e d on i t more so

than o t h e r s ( a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ) , i t was s i m i l a r l y used a t HVMF.
Reward power, as a compliance mechanism, was n o t t h a t common among
th e groups a t HVMF.

I t was only used in fo r m a lly by o f f i c e r s and

t a n g e n t i a l l y by a d m i n i s t r a t o r s w ithin the i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment.
This may be th e major reason why t h e r e was such a s e p a r a t i o n between
inmates and s t a f f a t HVMF:

th e reward power e x e r c i s e d by o f f i c e r s a t

HVMF was an informal response to an i n s u f f i c i e n t and inadequate formal
s t r u c t u r e , exac er bat ed by the f a c t t h a t the formal reward s t r u c t u r e
employed by th e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n to gain compliance o f inmates was very
weak, i f n o t t o t a l l y n o n e x i s t e n t .

In a d d i t i o n , inmates provided very

l i m i t e d i f no rewards to o t h e r inmates f o r compliant behavior.
The r e s u l t i n g s i t u a t i o n produced more e l a b o r a t e c o r r u p t i o n by both
inmates and o f f i c e r s in attem pting to f u n c tio n w ithin the
environment.

In s h o r t , the lack o f reward power was a r e f l e c t i o n of

th e p r i s o n ' s formal s t r u c t u r e which ac centuate d coer cion as a primary
method o f c o n t r o l .

Since coercion could not be t o t a l l y guaranteed by

s t a f f , reward power became i n h e r e n t to those informal-accommodative
r e l a t i o n s h i p s between o f f i c e r s and p r i s o n e r s .
This was a l s o t r u e in r e l a t i o n to the development o f r e f e r e n t
power.

This form o f power was extremely s tr o n g among the inmate

p o p u la ti o n , in p a r t i c u l a r the r e l i g i o u s groups.

These groups

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r e p r e s e n t e d th e s o l i d i f i c a t i o n o f a p a r t o f inmate s o c i e t y which was
in c o n f l i c t with the t r a d i t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e o f the pr ison
organization.

While t h e s e groups were n o t c o n t i n u a l l y a n t a g o n i s t i c

toward th e pr ison h i e r a r c h y , they did r e p r e s e n t a l i e n a t i o n and group
estrangement with th e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .

The re for e, they were a b le to

e x e r c i s e power among t h e i r group members and the inmate po p u latio n .
In a d d i t i o n , because th e inmate population was fragmented and hig hly
i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c , the inmate who had a good r e p u t a t io n w ithin the
pris o n system was a b le to g e t o t h e r s t o do what he sought; h i s
r e p u t a t i o n was h i s source o f power, and u s u a l l y the inmate who was
tough, v i r i l e , and was a ble t o "get h i s r e s p e c t " e x h i b i t e d high l e v e l s
o f r e f e r e n t power.

He was a r e f e r e n c e p o i n t f o r many i n d i v i d u a l s

coming i n t o th e system.
While t h i s was well developed among the inmate p o p u la ti o n , in
l a r g e p a r t due to th e a l i e n a t i o n and d i v i s i o n f o s t e r e d by th e prison
s t r u c t u r e , r e f e r e n t power was a l s o e x h i b i t e d by c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r s
in t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n s with inmates.

However, t h i s was r e s t r i c t e d a t

HVMF because o f th e ever-changing p o l i c i e s and procedures.

In e f f e c t ,

o f f i c e r s were a b l e t o develop r e f e r e n t power by n e g o t i a t i n g t h e i r own
environments and s e l e c t i n g those r u l e s which made t h e i r j o b s more
be a r a b le .

The r e s u l t i n g s i t u a t i o n was one where inmates sought to

l e a r n th e manipulation process o f th e o f f i c e r s .
emulated the o f f i c e r s .
o f r e f e r e n t power.

Thus, inmates

In t h i s way, o f f i c e r s were e x e r c i s i n g a form

I t was mentioned t h a t t h i s was a form o f anomalous

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r e f e r e n t power, p a r t i c u l a r l y s in c e the e x e r c i s e o f such power
p o r tr a y e d to inmates an in v id io u s and manipulative o r g a n i z a t i o n ; while
maybe detrim ental in the long ru n, t h i s type o f power was a fu nctiona l
pr oduct o f the o f f i c e r r o l e .
A s i m i l a r type argument was made in r e l a t i o n to l e g i t i m a t e power.
O f f i c e r s a t HVMF had very l i t t l e l e g i t i m a t e power.

This type o f power

was l i m i t e d because o f the s t r u c t u r a l makeup o f th e pris on
organization.

S p e c i f i c a l l y , i t was d i f f i c u l t f o r inmates to

l e g i t i m i z e th e r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s o f the p r is o n when they were
c o n t i n u a l l y in f lu x .

Recognizing t h i s problem, o f f i c e r s attempted t o

gain l egitim acy through f a i r n e s s , c o n s i s t e n c y , and f l e x i b i l i t y in r u l e
enforcement.
In r e f e r e n c e to inmates, l e g i t i m a t e power e x i s t e d , b u t i t was
co nsid ere d an a n c i l l a r y form o f power and u s u a l l y rese rved f o r o ld e r
inmates who could n o t e x e r c i s e any o t h e r form o f power.

This does not

d i s c o u n t i t s re leva nc y in inmate s o c i e t y ; however, i t does s ugg es t
t h a t t h i s power was r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f o l d e r inmates who had "earned
t h e i r r e s p e c t , " and i t e x i s t e d a t the per ipher y o f the inmate socia l
world.
Of g r e a t e r s i g n i f i c a n c e w ithin the inmate s o c i e t y was the
providing o f re so u r c e s as a base o f power.

The access to r es ource s by

key inmates w ithin the inmate s o c ia l system r e p re s e n t e d the pinnacle
o f inmate a l i e n a t i o n and d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t with the formal pr ison
h ie r a r c h y .
i terns,

S p e c i f i c a l l y , inmates who were a ble to access contraband

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p a r t i c u l a r l y marijuana and o t h e r a s s o r t e d drugs, e x e r c i s e d tremendous
amounts o f power w i th in th e i n s t i t u t i o n .

They r e p re s e n te d the

a d ap tiv e mechanism o f inmate s o c i e t y , su ggesting t h a t t h e i r e x i s t e n c e
was, in l a r g e p a r t , determined by the r e p r e s s i v e c o ntrol s t r a t e g i e s o f
the formal prison o r g a n i z a t i o n .

No o t h e r inmate base of power was so

i n f l u e n t i a l and y e t a t the same time problematic to i n s t i t u t i o n a l
stability.

Because o f the demand f o r such products by a m a jo ri ty of

inmates, no o t h e r so c ia l base o f power had so much in flu en c e to gain
compliance among inmates.
More im p o rta n t ly , t h i s kind of power p er p etu ated an i l l e g a l
normative system, with s e p a r a t e r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s on how inmates
were to behave.

S p e c i f i c a l l y , the a b i l i t y to ac ces s key r esources

allowed inmates to d evise a l e g i t i m a t e system of pr osc ribed behaviors
which was in o p p o s itio n to the p r i s o n ' s formal s t r u c t u r e .

In t h i s

way, pr ison contraband f o s t e r e d th e development o f p a r t i c u l a r
behavioral p a t t e r n s which were recognized and l e g i t i m i z e d by a
m a jo r ity o f inmates.

In s h o r t , the i l l e g a l system c r e a te d and

supported by the p r o v is io n o f th e se i l l e g a l r esources was instrumental
in determining subsequent a c t i o n s on the p a r t of inmates.

The

re se arch l i t e r a t u r e p o i n t s o u t t h i s was n o t only t r u e a t HVMF but a ls o
every o t h e r pr ison o r g a n i z a t i o n which attempted to c ontrol inmates
through r e p r e s s i v e means, whether they be t r a d i t i o n a l or more
contemporary in n a t u r e .

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S i m i l a r l y , e x p e r t power was extremely i n f l u e n t i a l to gain
compliance among th ose inmates who valued th e j a i l h o u s e la w yer's
expertise.

Since inmates were a ble t o acces s th e c o u r t s with r e l a t i v e

e a s e , i t was e s s e n t i a l t h a t they understood th e formal mechanisms
i n h e r e n t t o the l eg al system.

Those inmates who could provide t h a t

type o f information could l i v e comfortably because o f t h e i r c o n s u lt in g
b u s in es s .

More im p o r t a n t l y , they were a b le to in f lu e n c e o t h e r s to g e t

what they d e s ir e d o u t o f th e inmate s o c i a l system.

Because of t h e i r

p o t e n t i a l t r o u b l e to a d m i n i s t r a t o r s they a r e u s u a ll y checked and
c o n t r o l l e d , making t h e i r value even more a cute in th e inmate s o c i e t y .
Again, as with those inmates who had acces s to key r e s o u r c e s ,
these types o f inmates were t y p i c a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n s o f an ad apti ve
c u l t u r e which sought autonomy over the hegemonic r o l e o f the prison
administration.

Any a tte m p t t o r e s t r i c t t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s made them

more v alu ab le in the i l l e g a l inmate s o c ia l h i e r a r c h y , and i t allowed
them to e x t o r t sc a rc e re so u r c e s from o t h e r inmates in r e t u r n f o r legal
ad vice.

As with th e r eso u r ce a l l o c a t o r s , th e r e s t r i c t i o n o f t h e i r

t r a d e could produce d e l e t e r i o u s e f f e c t s in the s o c ia l o r g a n i z a t i o n of
p r is o n e r s .
Thus, th e r e were two t h in g s which could occur i f r e p r e s s i v e
measures were employed to c o n tr o l t h e s e inmates.

F i r s t , by

tempor arily removing those i n d i v i d u a l s from the p r is o n environment,
you could c r e a t e more power f o r those remaining who could provide the
services.

Second, you sy mbolically l e g i t i m i z e th e r o l e these

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I n d i v i d u a l s play in th e environment.

As a r e s u l t , th e inmate body, on

the whole, becomes l e s s t r a c t a b l e and o f te n i d e n t i f i e s with th ese
inmates.
Because o f t h i s d i v i d i n g n a tu r e o f c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s ,
in cluding HMVF, th e val ue o f info rm ation concerning inmate a c t i v i t y i s
paramount.

This t y p i c a l l y produced many qu e s tio n a b l e p r a c t i c e s in an

atte m p t to m aintain c o n t r o l w ith in the i n s t i t u t i o n , in p a r t i c u l a r the
re c r u i t m e n t o f s n i t c h e s .

While denied vehemently by a d m i n i s t r a t o r s a t

HVMF t h a t s n i t c h e s were being r e c r u i t e d , the f a c t of the m a tt e r was
t h a t information was c r u c i a l about inmate a c t i v i t y ; somebody had to
t e l l somebody.

Volunteer ing inform ation was widespread a t HVMF, and

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s d id nothing t o di scourage th e pe rc eption t h a t s n it c h e s
were f a i r l y common among the inmate po p u latio n .
This a c t i v i t y o f s n i t c h i n g more than any o t h e r in the f a c i l i t y
produced and p e r p e tu a te d the s e p a r a t i o n between th e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and
inmates.

I t i s a v i c i o u s c y c l e which i s d i f f i c u l t to i n t e r r u p t ,

p a r t i c u l a r l y i f u n i l a t e r a l c o n t r o l i s sought by the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
staff.

In e f f e c t , to gain co n t r o l one r e q u i r e s in form ation; to gain

information one needs people to t a l k ; and once begun i t i s d i f f i c u l t
to s to p .

To break i n t o t h i s c ycle r e q u i r e s some form o f c o l l a b o r a t i o n

among the groups.

But, as c u r r e n t l y c o n s t r u c t e d , HVMF e x h i b i t e d much

dis s ens us among the groups.
While d e l e t e r i o u s i n the long ru n, the i n s t i t u t i o n a l design did
allow f o r a p e r v e r t e d sense o f e q u ili b r iu m to e x i s t .

By u p s e t t i n g

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t h i s e q u i l i b r i u m , anarchy and a f u l l s c a l e r i o t could occur a t HVMF.
To comprehend t h i s notion i t i s nec es sa ry to see how th e seven types
o f power f i t i n t o a s c e n a r i o o f tenuous e q u il ib riu m among th e groups,
suggest ing t h a t i f any power i s s e v e r e l y tr u n c a t e d o r removed, t h e r e
w i l l be d i s e q u i l i b r i o u s a f t e r s h o c k s w i t h i n th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l
environment.

I t w ill be put f o r t h in a subsequent c h a p t e r t h a t t h i s

e q u i l i b r i u m can s t i l l be maintained b u t n o t dominated by i l l e g a l kinds
o f power.
5.

Power and Equilib rium in Priso n Soci et y
Equilibrium o r s t a b i l i t y w it h in the p r is o n s e t t i n g a t HVMF

r e p r e s e n t s an unde rstan ding o f th e seven types o f power i n t e r a c t i n g
among the groups, and how a d r a s t i c rearrangement o f key types of
power would be a p r e c u rs o r t o i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y .

In a d d i t i o n ,

t h i s r esear ch has shown how c o er civ e mechanisms o f c ontrol f o s t e r more
e r o s io n o f power and dimunition o f a u t h o r i t y among a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .
Figure 4.2 d i s p l a y s the types o f power each group employed to gain
compliance from both group members and non-group members.

It is

e v i d e n t t h a t the inmate o r g a n i z a t i o n has more types o f power a v a i l a b l e
to them.

Their power i s in d i r e c t pr opor tion to the formal mechanisms

o f c ontrol e x h i b i t e d by the p r is o n s t r u c t u r e .

Because o f co er civ e

measures employed by pr ison o f f i c i a l s , they have c r e a t e d a s i t u a t i o n
where p r is o n e q u ili b r i u m demands the development of t h e se d i v e r s e
forms of power among inmates.

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More im p o r t a n t l y , i f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s attempted t o d i f f u s e some of
th e key kinds o f power among t h e inmate p o p u la tio n , e . g . , crack down
t o t a l l y on the drug market, ha r a ss w r i t w r i t e r s , o r t r a n s f e r r e l i g i o u s
l e a d e r s , e t c . , they would cause t h i s a b e r r a n t e q u i l i b r i u m t o be
u p s e t.

Because of t h i s p o t e n t i a l l y v o l a t i l e s i t u a t i o n , a d m i n i s t r a t o r s

must be wary o f u p s e t t i n g t h i s balanc e.

The re fore , th e old inmate

adage t h a t "inmates run the j o i n t " i s p a r t i c u l a r l y r e l e v a n t and t r u e .
They run the j o i n t because o f the d i v e r s e and y e t anomalous type s o f
power which were made a v a i l a b l e to them v i s - a - v i s th e formal s t r u c t u r e
o f the pris on o r g a n i z a t i o n .
As evidenced in Figure 4 . 2 , a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ar e in a r a t h e r
perilous position:

they must be s e n s i t i v e to the demands o f the

inmate so c ia l o r g a n i z a t i o n , while a t th e same time a t te m p t to i n c r e a s e
t h e i r r e l a t i v e power and the concomitant element o f c ontr ol through
the d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n o f t h e i r own power.

I r o n i c a l l y , th e development

o f more d i v e r s e power bases i s s t r u c t u r a l l y impossible f o r the
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a t HVMF.

Unless they ar e a ble to a t t r a c t inmates

through a more formalized reward s t r u c t u r e , i t w ill be d i f f i c u l t to
contr ol the i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment.
Furthermore, the s e p a r a t i o n and d i v i s i o n was a l s o e v i d e n t when
examining o f f i c e r power.

While not as diminished as a d m i n i s t r a t i v e

power, Figure 4.2 i n d i c a t e s t h a t o f f i c e r forms o f power a r e not much
better.

In f a c t , much o f t h e i r power was a t the informal l e v e l ,

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F ig u re 4 . 2

TYPES OF SOCIAL BASES OF POWER BY GROUP

Officer

Inmates

Coercive

Coercive

Coercive

Reward

Reward

Reward

Information

Reference

Legitimate

Legitimate

Access to Resources

A dministr ation

Expert
p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e i r use o f reward power.

A common complaint o f

o f f i c e r s was t h a t they had no power; what they r e a l l y meant was no
co er civ e power.

What they f a i l e d t o r e a l i z e i s t h a t the coer cion i s

what s e p a r a t e s them from the inmate body.

In r e a l i t y , they should

at tem pt to develop more reward, r e f e r e n t , and l e g i t i m a t e form o f
power, but th ese types need t o be more consensual and not
accommodative in n a t u r e .

While th e tenuous symbiotic r e l a t i o n s h i p s

ar e needed in m aintaining a perverse p r is o n e q u i l i b r i u m , they s t i l l
serve as the demarcation l i n e between o f f i c e r and inmate, due in l a r g e
p a r t to an i n f l e x i b l e and c o er civ e prison s e t t i n g .
6.

Conclusions
From the previous d i s c u s s i o n s , t h r e e conclusions can be drawn:

F i r s t , inmate power a t HVMF was much more d i v e r s e than e i t h e r o f f i c e r
o r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e power.

This was a r e s u l t o f f u n ctio na l a d a p t a t i o n s

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to th e formal prison o r g a n i z a t i o n .

In e f f e c t , i t was q u i t e t r u e a t

HVMF, l i k e o t h e r p r is o n s a c r o s s th e c o u n tr y , inmates had the power and
c ontrol the p r is o n .
Second, an a b e r r a n t p r is o n e q u i l i b r i u m was observable a t HVMF,
which provided c o n tr o l and s t a b i l i t y t o t h e i n s t i t u t i o n while a t the
same time f o s t e r e d f u r t h e r estrangement between inmates and o f f i c e r s
and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

In a d d i t i o n , i f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s attempted to be

more c o er civ e in t h e i r d e a lin g s with inmates, they p e r p e t u a te d the
d i v i s i o n and enhanced the f u r t h e r d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n o f inmate power.
This made the t r a c t a b i l i t y o f those i n d iv id u a l inmates who were
powerful in the inmate s o c ia l system more pro blematic.
Third, because o f t h i s c r e a t i o n and f u r t h e r a n c e o f a f a l s e sense
o f e q u ilib riu m by th e pr ison a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , i t was d i f f i c u l t to
i n c u l c a t e upon inmates the value o f conventional s o c i e t a l norms.
were, in e f f e c t , being t a u g h t the e x a c t o p p o s ite :

They

m an ipulation,

d e c e i t , and i l l e g a l a c t i v i t y were masqueraded as v i r t u e s in a world
where honesty and f a i r n e s s were v i r t u a l l y n o n - e x i s t e n t .

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Endnotes - Chapter 4
^Such was th e ca s e o f th e Alabama c o r r e c t i o n a l system where
Federal Judge Frank M. Johnson J r . ordered th e Alabama c o r r e c t i o n a l
system to I n s t i l l a c l a s s i f i c a t i o n scheme and a l l e v i a t e the
overcrowding in i t s p r i s o n s . This was met by s t i f f o p p o s it i o n ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y then Governor George Wallace who pe rceived i t as
coddling c r i m i n a l s . " Furthermore, when Wallace was no lo n g e r
governor, Judge Johnson p u t the e n t i r e Alabama C o r r e c ti o n a l system in
r e c e i v e r s h i p , under then Governor James, with f u l l a u t h o r i t y and
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to th e ju dg e.
2See S t a s t n y , C h ar le s , and Tyrnauer, G a b r i e l l e , Who Rules the
Joint:
The Changing P o l i t i c a l Culture o f Maximum-Security Prison s in
America (Lexington Books, b.C. Heath and Company, Lexington,
Massachusetts, and Toronto, Canada, 1982) f o r an examination o f t h i s
t o p i c in r e l a t i o n t o th e Walla Walla p r is o n in Washington s t a t e .
3Marquette Branch P ris on i s the only comparable maximum-security
prison in the s t a t e , with an average inmate population o f around 900.
I t s co n d it io n s a r e much worse and i t i s s i t u a t e d in the upper
peninsu la of Michigan, where most inmates cannot g e t t h e i r f r i e n d s and
r e l a t i v e s to v i s i t . Also, many black inmates d i s l i k e d th e Marquette
environment because o f the per ce ived r a c i s t a t t i t u d e o f th e prison
s t a f f , p a r t i c u l a r l y s in c e most, i f n o t a l l , were white and r u ra l
born. In c o n t r a s t , th e t y p i c a l inmate a t Marquette were black and
from an urban environment. Hence, th e d i f f i c u l t y in r e l a t i n g and
communicating to one an o th e r i s e v i d e n t .
^HVMF i s only 20 m iles from th e c e n t e r o f the D e t r o i t a r e a ,
where a m a j o r it y o f th e inmates come from. For t h i s re a so n , i t was
much e a s i e r f o r t h e i r f r i e n d s and r e l a t i v e s to v i s i t them, as opposed
to t r a v e l i n g up to t h e Branch prison in Marquette, Michigan.
5"Hole-time" u s u a ll y v a r i e s depending upon th e n a tu r e o f the
o f fe n s e and the h i s t o r y o f v i o l a t i o n s th e p e r p e t r a t o r has a c quired.
In a d d i t i o n , inmates can be held in d e t e n t i o n immediately following
the r u l e v i o l a t i o n u n t i l a hea ring d ate i s s e t . So, i n e f f e c t ,
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s have f u l l d i s c r e t i o n a r y a u t h o r i t y in deciding who
remains in d e t e n t i o n . Once a d j u d i c a t e d , then th e remainder o f hole
time i s determined, i f any a t a l l .
6By belongings I am r e f e r r i n g t o tho se am enities which help the
inmate cope with i n c a r c e r a t i o n : tobacco, w r i t i n g and reading
m a t e r i a l , and o th e r personal items o r p r o p e r t i e s . The o f f i c e r s
b e l ie v e d t h a t t h i s d id n o t r e a l l y make i t a punishment u n i t ; i t was
more at tuned to a " b a b y - s i t t i n g s e r v i c e . "

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7Here I am r e f e r r i n g to those a d m i n i s t r a t o r s who served as
housing u n i t managers and t h e i r a s s i s t a n t s . There were t h r e e Resident
Unit Managers (RUM) and f i v e A s s i s t a n t Resident Unit Managers (ARUM)
lo c a t e d w it h in th e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e h ie r a r c h y o f HVMF. These
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s d i f f e r e d from th e warden and h i s s t a f f because they
a c t u a l l y worked in t h e housing u n i t s and functione d as m ediators
between inmates and a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , s i m i l a r to th e r o l e o f co unselo rs
in many t r e a t m e n t - o r i e n t e d f a c i l i t i e s .
3Since the work assignments a t HVMF were q u i t e l i m i t e d , the
a c tu a l p o s i t i o n s e n t a i l e d many menial and o f te n arduous work. For
example, on one occasion I witnes sed f our inmates working in a gr as sy
ar ea o f the i n s t i t u t i o n digg in g d i t c h e s . When I asked them why they
were doing such a c t i v i t y , one o f them responded, " t h i s i s how I make
my 86tf a d a y . "
^See Simon, H er b ert A ., A d m in istr a tiv e Behavior: A Study o f
D e c i s i o n -- Making Pro ce sses in A d m in istr ativ e Organization (Macmi11 an
P ublishing Company, I n c . , New York, Second E d i t i o n , 1957) f o r an
a n a l y s i s o f how info rm at ion i s c o n t r o l l e d in the decision-making
process . Also, Arrow, Kenneth, "Or ganizations and I nfo rm ation," in
The Limits o f Or gan iza tions (New York: W.W. Norton, 1974).
1°In t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e , inmates a r e o f te n viewed as the "enemy"
by c o r r e c t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . I t i s because o f t h i s p e r c e p tio n t h a t
information i s so c r u c i a l and r e l e v a n t in c o n t r o l l i n g th e inmate
po p u latio n . Without i n f o r m a tio n , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e power would be
s i g n i f i c a n t l y reduced.
I t was common f o r inmates a t HVMF t o s n i t c h o u t o t h e r inmates
because of personal d i s l i k e , o r because th e inmate had some item t h a t
a p a r t i c u l a r s n i t c h would want to o b t a i n . For example, t h i s was not
any more t r u e than in r e l a t i o n to drugs. I t was common f o r inmates to
reveal how s n i t c h e s s e n t k i t e s to the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n on
someone
because they wanted t h e guy t o l o s e h i s supply o f drugs. I t seems
j e a l o u s y and envy produced a l o t o f s n i t c h i n g which occurred a t HVMF.
12I developed t h i s term when I n o t ic e d how th e formal " k i t e box"
in Unit 3 was defaced and s c r i b b l e d on i t were the words " s n i t c h
box." In t h i s c a s e , a s n it c h k i t e i s when an inmate r e v e a l s
information t o an a d m i n i s t r a t o r about the i l l e g a l a c t i v i t i e s o f
ano ther inmate o r group o f inmates.
13This i s a concept which l i t e r a l l y means "d iv id e and r u l e . " As
S ta stn y and Tyrnauer s u g g e s t, t h i s i s a common s t r a t e g y among
c o r r e c t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s in our maximum-security p r i s o n s ; th e same
holds t r u e f o r HVMF.

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l^ T h is r a t h e r inflammatory information was given by many
inmates. The p r i v i l e g e s they mentioned were: a t r a n s f e r to a medium
s e c u r i t y p e n i t e n t i a r y , green money, a work assignment, and more
v i s i t s . I f t r u e , t h i s could produce many problems w ith in the
i n s t i t u t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y when t h i s inform atio n spreads thro ugh out the
e n t i r e inmate world v i a th e informal prison grapevine.
T5 I r o n i c a l l y , t h i s ind iv i d u a l was given th e assignment o f
showing me around th e prison on my f i r s t appearance. L a te r , inmates
t o l d me t h a t they thought I was a Federal I n v e s t i g a t o r s e n t from
Lansing t o spy on the pr ison populati on. I was t o l d t h a t t h i s was
passed around because o f my i n i t i a l appearance with t h i s i n d i v i d u a l .
I t did n o t dawn on me u n t i l l a t e r the p r e c a rio u s s i t u a t i o n I was i n ,
and how I had been lucky no one p h y s i c a ll y a s s a u l t e d me during the
research.
16While s t i l l somewhat t r u e , t h e r e i s s t i l l a misunderstanding
of th e n a t u r e and f u n c tio n of th e c o r r e c t i o n a l o f f i c e r r o l e . See
Crouch, Ben, The Keepers:
Priso n Guards and Contempo r ary
C o r r e c t i o n s , (Char les Thomas, S p r i n g f i e l d , I l l i n o i s , I960).
l? T h is was a common com plaint among th e o f f i c e r s interv iew ed .
Most b e l ie v e d t h a t t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n would l i s t e n t o inmate demands,
b u t they would not n e g o t i a t e f a i r l y with th e o f f i c e r s ' union. One
o f f i c e r s t a t e d i t t h i s way: "This a d m i n i s t r a t i o n does n o t have any
under standing o f modern management te chniques . All they t h in k i s t h a t
they a r e in charge and we have to l i s t e n .
I t i s sad t h a t something
has to happen b e fore they w ill l i s t e n to u s ."
18The d i s t i n c t i o n between th ese two types o f t i c k e t s w i ll be
examined in Chapter 5 when a s s a u l t i v e behavior i s explored .
^9I t seems t h a t o f f i c e r s r e l y on the issuan ce o f formal t i c k e t s
when i t i s s e r i o u s enough t h a t t h e i r s u p e r i o r s w ill f i n d o u t . What
was o p e r a t in g was the p r i n c i p l e of C.Y.A. (cover your a s s ) , where
major t i c k e t s were t y p i c a l l y w r i t t e n only when the v i o l a t i o n was
s e r i o u s enough and deserved some type o f formal a t t e n t i o n .
20Because o f the p l e t h o r a o f l a w s u i t s f i l e d a g a i n s t c o r r e c t i o n a l
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , they have t o be s e n s i t i v e to inmate demands w it h i n
reaso n. The p o i n t being t h a t t h e i r concerns were so c e n t e r e d around
inmate l a w s u i t s t h a t o f f i c e r s f e l t l e f t o u t o f the t o t a l p i c t u r e ,
ther eby d i s i l l u s i o n i n g and a l i e n a t i n g them from the c e n t r a l
administration.
21 These i l l e g a l a c t i v i t i e s ranged from smuggling in contraband
to allowing c e r t a i n sexual a c t s to occur. The argument i s one o f
r e c i p r o c i t y , where o f f i c e r s allow and even encourage i l l e g a l
a c t i v i t i e s to occur in r e t u r n f o r o r d e r and c o ntrol in th e prison
setting.

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22in p a r t i c u l a r , one o f f i c e r r e f e r r e d to as "Idi Amin" by the
inmates was c o n t i n u a l l y being s h i f t e d from housing u n i t to housing
u n i t because o f h is s t r i c t enforcement demeanor. Other o f f i c e r s
r equest ed periphery assignments (co ntro l c e n t e r o r gun tower) because
they could n o t deal with the bar gaining which oc cur red w it h in the
housing u n i t s between keeper and kep t.

23$ee Warwick, Donald P . , A Theory o f Public Bureaucracy:
P o l i t i c s , P e r s o n a l i t y , and Organization In the S t a t e Department,
(Harvard U niver sity P r e s s , Cambridge, Massachusetts and London,
England, 1975) f o r an i n t e r e s t i n g a n a l y s i s o f how th e S t a t e Department
f u n c tio n s in r e l a t i o n to i t s s u b o rd i n a te s .
24Another f r u s t r a t i n g item which concerned o f f i c e r s was the
con tinua l changes in p o l i c i e s and procedures. They could n o t keep up
with th e changes and t h i s lead to f u r t h e r d i v i s i o n between o f f i c e r s
and inmates. In p a r t , however, t h i s may be due to the switch in
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n which occur red while conducting t h i s r e s e a r c h . The new
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n came in with t h e i r own personnel and d i f f e r i n g methods
o f o p e r a ti n g the i n s t i t u t i o n . Obviously, t h i s a f f e c t e d th e f r o n t - l i n e
i n t e r a c t i o n s o f inmates and o f f i c e r s .
25By "madness" I am r e f e r r i n g to a l l the games t h a t inmates play
with each o t h e r , in p a r t i c u l a r , the c o n tin u a l d i s p l a y s o f a
"macho-image." As one inmate s t a t e d , " l i v i n g in pris o n i s nothing but
p s y c h o lo g ic a l, and i t can tu rn i n t o madness i f you allow these
as sholes ( o th e r inmates) to i n t i m i d a t e you." Also, t h i s includes the
con games, the gambling, and i n t e r l u d e s with sex and dope.
2 6 it was common f o r o f f i c e r s a t HVMF t o show def erence to the
o l d e r and experienced c o n v i c t s . On one occasion I observed how an
o l d e r inmate was used by an o f f i c e r to calm down some r a t h e r i r a t e and
d i s t u r b e d younger inmates. The end r e s u l t was p o s i t i v e , and the
o f f i c e r t o l d me how he was glad t h i s o l d e r inmate was th e r e t o a s s i s t
him.
270n April 30, 1982, a "disturb an ce " occur red in housing Unit 1,
the punishment and s e g re g a ti o n u n i t , where inmates des troyed c l o s e to
$50,000 in equipment, s u p p l i e s , and th e a ctual physical s t r u c t u r e .
While the cause o f th e d is tu r b a n c e i s s t i l l q u i t e u n c e r t a i n , the p o i n t
being made i s t h a t w it h out the help o f some key inmates the s i t u a t i o n
could have been much worse.
280 f f i c e r s a t HVMF c o n t i n u a l l y disc ussed the unsafe environment,
and how they would do anything to g e t o u t o f the housing u n i t i f
t r o u b l e er u p ted . I t was my p e rception t h a t many o f f i c e r s did n ot ca re
about the m a j o r i ty o f the inmates, and t h e r e f o r e , t h a t i s why they
were obsessed with maintain ing more d i r e c t c ontrol through co ercive
means.

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29At th e time o f the opening o f the i n s t i t u t i o n , 68 p e r c e n t o f
the o f f i c e r s o r 115 o f the 172 o f f i c e r s employed a t HVMF were new to
i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o r r e c t i o n s completely.
30while t h i s may be t r u e a t HVMF, t h i s could be a fu n ctio n of
the r e l a t i v e newness o f the prison f a c i l i t y . As the f a c i l i t y
develops, many inmates f e l t t h a t gangs would s u r f a c e , even though they
would be much s m all er than some gangs in th e o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s around
the s t a t e .
31 One o f the most r e v e a l i n g q u e s tio n s I asked was: "How does
the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n reward p o s i t i v e behavior on the p a r t o f an
inmate?" I t was a consensus among the inmates t h a t t h e r e were no
rewards f o r inmates. In f a c t , many inmates expressed t h e i r vehemence
toward the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n because o f th e lack o f any formal reward
mechanism.
3 2 i n i t i a l l y , the i n s t i t u t i o n was based on a behavior
m o d ific ati o n scheme, where inmates could move from housing u n i t to
housing u n i t dependent upon t h e i r behavior. There were f i v e housing
u n i t s a t HVMF with Units 1 and 2 being s e g re g a tio n and p r o t e c t i o n , and
Units 3, 4 and 5 general popula tion. However, the d i f f e r e n c e s among
the u n i t s were a l s o r e l a t i v e t o p r i v i l e g e s and r i g h t s , with Unit 5
having the most and Unit 1 the l e a s t . When the new warden took o f f i c e
in February o f 1983, he changed th e system and made a l l the housing
u n i t s the same, general p o p u la tio n , ex cep t f o r Unit 1 which was to be
s e g r e g a t i o n , p r o t e c t i o n , and d e t e n t i o n c a s e s . As f a r as I know, t h i s
system i s s t i l l e x i s t i n g a t HVMF.
33The Warden's Forum c o n s i s t e d o f inmate r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from
a l l the housing u n i t s . They posed a s e r i e s o f q u e s tio n s to the warden
once a month and he responded t o them v ia the i n s t i t u t i o n a l
newspaper—The Huron Valley Monitor. However, the p o i n t was t h a t the
Forum, according t o th e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , was i n e f f e c t i v e and p r e t t y
s u p e r f i c i a l . Many inmates viewed i t as a p l a c a t i o n device and n o t a
s i n c e r e attem pt to l i s t e n to inmate demands.
34This r e l i g i o u s group was o r i g i n a l l y recognized by the
Department of Cor rec tion s b u t l a t e r i t was denied the s t a t u s o f an
o f f i c i a l r e l i g i o n . The founder, l e a d e r and prophet was a r e s i d e n t of
HVMF, and he was attem pting to g e t o f f i c i a l r e c o g n i t io n a t the time of
th is writing.
•^The C h r i s t i a n denominations were predominantly w h ite , while
the Muslims were e x c l u s i v e l y black . The C h r i s t i a n denominations,
C ath olic and Lutheran, were much fewer in number and l e s s cohes ive in
comparison to the Muslim r e l i g i o n s .

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36This Idea o f r e l i g i o u s groups s erv in g as p r o t e c t i o n f o r t h e i r
members seemed u b iq u ito u s thro ug hou t th e inmate po pulation a t HVMF.
In f a c t , one r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r was so powerful i t was rumored t h a t he
had connections and in f l u e n c e in o t h e r pr is o ns throughout the system.
In s h o r t , no one "squeezed him" because he was so well r e spected
throughout the c o r r e c t i o n a l system.
370ne member o f t h e Moors exp la in ed how s t r i c t d i s c i p l i n e was
e s s e n t i a l in th e group. Each member had t o pay f i n e s o r r e c e iv e
physical punishment i f they did not follow the r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s
o f the group, p a r t i c u l a r l y i f they did not show up f o r pr ayers and
group meetings.
33This group was the Moors. When I i n q uire d about a t t e n d i n g one
o f t h e i r s e r v i c e s , I was t o l d t h a t whi te s were n o t allowed a t the
pr ay er s a nd/or meetings. I n t e r e s t i n g l y , they a l s o have t h e i r own
names which a r e determined by s t a t u s . The Moors keep t h e i r l a s t
names, b u t a s u f f i x was a t t a c h e d to denote a s c h o l a r o r a w a r r io r .
The s u f f i x "EL" r e f e r e d t o a s c h o l a r , whereas a "BEY" r e f e r e d t o a
w a r r i o r . I t was common in my r e se a r c h to be introduce d to Moors by a
r e c o g n i tio n of th e s u f f i x a t t a c h e d to t h e i r l a s t names.
39The a d m i n i s t r a t i o n was p a r t i c u l a r l y wary o f the in fl u e n c e o f
r e l i g i o u s groups in t h e inmate po p u la tio n . One a d m i n i s t r a t o r re layed
how the Moors had t h e i r annual f e a s t and e x t o r t e d money o u t o f o th e r
inmates to hold th e c e l e b r a t i o n , while a t the same time provided
p r o te c t io n to the inmates.
^ O n e o f th e r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r s was c o n s t a n t l y spending time in
Unit 1 while I was doing my r e s e a r c h . The word out among the inmate
population was t h a t he was being hara ss ed by the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n
because o f th e power he wielded in the i n s t i t u t i o n .
41 Shaking down r e f e r s to a thorough search o f an inmate. I t
a l s o i s made in r e f e r e n c e t o th e i n s p e c ti o n and search in g o f an
in m a te 's c e l l . In f a c t , o f f i c e r s were r e q u i r e d to shake down a
c e r t a i n number o f i n d i v i d u a l s and t h e i r c e l l s to a s c e r t a i n whether or
n o t contraband was being kep t by th e Inmate. I r o n i c a l l y , because
inmates were aware o f t h i s f a c t , i t was common f o r them to " sta s h
t h e i r s t u f f " in o t h e r a r e a s , p a r t i c u l a r l y th e day rooms and the
laundry room o f t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e housing u n i t .
^ T h e t y p ic a l inmate group o r c l i q u e u s u a ll y only c o n s i s t e d o f 3
o r 4 inmates. I t was very common a t HVMF to see these l i t t l e c l i q u e s
moving around the day rooms, y a r d , and gymnasium. Irwin (1980)
su ggests t h a t t h i s i s very common in t o d a y ' s p r i s o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y
where th e r e i s a high lev el o f a l i e n a t i o n and fragmentation among
inmates.

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43[}y "up f r o n t , " I mean t h a t payment was u s u a ll y made a f t e r
s t o r e orders were d e l iv e r e d to the u n i t . On many oc casio ns, I
observed inmates paying each o t h e r o f f with c i g a r e t t e s a f t e r t h e i r
d e l i v e r i e s from th e s t o r e . At one p a r t i c u l a r time, I notice d an
inmate re c e iv in g over f i v e c a r t o n s o f c i g a r e t t e s as payment.
44Because of the lack o f many i n s t i t u t i o n a l j o b s , th e r e was not
much money or c a p i t a l in the pris on . Inmates t y p i c a l l y got paid l e s s
than a d o l l a r a day f o r an e n t i r e d a y 's work. Unless they had money
coming in from the " o u t s i d e , " i t was d i f f i c u l t t o obtain amenities to
cope with i n c a r c e r a t i o n .
450ne inmate r elay ed how because o f the lack o f c a p i t a l , some
drug d e a l e r s wound up having a l l the money in the i n s t i t u t i o n .
Obviously, t h i s c r e a t e d a s i t u a t i o n s i m i l a r to F e u d a l i s t i c s o c i e t y ,
where the e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l c l a s s had much con trol over the behavior o f
s e r f s . The same was t r u e a t HVMF.
46This c r e d i t accounting scheme ran on an o r d e r system, where
inmates would o r d e r items from the s t o r e and t h e i r accounts c r e d i t e d .
I f they did not have s u f f i c i e n t funds, the items were not d e li v e r e d .
They were d e liv e r e d in se aled paper bags t o inmates when the u n i t s
were locked down and count was being taken. In e f f e c t , inmates would
not c a r r y t h e i r items from the s t o r e to t h e i r c e l l s ; a l l purchased
items were brought t o them to prev en t ro b b e rie s and a s s a u l t s from the
s t o r e t o the housing u n i t .
^ B e c a u s e o f the problems with the s t o r e , s p e c i f i c a l l y the lack
o f item s, the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n was th inking o f switching to
i n s t i t u t i o n a l money o r " s c r i p t " to be given to inmates. This did not
occur because i t was f e l t inmates would gamble and s t e a l each o t h e r ' s
s c r i p t . So, in i t s p la c e , th e c r e d i t accounting system was
maintained, b u t c u r r e n t l y , inmates can pick up items a t the s t o r e and
take them back to t h e i r c e l l s . The f u t u r e events which may r e s u l t
from t h i s new p o li c y i s only s p e c u l a t iv e a t t h i s time. However, an
educated guess may be t h a t strong-arming and robbery o f items in
t r a n s i t from the s t o r e to the housing u n i t s ar e q u i t e p o s s i b l e .
48Hobbycraft r e f e r s to the use o f hand t o o l s in the making of
products. I t i s considered a craftsmanship a b i l i t y among inmates.
Typical items made and sold a r e p l a n t h o l d e r s , w a l l e t s , b e l t s , and
cl ock s. These items ar e sold up f r o n t by the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , with
proceeds going to the individual inmate and the Inmate Bene fi t Fund.
4®For an i n t e r e s t i n g and provocative examination o f t h i s t o p i c ,
see Ronald L. Goldfarb and Linda R. Singer, After Conviction, (New
York: Simon and S chus te r, 1973), pp. 364-3691

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50These names r e f e r to inmates who a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y s k i l l f u l in
t h e i r comprehension o f the law. These d e s c r i p t i v e names were used in
the e a r l y 1960's to d e s c r ib e imprisoned inmates who were successful in
acc es sin g the Federal Courts. See Krantz, Sheldon, The Law o f
Co rrec tions and P r i s o n e r s ' Rights: Cases and M a te r ia l s (West
Publishing Company, 1977) f o r an h i s t o r i c a l examination of t h i s t o p ic .
51 The t o p i c o f inmate t r i a l s and r e t r i a l s was very d i f f i c u l t to
handle on two acc oun ts. F i r s t , not being a lawyer, I was unable to
help most inmates. Second, i t was d i f f i c u l t to keep inmates o f f t h e i r
ca s es during my d is c u s s io n s with them. I found the b e s t s t r a t e g y to
prev en t t h i s kind o f s i t u a t i o n from developing was to be honest and
u p - f r o n t with inmates t h a t my purpose was not t o be t h e i r leg al
ad v i so r . This proved to be successful with a number of inmates, and
i t was the s t r a t e g y I employed a f t e r my f i r s t few months a t the
in stitu tio n .
A w h i l e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s frowned upon th e number o f la w s u its f i l e d
by inmates, they might be more successful in reducing the number of
s u i t s , in the long ru n, by providing competent lawyers to inmates.
This would provide access to the c o u r t s and a t the same time erode the
power of some o f the more manipulative w r i t w r i t e r s .
53|3y o l d e r inmates, I am r e f e r r i n g to those inmates who have
done 15 to 20 y e a r s behind b a r s . They u s u a ll y range from t h e i r l a t e
t h i r t i e s to middle f i f t i e s in age.
S^This type o f e x p e r t power u s u a ll y r e f e r s to how the system
works, p a r t i c u l a r l y a knowledge o f good and bad inmates, and how to
surv ive in th e p r is o n system. However, t h i s knowledge i s s h o r t l i v e d ,
e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r the f i r s t s i x months o f i n c a r c e r a t i o n , because the
younger inmate does n o t need, nor i s he a t t r a c t e d to the o l d e r
inmate. In p a r t , he has le a r n e d how to "do time" and does not need
the a s s i s t a n c e o f th e o l d e r inmate.
5 5 i t was common f o r the o l d e r inmates to convey t h a t they did
n o t want any power 1n the system any lo n ger. They "had t h e i r time"
and now the young guys control everyth in g. In e f f e c t , t h e r e was no
d e s i r e on t h e i r p a r t to be perceived as macho or tough. As f a r as
they were concerned, i t was a l l over. In p a r t , i n s t i t u t i o n a l l i f e had
burned many o f them o u t .

CHAPTER V

INMATES, OFFICERS, ADMINISTRATORS:

FOCAL CONCERNS

The previous c h a p t e r analyzed th e bases of socia l power among
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , o f f i c e r s , and inmates.

While attempting t o as s e s s th e

various power r e l a t i o n s among th e groups, i t did not examine s p e c i f i c
i s s u e s which may i n d i c a t e r e l a t i v e s t a b i l i t y or i n s t a b i l i t y , o f th e
institution.

The re for e, th e purpose of t h i s c h a p te r i s t o examine

s p e c i f i c focal concerns - - contraband, race r e l a t i o n s , i n s t i t u t i o n a l
misconducts, and homosexuality - - and how they r e l a t e to i n s t i t u t i o n a l
stability.

These measures were chosen because p a s t l i t e r a t u r e

suggested t h a t they were i n d i c a t o r s of pris on s t a b i l i t y [ C a r r o l l ,
1974).

The a n a l y s i s begins with an e x plan ation of contraband,

d e f i n i t i o n o f contraband and ty p es, a c c e s s i b i l i t y to contraband,
problems with con traband, and c o n s is te n cy o f contraband flow.
1.

Contraband
Contraband defined and types o f co ntr aband.

Contraband in the

prison environment can be thought of as being any unauthorized
substances o r m a t e r i a l s possessed by a p r is o n e r .

Some common examples

o f contraband goods a r e weapons, drugs, o r pos sessio n o f any item or

146

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product which belongs t o another inmate.

At HVMF contraband was

defined r e l a t i v e to th e s e rio u s n e ss o f the item.

For example,

"possession o f dangerous contraband" r e f e r s t o weapons, e x p lo s iv e s ,
a c i d s , c a u s t i c s , and any " c r i t i c a l " tool which may be dangerous a nd/or
used t o commit a v i o l e n t a c t .

On t h e o t h e r hand, contraband in

general r e f e r s t o th e "possession o r use o f non-dangerous property
which a r e s i d e n t has no a u t h o r i z a t i o n t o have, where t h e r e i s no
su sp ici o n of t h e f t o r f r a u d . "

Included in t h i s d e f i n i t i o n i s anything

with someone e l s e ' s name o r number on i t o r exce ssi ve s t o r e items.
In a d d i t i o n , the Michigan Department of Correc tion s has a l i s t of
items which they d e f i n e as general c a t e g o r i e s of a c ceptable p ropert y.
Everything not on th e l i s t i s co nsid e re d, by d e f i n i t i o n , as
contraband.

These general c a t e g o r i e s a r e l o cated in Appendix C.

The types of contraband a t HVMF were r e l a t i v e to the demand of the
inmate populati on; however, t h e r e were items which predominated within
th e inmate socia l o r g a n i z a t i o n .

In p a r t i c u l a r , marijuana and

spud-juice^ e x i s t e d as th e most common items.

I t was an accepted

f a c t among the groups t h a t marijuana and s pud-j uice were j u s t common
elements which e x i s t e d in a l l c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , and t h a t i f
you attempted to e r a d i c a t e th e s e elements from the p r i s o n e r s ' world
t h e r e would be many r e p e rc u s sio n s within the i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment.
I t was a consensus among p r i s o n e r s t h a t violence and a s s a u l t s
would in c r e a se i f th e contraband system was c u r t a i l e d .

In f a c t , many

o f f i c e r s agreed t h a t a denial o f t h e s e commodities t o inmates would

148

cause more problems, s p e c i f i c a l l y incr ea se d te n sio n within the prison
environment.

Understanding t h e value of contraband i s e s s e n t i a l t o

maintaining a s t a b l e p r is o n s e t t i n g .
While the consumption of alcohol and marijuana was f a i r l y common
2
a t HVMF, th e p iv o tal t h e o r e t i c a l e x planation o f such behavior can
be t ra c e d back t o th e formal prison s t r u c t u r e , where because of the
lack o f many f ora al rewards a n d / o r i n c e n t i v e s , Inmates developed t h e i r
own system as a method o f coping with i n c a r c e r a t i o n .

However, while

th e se behaviors can be cons idered as s t r u c t u r a l a d a p ta ti o n s on the
p a r t o f inmates, they a l s o r ep res en ted an o r g a n i z a ti o n a l contro l
mechanism.

A group of o f f i c e r s discus sed the value of contraband,

s p e c i f i c a l l y marijuana In making t h e i r jo b s e a s i e r .

Officers

desc rib ed th e r o le of marijuana in t h i s f ash ion:
A:
When t h e s e guys ar e high, I d o n ' t have to worry
about them. They d o n ' t b other me o r anyone e l s e and I can
contr ol them much e a s i e r . . .
I t ' s a pain in th e as s to
always l i s t e n to t h e i r b i t c h i n g . When t h e y ' r e high they
u s u a ll y s ta y 1n t h e i r c e l l s and everything i s f i n e . . .
t h a t makes n\y job much e a s i e r .

A:
While dope causes a l o t of problems . . . i t
s t i l l i s good because I d o n ' t have t o watch th e guys a l l
the time. Plus, they a r e n ' t h u r tin g anyone but
themselves. T h a t ' s O.K. with me 'cause I get no problems
from them.

A:
Marijuana can cause some problems, e s p e c i a l l y
f i g h t s and stabbings . . . but I'm t e l l i n g you sometimes
i t ' s good because people ar e calmer when t h e i r stoned.

149

A c c e s s i b i l i t y t o Contraband
The a c c e s s i b i l i t y t o contraband a t HVMF was c o n tin g e n t upon the
types and amounts o f contraband which one d e s ir e d .

For example, i t

was a consensus among o f f i c e r s and inmates t h a t dangerous contraband
needed to be c o n t r o l l e d and s t r i c t l y monitored, each group b e lie v in g
t h a t the i n t r o d u c t i o n of an exce ssiv e number o f knives (shanks) a nd/or
o t h e r dangerous weapons produced more d i s o r g a n i z a t i o n r a t h e r than
3
comfort to the inmate so c ia l world.
As one o f f i c e r put i t :
"You've got to stop th ose shanks (knives) from being made.

I f you

do

t h a t , y o u ' l l be in good shape running t h i s p l a c e . "
While dangerous contraband, such as weapons, were not as p r e v a le n t
a t HVMF, o t h e r types o f contraband, e s p e c i a l l y marijuana , were more
common.

How t h i s was brought in t o the I n s t i t u t i o n was relayed by

inmates:
A:

With th e o f f i c e r s .

I:

Is t h a t th e most common way?

A:
For q u a n t i t i e s , y e s . J u s t f o r some to g et
y o u r s e l f r i g h t , you can g e t i t when y o u ' r e v i s i t i n g and
(?) i t up and you know, bring i t in .
I:

Can an o f f i c e r make a l o t o f money doing t h a t ?

A:

Yeah,

Since th e to p ic

o f course.
o f contraband markets was a s e n s i t i v e a r e a ,

i t was

d i f f i c u l t to d is c e rn e x a c t f i g u r e s r e l a t i n g t o amounts and types of
contraband.

However, i t was a consensus among inmates t h a t a

s u f f i c i e n t amount o f contraband was being brought i n t o the i n s t i t u t i o n

150

by o f f i c e r s .

Moreover, th e type o f contraband was In most ca s e s a

drug, s p e c i f i c a l l y mar ijuana .

By g r antin g t h i s Item, s e l e c t o f f i c e r s

provided some Inmates with commodities which they sold o r b a r t e r e d to
o t h e r inmates.

In t u r n , o f f i c e r s received a sense of control from

th e se p r is o n e r s and 1 t enabled them t o f u n c t io n smoothly w ith in th e
p r is o n s e t t i n g .

S p e c i f i c a l l y , key Inmates provided o f f i c e r s with

o r d e r in th e i n s t i t u t i o n in r e t u r n f o r the contraband items.
In a d d i t i o n , many inmates suggested t h a t t h e r e was no r i s k to t h i s
type o f b u s in e s s , s in c e many o f f i c e r s understood t h e value of
contraband t o th e environment.

Also, th e ac tua l im por tation o f

contraband was done only in small amounts.

In e f f e c t , o f f i c e r s were

not going to bring in much contraband i f i t was gong t o r a i s e th e
s u sp ic io n s o f s u p e r i o r s .
T y p ic a lly , th e o f f i c e r who was new to the system and did not
understand th e many problems a s s o c i a t e d with such an a c t i v i t y was
involved in contraband smuggling.

Experienced o f f i c e r s des cribed

smuggling o f contraband in t h i s f ash io n :
A:
Them young guys always g e t caught bringing in
dope. . . . They u s u a l l y got a l o t o f problems o u t s i d e
and they think t h a t brin g in g in dope can solve t h e i r
problems. But t h e rea l problem happens when them
inmates blackmail those young guys . . . once your
hooked by an inmate, he can use you u n t i l he i s f i n i s h e d
with you . . . then he blows th e w h i s t l e on you. . . .
You j u s t c a n ' t t r u s t any o f t h e s e a s s h o le s . Th ey'll
screw you every time, and u n t i l they g e t everything out
o f you.

151

A:
These young guys ( o f f i c e r s ) a r e the
dummies. . . . They l e t th e s e Inmates fool them t h a t
contraband i s good f o r th e p lace. S h i t , once they ar e
through using the a s s h o l e , they throw them to them
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . . . then th e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s f i r e t h e i r
asses.
While i t was t r u e t h a t o f f i c e r s did bring in milde r forms of
contraband i n t o th e f a c i l i t y , t h i s a c t i v i t y was not r e s t r i c t e d t o
officers.

In f a c t , i t was common t o hear inmates d e s c r ib e t h e i r

" s t u f f " as coming in through t h e i r v i s i t s .
A:
OK, n\y experience from what I can s e e , Ok l i k e
people come i n , and people from th e o u t s i d e , you know,
they fin d i t a l l ov er , you know. So, f o r in s ta n c e l i k e
a woman, you know, she come in and she got th e s t u f f on
her—a c t u a l l y , t h e r e ' s two pl aces they could put i t ,
t h a t ' s . . . All r i g h t , one, i t could go, put 1 t i n her
vagina o r they can p ut i t in her rectum, o r , even in her
b r a s s i e r e , you know? But most o f t h i s come in through
th e boc[y c o n t a c t , you know.

A:
A l o t o f o f f i c e r s ar e t i g h t . . . you c a n ' t
g e t s h i t from them, so you g e t your s t u f f brought in by
v i s i t s . Them o f f i c e r s ar e so concerned about counting
heads a t v i s i t s , they d o n ' t see th e s h i t coming in .

A:
I t ' s not l i k e in some o t h e r j o i n t s . . . t h i s
place i s sm aller but you s t i l l can g e t you r drugs
i n . . . . Why worry about i t .
I t only makes t h e i r job
hard t o do.
So, drugs were made a c c e s s i b l e to inmates through o f f i c e r s and
visits.

Once in th e i n s t i t u t i o n , these drugs could be consumed or

sold to people f o r f a v o r s , something which was des cr ibed e a r l i e r as a
form of resource power.

Because o f the demands f o r th e s e r e s o u r c e s ,

they a t t a i n e d a very high value among th e inmate po p u lati o n .

In f a c t ,

152

as one Inmate s t a t e d t o me, "Money i s power in here; i f you have
drugs, you have money and power."

Again, th e demand was r e l a t i v e to

the d e p r iv a t io n s experienced by th e inmate pop ulat ion .
Moreover, t h e s e drugs were only a c c e s s i b l e t o those who were able
t o pay f o r them; no money — no s e r v i c e s .

Furthermore, i f payment

could not be done through money, o t h e r avenues were r e s o r t e d to in an
at tem pt to pay back t h e s u p p l i e r s .

For example, c i g a r e t t e s were

thought of as a common exchange item w ithin the I n s t i t u t i o n .

This

type o f payment was a l s o evidenced in t h e gambling debts in cur re d by
inmates.

On one occ as ion, I witnessed an inmate paying his gambling
4
debt t o another inmate with c a r t o n s o f c i g a r e t t e s .
In e f f e c t , drugs and o t h e r forms o f "soft"® contraband were
a c c e s s i b l e to th e inmate a t HVMF i f he was ab le t o pay f o r th e product
or service.

I t was when t h e demand f o r such products was high and

t h e r e were no means a c c e s s i b l e t o gain them t h a t problem areas
developed w ithin th e inmate population.
S p e c i f i c a l l y , inmates experienced a form of s t r a i n when
commodities were not o b t a i n a b l e .

As a r e s u l t , th e inmate attempted to

cope through var ious exchange r e l a t i o n s h i p s with o f f i c e r s , something
examined e a r l i e r as a form of accommodation between keeper and kept.
I t was when the s t r a i n became unbearable t h a t problems occurred within
the environment.
Problems with Contraband
Because the i n s t i t u t i o n a l - s t r u c t u r a l makeup o f the prison
o r g a n iz a tio n did not supply a s u f f i c i e n t number of l e g i t i m a t e

153

o p p o r t u n i t i e s , inmates were l e f t with t h e i r own methods o f coping with
incarceration.

In response to t h i s c o n d i t i o n , some inmates were able

t o l i v e r e l a t i v e l y well in r e l a t i o n to o t h e r inmates, in l a r g e p a r t
due to t h e i r a b i l i t y t o ac ces s and d i s t r i b u t e key items, most
considered contraband, to the inmate pop ulat ion.

However, while

marijuana provided an Inmate with th e a b i l i t y t o cope with his
i n c a r c e r a t i o n , i t did cause problems w ithin the pris on environment.
For example, when t h i s t o p i c was discu ssed with a group o f inmates,
one voiced the opinion o f th e group when he s t a t e d :
causes ten sio n in p r is o n .

" . . .

weed

I b e lie v e t h a t the i n s t i t u t i o n , when i t ' s

necessary to have t e n s i o n , extreme, o r a d is tu r b a n c e , w il l bring weed
i n t o the i n s t i t u t i o n . . . weed causes a l l kinds of problems."
Because o f the overwhelming demand f o r t h i s type of contraband,
inmates r e s o r t e d to v io le n c e , t h e f t , and a l l forms o f manipulation.
In f a c t , the "hustle"*5 f o r contraband items was so g r e a t t h a t
inmates were c o n t i n u a l l y being swindled by each o t h e r in o r d e r t o gain
s t a t u s and p r e s t i g e w ithin the lo o sely co n s tr u cted inmate
hierarchy.7

In s h o r t , the h u s tl i n g of inmates by inmates c r e a te d a

crime r a t e w ithin th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e , includ ing r o b b e r i e s ,
a s s a u l t s , k n i f i n g s , and t h e f t .

In a d d i t i o n , the commodities, monies,

and s e r v i c e s a v a i l a b l e a t HVMF were se vere ly l i m i t e d as compared to
o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s in the system.

As a r e s u l t , th e d e p r iv a tio n a l

experience o f the average Inmate was much more in te n s e and he was
prone to i l l e g a l a c t i v i t i e s .

154

This c o ndition was f o s t e r e d by an environmental s t r u c t u r e which
attempted t o contr ol contraband 1n a formal sense, while a t the same
time provided no means t o e f f e c t i v e l y deal with th e f r u s t r a t i o n s and
a n x i e t i e s of the inmate popu la ti on.

The product o f t h i s kind of

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e arrangement I s simple to p r e d i c t :

more criminal

a c t i v i t y on th e p a r t o f Inmates as a mechanism of Innovation in coping
with th e pains o f imprisonment.
Contraband can produce many problems within the pris on s e t t i n g ;
however, th ese problems must be cons idered in l i g h t o f the
o r g a n iz a ti o n a l s t r u c t u r e o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n . At HVMF, l i k e o t h e r
c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s throughout t h e co untry, contraband markets
served the purpose o f providing inmates with goods and s e r v i c e s which
were denied them because of t h e i r i n c a r c e r a t i o n .

Knowing t h a t th e

formal s t r u c t u r e was going t o provide them with a l i m i t e d number of
items, inmates developed t h e i r own scheme of access and d i s t r i b u t i o n
o f goods and s e r v i c e s , which by d e f i n i t i o n i s contraband.

This, in

t u r n , c r e a te d a s i t u a t i o n where th e inmate demand could not be met
when formal con trol mechanisms worked well by the informal and i l l e g a l
d i s t r i b u t i o n o f contraband.

The i n e v i t a b l e consequence was violence

and t h e f t among inmates f o r t h e s e valued re sources.

Also, the

d i s t r i b u t o r s o f these r es ource s were placed i n t o powerful p o s i t i o n s ,
r e s u l t i n g l a r g e l y from t h e i r a b i l i t y to ac ces s the contraband through
o f f i c e r complicity a n d /o r v i s i t o r involvement.

155

At HVMF both o f f i c e r s and v i s i t o r s were considered by a m ajo rity
o f th e inmate population as the avenues o f a cces s, with some Inmates
and o f f i c e r s expr es sing th e f a c t t h a t some contraband, s p e c i f i c a l l y
marijuana, s t a b i l i z e d the pris on environment and made I n s t i t u t i o n a l
l i f e more bea ra ble f o r both Inmates and o f f i c e r s .

What i s being

suggested i s t h a t while t h e r e were problems with contraband, in th e
form o f a s s a u l t s and v i o l e n c e , th e long-term e f f e c t was one of
s t a b i l i z a t i o n o f the p r is o n s e t t i n g .
S t a b i l i t y o f Contraband Flow and I n s t i t u t i o n a l Control
As a form o f power, t h e n , th ose inmates and some o f f i c e r s who were
a ble to provide key r esou rces t o inmates were a b le t o e x e r c i s e power
a t HVMF.

Because o f t h e i n t e n s e demand f o r some o f th e contraband

product s, p a r t i c u l a r l y marijuana and s p u d -j u ic e , inmates developed
i l l e g i t i m a t e s t r u c t u r e s and avenues o f access which helped them with
th e i r incarceration.

The key Inmate f i g u r e s who were able to contr ol

these contraband markets provided a sense of s t a b i l i t y t o the pr ison
environment.

By providing and monitoring th e flow of contraband, both

inmates and o f f i c e r s were a ble to appease a l a r g e p o r ti o n of the
inmate popu la ti on, making them more t r a c t a b l e in the long run.
O
The " co rru ption o f a u t h o r i t y " as suggested by th e l i t e r a t u r e
was a necessary p a r t o f th e s t r u c t u r e a t HVMF.

In response to the

formal pris on h i e r a r c h y , th e a c c e s s i b i l i t y , a v a i l a b i l i t y , and
d i s t r i b u t i o n o f some contraband was necessary and e s s e n t i a l to prison
e q u ilib riu m .

In s h o r t , th e p r i s o n ' s formal s t r u c t u r e would crumble i f

not supported by the i l l e g a l s e c t o r o r th e contraband system.

156

In t u r n , th e informal o r g a n i z a t i o n o f inmates which supported the
contraband markets provided needed s t a b i l i t y to th e environment.
Therefo re , th e informal system enabled th e formal s t r u c t u r e t o sta nd.
I r o n i c a l l y , contraband markets c r e a t e d and p e rpetuated th e c u r r e n t
or g a n iz a tio n a l s t r u c t u r e a t HVMF.

I f , f o r example, a d m i n i s t r a t o r s

attempted to clamp down on th e contraband markets, they would r e c e iv e
negative feedback from a good p o r tio n o f the inmate p opula tion.

In

t u r n , th e informal accommodative r e l a t i o n s h i p s between p r i s o n e r and
o f f i c e r would be in q u e s t i o n , something which cannot occur i f o f f i c e r s
and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s seek co n tr o l over the pr ison environment.
Since contraband has value 1n th e i n s t i t u t i o n , i t was e s s e n t i a l
t h a t the amount be c o n t r o l l e d .

I f too much contraband was c i r c u l a t e d

w ith in th e inmate environment, many more inmates would attempt to
e n t e r the market as d e a l e r s .

With t h i s ev ent, however, th e r e would be

an in c r e a se in com petition among s u p p l i e r s .

T y p ic a lly , w ithin pr ison

s e t t i n g s t h i s com pe tition i s resolved through physical f o r c e ,
s p e c i f i c a l l y a c t s o f v io le n c e among co mpetitors ( K alin ic h , 1980).
2.

Race R elations
Carroll (1974) has suggested t h a t w i th i n a p u n i t i v e cu s to d ia l

i n s t i t u t i o n the idea o f race r e l a t i o n s t y p i c a l l y l o s e s I t s
s i g n i f i c a n c e when th e d e p r i v a t io n s o f inmates ar e so g r e a t t h a t
cohesion i s necessary f o r i n s t i t u t i o n a l s u r v i v a l .

In s h o r t , inmates

r e q u i r e group s o l i d a r i t y when the pris on experience a f f e c t s them
e q u a lly .

On th e o th e r -h a n d , with the r i s e o f th e c i v i l r i g h t s

157

movement and th e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n among black Inmates w ith black
n a tio n a lism and e q u a li t y before th e law, the t y p i c a l l y s i t u a t e d inmate
s o c ie ty began t o break down, w ith black s i d e n tif y in g with a black
i d e n t i t y e x t e r i o r to th e p riso n and o fte n seg reg atin g themselves from
th e o ld , w hite power s t r u c t u r e w ith in th e p ris o n environment.

T his,

in t u r n , produced a d i s p a r a te number o f groups and gangs w ith in the
p riso n s e t t i n g ; th e s e groups o fte n a t t r a c t e d members who were o f th e
same race and socio-economic s t a t u s and who could i d e n t i f y with the
q
c u l t u r a l values o f th e group.
The long-term e f f e c t was t h a t d i f f e r i n g gangs competed f o r con trol
and power w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l s e t t i n g , causing many problems and
c o n f l i c t s m otivated from a r a c ia l p e r s p e c tiv e .

In e f f e c t , th e 6 0 's

saw th e more c u l t u r a l l y aware and e th n ic o r ie n te d in d iv id u a l coming
in to th e p e n i t e n t i a r y , breaking down th e t r a d i t i o n a l l y white dominated
con s tr u c t u r e .

In a d d i t i o n , black inmates attem pted to over-throw

t h i s t r a d i t i o n a l model o f inmate o r g a n iz a tio n , one t h a t had been white
o r ie n te d and c o n t r o l l e d , through v io len ce and f e a r .

As Irwin (1980)

s t a t e s t h i s became more o f a s o c ia l r e a l i t y f o r b lack s in th e 6 0 's :
"As black p r is o n e r s developed t h e i r new i d e n t i t i e s , experienced new
l e v e l s o f rag e, and s t e a d i l y a s s e r t e d themselves more and more in th e
p riso n p u b lic l i f e , r a c i a l h o s t i l i t i e s and e v e n tu a lly r a c ia l v io lence
in c re a se d ."
O rg a n iz a tio n a lly , with th e in f lu x o f more "hum anitarian reforms"
in the p riso n environment and th e group i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f black

158

Inmates with t h e i r own c u l t u r a l v alu es, th e p riso n environment became
a place where group s o l i d a r i t y was no lo n g er needed; s p e c i f i c a l l y , i f
th e d e p riv a tio n s experienced by inmates became l e s s severe as a group,
they no lo n g er r e l i e d on th e t r a d i t i o n a l l y white con-power s t r u c t u r e .
The p riso n evolved i n t o a conglomeration o f sm aller groups, each
o r ie n te d toward th e accomplishment o f t h e i r own o b je c tiv e s and g o a ls.
In s h o r t , th e p riso n environment became more fragmented.
With t h i s fragm en tatio n o f th e p riso n environment came th e
importance o f r e l a t io n s h i p s and arrangements among the competing
groups, o fte n s tr u c tu r e d along r a c ia l l i n e s .

S p e c i f i c a l l y , blacks

developed t h e i r own subgroup s t r u c t u r e , as well as w hites and
Mexican-American g r o u p s . ^

Furtherm ore, the focus became more

revolved around th e i n t e r a c t i o n s th e se groups had with each o th e r in
m aintain ing th e p r is o n e r world; a l s o , th e se d iv e rse groups tended to
f o s t e r sep aratism and a l i e n a t i o n from th e old co n v ic t code and each
developed i t s own norms and r u le s regard ing group behavior in r e l a t i o n
to both group members and non-members.

What became problem atic was

th e r e l a tio n s h i p s th e se groups had in th e o rg a n iz a tio n o f the
contemporary p r is o n e r s o c ie ty .
What i s im portant i s th e type o f race r e l a t i o n s between the
competing groups and how they functioned w ith in the c o r r e c tio n a l
environment.

However, o f g r e a t e r s ig n if i c a n c e , t h e o r e t i c a l l y , 1s the

relevancy o f d e p r iv a tio n as a s tim u la n t o f race as a key v a r ia b le in
understanding p r is o n e r o r g a n iz a tio n .

C arro ll s t a t e s :

159

Thus, while under co n d itio n s o f high d e p riv a tio n and
c o n t r o l, race may be o f minimal s ig n if ic a n c e w ith in the
p r is o n ; as d e p r iv a tio n and co n tro l a re decreased, race
i s l i k e l y t o assume g r e a t e r s o c ia l s ig n if ic a n c e . Today,
as a r e s u l t o f th e coincidence o f humanitarian reforms
w ith in p ris o n s and r a c i a l - e t h n i c so cia l movements
o u tsid e th e p r is o n , th e s t r u c t u r e o f so cial
r e l a t io n s h i p s w ith in p ris o n s i s in c re a s in g ly ta k in g on
th e c h a r a c te r o f race r e l a t i o n s .
In essen ce, race r e l a t i o n s become an im portant to p ic in understanding
th e p r is o n e r world and p riso n o r g a n iz a tio n .

By exp loring th e

i n t e r a c t i o n o f th e ra c e s , one i s able to c o n s tr u c t an understanding o f
how Inmates cope and su rv iv e w ith in th e p riso n s e t t i n g .
Race r e l a t i o n s a t HVMF had a sp e c ia l c h a r a c te r .
i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment, groups were i d e n t i f i a b l e .

Within the
For example,

many o f th e r e l i g i o u s groups a t HVMF were divided along r a c ia l l i n e s ,
w ith th e Muslims being e x c lu s iv e ly black and th e C h ris tia n
denominations predominantly w hite.

These black r e l ig i o u s groups, a ll

being d i f f e r e n t v a r i a n t s o f th e Islam r e l i g i o n , exem plified th e black
movement o f th e 6 0 's and the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f
id e a s , values and norms.

Many Muslims

black message as expressed through th e

th ese groups with black

relayed th e importance o f th e
Islam ic r e l i g i o n :

A:
Islam i s th e r e l ig i o n o f
t r u t h . . . The
Europeans (w hites) d o n 't have no t r u e r e l i g i o n . T heir
r e l i g i o n i s based on hate and suppression o f th e black
people . . . With Islam black people can i d e n t if y with
themselves and th e tr u e c r e a t o r , Allah.

A:
Us b lack s need th e t r u t h o f Islam to keep up
going In t h i s p la c e . . . .
We know t h a t some day the
t r u t h w ill come o u t about th e t r u e Allah and h is message
f o r blacks.

160

A:
There I s no t r u e r e l ig io n f o r blacks but Islam
. . . through our Islam ic b r o th e r s , we u n ite as one
a g a i n s t th e w h ites. . . .
We need t h i s kind o f th in g
because many w h ites d o n 't give us ar*yth1ng. We d o n 't
h ate w h ites, we j u s t d o n 't t r u s t them.
Because o f th e sm allness o f th e I n s t i t u t i o n , th e Muslims were the
most I d e n t i f i a b l e groups w ith in th e p riso n s e t t i n g . 11

While they

were n o tic e a b le as a group because o f t h e i r r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f s and
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w ith black sep aratism , they were a ls o viewed as very
powerful v i s - a - v i s th e white groups 1n th e I n s t i t u t i o n .

In f a c t , th e

only white group t h a t was I d e n t i f i a b l e a t HVMF was th e " b i k e r s . " 12
However, th e se b ik e rs were not r e a l l y a group o r gang in th e sense
t h a t they were organized and devoted to any cause.

On th e c o n tr a ry ,

they were o f small numbers and u su ally only congregated when they a te
in th e d ining h a ll (see f ig u r e 4 .1 ) .
O bservations throughout the I n s t i t u t i o n In d ic a te d t h a t many
Inmates tended to a s s o c i a t e with only a few s e l e c t In d iv id u a ls and
t h a t th e group s tr u c t u r e o f th e p riso n was based on a lo o se ly
organized s e r i e s o f c liq u e s o r groups la r g e l y divided along r a c ia l
lin es.
Social Location o f Racial Groups
Figure 5.1 p o r tr a y s th e so cia l lo c a tio n o f p r is o n e r s w ith in the
dayrooms o f one o f th e housing u n i t s .
s eg reg atio n o f inmates.

The drawing i n d i c a te s th e

These dayrooms were designed f o r d i f f e r e n t

FIGURE 5.1

SEGREGATION OF BLACK AND WHITE PRISONERS IN
HOUSING UNIT DAYROOMS

Entrance
M|TV

Outer
Doors
Inner
Doors

Officer
Station
I TABLE I M

• I TABLE I

• - Black Prisoners
o - White Prisoners
© - Officers

162

a c tiv itie s.
ta b le .

Within th e a c tiv e dayroom th e r e was a t e l e v i s i o n and pool

In some housing u n i t s , th e r e was a ls o a ping pong t a b l e .

The

p a ssiv e dayroom was used by inmates f o r w r i ti n g , read in g , playing
c a r d s , and general r e l a x a t i o n .

T y p ic a lly , black inmates congregated

in th e a c ti v e dayroom, while white Inmates s i t u a t e d them selves In th e
p assiv e dayroom.

I n t e r e s t i n g l y enough, t h i s was a very common

occurrence a t HVMF.
The p iv o ta l is s u e i s whether the s eg reg atio n was v o l u n t a r i l y
c o n s tru c te d o r based on some type o f r a c i a l h atred between black s and
w h ite s.

One black inmate suggested t h a t th e s e a re a s were

" t e r r i t o r i e s " f o r each r a c ia l group to lo c a t e and rap about items
which they had in common with each o th e r .

When asked could a white

inmate go i n t o th e a c t i v e dayroom and demand t h a t he be allowed to
play pool, a black inmate s ta t e d t h a t i t would never happen.
responded:

He

" I f a dumb w hite boy t r i e d t h a t , then he b e t t e r be ready

t o throw d o w n ." ^
What t h i s inmate f e l t was t h a t black p r is o n e r s did not
p a r t i c u l a r l y h ate o r d i s l i k e white inm ates, but they did have a reas
which white inmates had to r e s p e c t.

In essen ce, th e r e were u nw ritten

r u le s about how Whites and blacks were to I n t e r a c t w ith each o th e r ;
some behaviors were j u s t not t o l e r a t e d and inmates re sp e c te d t h i s type
o f arrangement:
A:
No black h ates w hites . . . i t ' s j u s t t h a t we
d o n 't g e t along to g e t h e r t o t a l l y . They do t h e i r th in g
and I ' l l do mine. . . . I th in k a l o t o f guys fe e l t h i s
way.

163

A:
Some guys (b la c k s) d o n 't l i k e th e w hites
because they th in k they oppressed them. . . .
I d o n 't
know I f t h a t 1s t r u e , b u t 1 t I s hard because we a re so
d iffe re n t. . . .
I f ig u r e I f a man gives you r e s p e c t , I
d o n 't ca re what c o l o r he 1s.

A:
Them boots (b la c k s) th in k they own t h i s p lace
. . . alwe^s c ry in g to th e man . . . but I ' l l t e l l you
I 'v e got my space and they b e t t e r r e s p e c t I t . I r e s p e c t
ar\y man who d o e s n 't s h i t on me. . . . They leave me
alone and I ' l l leav e them alone.

A:
I t ' s common 1n p riso n f o r black s and w hites to
s e p a ra te . . . .
We do our th in g and they do t h e i r s .
That way no problems a r i s e . . . .
I know I t ' s b e t t e r
f o r th e races to be div ided and each go I t s own viay.
Any o th e r way and b lack s a re going to fuck i t up f o r a l l
o f us.
This s e p a ra tio n o f b lack s and w hites was a ls o evidenced in the
i n s t i t u t i o n a l scho ol.

F igure 5 .2 d e p ic ts the self-im po sed seg reg atio n

which black and white inmates had upon them selves.
What i s suggested, however, 1s t h a t th e d e p riv a tio n i s high a t
HVMF, but t h a t th e s e p a ra tio n o f b lack s and w hites i s not explained
through th e r h e t o r i c o f black n a tio n a lism and a r i s i n g black i d e n t i t y ,
along with a h atred on the p a r t o f w hites toward b lack s. Blacks and
14
w hites did not p a r t i c u l a r l y hate each o th e r
— they j u s t had
nothing in common.

This lack o f commonality between the groups

f o s te r e d d i v is io n s , and th e s e d iv is i o n s lead black and w hite inmates
t o cope with t h e i r in c a r c e r a ti o n in v o lu ntary se g re g a tio n .

164

FIGURE 5.2
SEGREGATION OF BLACK AND WHITE PRISONERS
IN INSTITUTIONAL SCHOOL

Law C o u n selo r’s Officer
Library
Station
Office

Administrative
Offices

©

• e
• •

••

oo

• #
e

o

o
o

©

e #
oo
oo

• •

E n tran ces

e - Black P riso n ers

o - W hite P riso n ers
© - Officers
- C lassroom s

165

This s t a t e o f a f f a i r s was in flu x co n tin g e n t upon how th e degree
o f d e p riv a tio n a f f e c t e d th ose elem ents which were common to both
r a c ia l groups.
Problems Between the Races:

Unifying and S egregating Themes

In regard t o race r e l a t i o n s and r a c ia l te n s io n , i t appeared t h a t
r e l a t i o n s between blacks and w hites was q u ite good a t HVMF compared to
15
o th e r i n s t i t u t i o n s in th e s t a t e .
One p a r t i c u l a r in c id e n t an
inmate conveyed demonstrated the Importance o f recognizing the
in fo rm al, vo lu n tary s e g re g a tio n o f th e ra c e s:
I:
Would i t be common to see blacks and w hites
s o c i a l i z i n g in t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n , in the same dayroom,
y ard time?
A:
S o c i a l i z i n g , no.
something l i k e t h a t , yeah.
I:

General co n v ersatio n o r

Would they be frowned upon . . .?

A:
I f I would spend a l o t o f time with e i t h e r a
group o r an in d iv id u al b la c k , some people around here
would s t a r t to wonder what was up.
I:

Because t h e y 'd th in k what, y o u 'r e a s is sy ?

A: T hat, o r t h e y 'r e using me o r something . . .
then they would know something was up.
I:
I f a black hung around w ith a l o t o f w h ite s,
would the black a ls o have th e same thing?
A:

Yeah.

I:
And t h a t ' s j u s t been something t h a t ' s always
been in th e i n s t i t u t i o n s , i t ' s not something t h a t , i t ' s
a very common t h i n g , t h a t idea o f s e p a ra tio n .

166

A:
I th in k t h e r e w ill always be, but i t ' s g e t t i n g
t o be, t h e r e 's no real t i g h t te n sio n h ere, where you
have to worry about a race r i o t o r a r a c i a l gang t r y i n '
t o move In and b e a t somebody up and take somebody's
p ro p e rty . Not because a black o r a w hite gang c o u l d n 't
i f they wanted t o . There are p r e t ty s o li d people h ere,
as f a r as g e tt i n g to g e th e r . I had problems with one guy
one time I g o t in a f i g h t w ith. He used come o u t here
and he was a loud-mouth b lack. And they wanted to
h a s s le because I was a young white guy. That went on
f o r about 2 weeks, and f i n a l l y I cornered him and we
almost fought t i l l he backed down. But he had brought
6 blacks w ith him and I had brought 6 w h ite s. . . . Most
o f the blacks had r e a l i z e d t h a t . . . was g e ttin g . . .
he was j u s t blowing h o t a i r , they j u s t , they d i d n 't even
want to t a l k to him anymore. The same with th e w h ite s,
they kind o f u p l i f t e d me, you know.
I:

. . .

s t a r t b u lly in g . . .

A:
R ight, b u t I'm s a y in ' . . . r a c ia l i s , i t
could have been . . . me and him.
'Cause t h a t ' s whereI
. . . look l i k e he came back with 6 o f h is b r o th e rs and
s a i d , OK now, l e t ' s go an have a f r e e f o r a l l . So I
. . . n\y own f r i e n d s , I s a id l e t ' s me and you go back
t h e r e . And th e black s and w hites a re p r e t ty much
to g e th e r on i t , because i t was an o th er black t h a t
brought up th e id e a —you two go back th e r e alone and
s e t t l e t h i s th in g o u t.
I:
in .

We d o n 't need . . .

A:
R ight, we w ill be here i f somebody e l s e jumps
I f something happens t h a t you need us.
I:

In o t h e r words, we d o n 't want to g e t involved?

A:
R ig ht, and . . . d i d n 't , you know, he w a s n 't
th in k in g . . . t h a t ' s why he went and got 'em. But
g e n e ra lly t h e r e 's not much r a c i a l , th e r e i s in d iv id u al
r a c i a l problems.
While not t o t a l l y accep tin g o f each o th e r as groups, black and
white inmates a t HVMF v o l u n t a r i l y segregated themselves because they
recognized the d iff e r e n c e s between themselves and each group did not

167

d e s ir e ten sio n in th e p riso n environment.

I f problems did a r i s e

between an In d iv idu al black Inmate and a white p r is o n e r , t h i s was
u s u a lly s e t t l e d by th e two d is p u ta n ts .

However, 1f th e c o n f l i c t

e s c a l a t e d , some groups did s te p in to th e s i t u a t i o n .

Because blacks

outnumbered w hites in th e i n s t i t u t i o n , ^ 6 i t was common f o r inmates
t o reveal how one r e l i g i o u s group (Moors) scared o f f th e w h ites:
I:

Is t h e r e r a c i a l te n s io n here?

A:
No, th e r e a i n ' t no r a c i a l te n sio n here, not
between, t h e r e 's no c o n f l i c t between th e b r o th e r s , man,
h ere. Because, I d o n 't know, t h e r e 's very few o f them
h e re , t h e r e 's not too many w hites h ere, th e Moors run
them o u t. . . .

A:
Them Moors got l o t s o f power. . . . None of
them w hites would fuck with them. They k i l l you,
e s p e c i a l l y i f y o u 'r e white and y o u 'r e running some
b u l l s h i t on them.

A:
The Moors a re th e group t h a t keep th e power
a g a in s t th e w hites . . . They know t h a t no w hites i s
going to fuck w ith them because th e mean busin ess . . .
w hites g e n e ra lly s ta y away from them.
In essence, because o f th e predominance o f black p r is o n e r s w ith in
th e inmate s o c ia l system, white inmates had very l i t t l e c o e rc iv e power
o ver t h e i r non-white c o u n te r p a r ts .

In a d d itio n , black inmates were

a b le to gain compliance through the r e f e r e n t power they developed
w ith in t h e i r r e l i g i o u s groups.

However, while seg reg ated v o l u n t a r i l y ,

th e inmate o r g a n iz a tio n was a b le to s o l i d i f y when an is s u e arose which
a f f e c te d them c o l l e c t i v e l y .

One o f th e is s u e s which aro se which

168

s o l i d i f i e d the inmate p o l i t y was the o rg a n iz a tio n and o p e ra tio n o f the
p r is o n e r s to r e .
Because merchandise and commercial products a re e s s e n t i a l in the
a d a p ta tio n to th e p ris o n environment, i t i s paramount t h a t th e se
p roducts be d i s t r i b u t e d t o inmates on a re g u la r b a s is .

Many inmates

complained about how th e s to r e was poorly run and lacked th e necessary
a r t i c l e s which inmates req u ired t o cope with I n c a r c e r a tio n .

A r t ic le s

l i k e soap, to o th p a s te , deodorant, candy, c i g a r e t t e s a r e e s s e n t i a l to a
menial e x is te n c e o f aqy p r is o n e r , re g a rd le s s of h is r a c i a l
background.

Because o f th e perceived inadequacies o f th e s to r e

o p e r a tio n , inm ates, both black and w h ite, p r o te s te d vehemently to the
p riso n a d m in is tra tio n t h a t th e o p e ra tio n needed to be a l t e r e d .
Recognizing th e many problems with th e s to r e o p e r a tio n , th e warden
organized I t d i f f e r e n t l y and promised th e Inmate body t h a t a
re o rg a n iz a tio n would occur in th e s y s t e m . ^
What was im portant about t h i s event was t h a t i t s o l i d i f i e d the
d iv e rs e Inmate groups, u su a lly d ivid ed along r a c i a l l i n e s , in to a
co h esiv ely s tr u c t u r e d group with i d e n t i f i a b l e demands and o b j e c t iv e s .
This was something which th e a d m in is tr a tio n could not n e g le c t in th e
maintenance o f th e e n t i r e o r g a n iz a tio n .

In e f f e c t , race r e l a t i o n s as

a s i g n i f i c a n t to p ic w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment lo s e s i t s
importance when o th e r p re ss in g demands face the Inmate p o l i t y ,
s p e c i f i c a l l y is s u e s which a f f e c t th e lev el o f d e p r iv a tio n inmates
e x p erien ce.

Consequently, race r e l a t i o n s have an impact on th e le v e l

169

o f power and c o n tro l c e r t a i n groups have w ith in th e p ris o n s e t t i n g .
N ev erth eless, t h i s is s u e may become secondary as o th e r primary
concerns face th e e n t i r e Inmate o r g a n iz a tio n .
Race R e la tio n s ;

A ffe c t on Power and Control

Knowing t h a t black inmates outnumbered white p r is o n e r s a t HVMF
c r e a te d a s i t u a t i o n where i n f l u e n t i a l blacks were ab le to gain
conform ity from mapy o th e r black inm ates.

N o ticeably , th e power o f

th e black r e l i g i o u s groups was high, with r e f e r e n t type power being
th e predominant method o f c o n t r o l.

The power o f i n f l u e n t i a l black

inmates w ith in th e r e l i g i o u s groups was decreased when a l l Inmates
were experiencing in te n s e r e p re s s io n a n d /o r d e p r iv a tio n .

The

r e s u l t i n g s i t u a t i o n was one where inmates organized to voice t h e i r
o p p o s itio n to p a r t i c u l a r c o n d itio n s which they found r e p re h e n s ib le .
Until th e s i t u a t i o n was a l t e r e d , th e inmate s o c ie ty was t i g h t l y
bound.

When f i n a l l y r e c t i f i e d , Inmates f e l l back in to t h e i r old

s o c ia l arrangem ents, where r a c i a l d i v is io n e x is te d and v o lu n tary
s eg reg atio n was t a c i t l y encouraged.

T h erefo re, as a method of

c o n t r o l , a d m in is tr a to r s attem pted to d i f f u s e th e r e f e r e n t power o f the
r e l i g i o u s groups and t h e i r le a d e r s through the c r e a t io n o f a common
18
problem which a l l inmates could I d e n t i f y .
Conversely, they
attem pted to break up th e inmate o rg a n iz a tio n through th e p e rp e tu a tio n
o f d i v is io n s between th e ra c e s .

This would keep th e Inmate

o rg a n iz a tio n fragmented and much e a s i e r to c o n t r o l.

170

The l a t t e r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s more probable sin ce th e former would
c r e a te a more organized and u n if ie d group o f p r is o n e r s .

T h erefore, i t

would behoove them to d iv id e th e inmate o rg a n iz a tio n :
I:
Well, how about th in g s l i k e Inmate groups—are
th e r e inmate groups in here? And i f th e r e a r e , are they
powerful . . .
A:
Well, yeah. The Moslems, t h a t ' s one group,
and you have th e . . . t h a t ' s an o th er group.
I:

Are they powerful?

A:

Well th e a d m in is tra tio n d o n 't l i k e groups l i k e

I:

Why' s t h a t ?

th at.

A:
Well, t h e y 'r e a l l to g e th e r , see, and when you
have a to g e th e r group . . . T h e re 's . . . because they
g e t 70 o r 80 guys in t h i s group, and you r e a l l y do
something . . . because t h e r e ' s so many guys, so they
d o n 't r e a l l y l i k e t h a t . They u s u a lly t r y t r a n s f e r
Moslems and Moors to o th e r i n s t i t u t i o n s because they g e t
too big.

A:
None o f them a d m in is tr a to r s l i k e th e se
r e l i g i o u s groups. . . . They always t r y t o break them
up because 1t i s easy f o r them. . . . Whenever you got
a group in p r is o n , a d m in is tr a to rs a re a f r a i d , so what
they do i s break them up and then they can c o n tro l th e se
o th e r s because most are dumb.

A:
A dm inistrato rs never want to see inmates
stro n g . . . t h a t j u s t c r e a t e s a l o t o f s h i t f o r
them. . . .
I f inmates g e t too much power, then
o f f i c e r s and a d m in is tr a to rs g et w orried. What they do
i s t r y to s p l i t everyone up.

171

This f u r t h e r a li e n a t e d th e groups from not only each o th e r but a lso
th e a d m in is tr a tio n .
Concomitantly, i t c r e a te d a s i t u a t i o n where some inmates,
p a r t i c u l a r l y black r e l i g i o u s le a d e r s , developed more power, r e f e r e n t
in n a tu re , and opposed the I n s t i t u t i o n a l h ie ra rc h y .

N ev erth eless,

t h i s could be c o n t r o ll e d much e a s i e r through t r a n s f e r o f powerful
inmates r a t h e r than th e su b ju g atio n o f th e e n t i r e inmate po pulation to
19
have re p re s s iv e t a c t i c s .
In t h i s l i g h t , race r e l a t i o n s took on a
new dimension.

The o ld adage "United we s ta n d , divided we f a l l , " was

s i g n i f i c a n t w ithin th e p riso n s e t t i n g .
3.

I n s t i t u t i o n a l Misconducts
Misconducts d efin ed and numbers and ty p e s .

When d isc u s s in g the

element o f co n tro l w ith in a c o r r e c tio n a l enviroment, nothing i s more
problem atic than th e n o tio n s o f v iolen ce and d is r u p tiv e behavior.

In

f a c t , w ith in HVMF, th e c e n t r a l concern o f many o f f i c e r s and
20
a d m in is tr a to rs was t h a t nothing would "jump o f f , "
o r no d is p la y s
o f v io lence would occur.

I f something did occur, i t was the

r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f th e a d m in is tr a tio n to handle such behavior 1n a
p ro ced u rally f a i r manner.

In a d d i t io n , i t was im portant to p riso n

a d m in is tr a to r s , o f f i c e r s , and inmates t h a t r u le v io l a ti o n s were
c l e a r l y defined beforehand and t h a t inmates were aware o f what was and
was not accep tab le b eh av io r.

This was done a t HVMF through the

d i s t i n c t i o n o f major and minor misconducts.

172

Appendices D and E d i s ti n g u i s h major and minor m isconducts, along
with common examples o f th e types o f in c id e n ts which r e f e r to th e
21
v io la tio n s.
In a d d itio n , th e o ffe n se s a re a ls o defined r e l a t i v e
to whether o r not they a r e "bondable" o r "nonbondable."

The former i s

when th e inmate may be " fre e " w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n u n ti l h is formal
h e a rin g , w hile nonbondable r e f e r s t o confinement in se g re g a tio n o r on
22
"toplock
u n t i l the formal hearin g. The l a t e r charges are a lso
shown w ith in Appendix D as a s t e r i s k (*) charges.
In b r i e f , th e r e a re tw en ty -fo u r major misconduct r u le v i o l a ti o n s
and eleven minor m isconducts.

However, many o f th ese misconducts a re

intended to be broadly o r ambiguously d efin ed ; in e f f e c t , allowing f o r
much d i s c r e t i o n a r y a u t h o r it y on th e p a r t o f th e is s u in g o f f i c e r .

For

example, Disobeying a D ire c t Order (020) i s defined as a " re fu s a l o r
f a i l u r e to follow a v a l i d , reaso nable o r d e r ."
would be a r e fu s a l to submit to a shakedown.

An example o f t h i s
While t h i s i s a

reasonable o r d e r, o t h e r behaviors may be more p ro b lem atic, such as
re fu s in g to g e t a cup o f c o ffe e f o r an o f f i c e r .

23

The p o in t i s

t h a t , as with p o lic e o f f i c e r d i s c r e t i o n , i t i s broadly i n t e r p r e t e d to
include a wide v a r i e t y o f behaviors and a c t i v i t i e s on th e p a r t o f an
inmate.
The end r e s u l t was t h a t o f f i c e r s t y p ic a l l y expressed any behavior
on th e p a r t o f th e inmate under th e umbrella o f a major o r minor
misconduct v i o l a t i o n .

This p erp etu ated an atmosphere o f regim entatio n

w ith in th e priso n s e t t i n g .

However, as in d ic a te d p r e v io u s ly , many

173

o f f i c e r s a t HVMF did n o t e x e r c is e t h i s r i g h t , s t r i n g e n t l y , p a r t l y
because o f th e long-term a l i e n a t i o n e f f e c t s between o f f i c e r and
inm ates.

Also, o f f i c e r s found th e system a "sham" and f e l t o th e r

members o f th e o rg a n iz a tio n did not e f f e c t i v e l y enfo rce th e r u le s when
24
they were re q u ire d by p o lic y .
Table 5.1 shows th e number o f misconducts w r i tt e n by o ffe n s e .
This t a b l e r e f l e c t s a com pilation o f numbers o f m isconducts, both
25
major and minor, from January 1983 through April 1983.
Table 5.1
r e f l e c t s many im portant p o in ts .

F i r s t , th e t o t a l number of

misconducts i s 511, w ith 62* (315) o f th o se being major r u le
v i o l a t i o n s as opposed to 38* (196) minor m isconducts.

This i n d ic a te s

t h a t a m a jo rity o f th e t i c k e t s w r i tt e n were major v i o l a t i o n s ,
suggesting t h a t i f o f f i c e r s a t HVMF were going to w r ite a t i c k e t i t
would, in most p a r t , be f o r th e more s e rio u s r u le v i o l a t i o n s .
Second, o f tho se s e rio u s o r major ru le v i o l a t i o n s , the th re e most
fre q u e n t misconducts w r i tt e n were Disobeying a D ire c t Order (18*),
A ssau lt and B attery (6*) and Substance Abuse (6 *).

Furtherm ore, i t

must be noted t h a t o t h e r behaviors were c lo s e in t h e i r frequency o f
occurrence, such as Insolence (5*) and Out o f Place (5*).

What i s

s t r i k i n g about th e s e f i g u r e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y th e Disobeying a D ire c t
Order p ercen tag e, i s how they r e p re s e n t th e most a r b i t r a r y ru le
d e fin itio n .

As suggested e a r l i e r , th e Disobeying a D ire c t Order r u le

could encompass a v a r ie t y of b e h a v io rs, and the r e s u l t i n g w r itte n

174

t i c k e t may r e f l e c t more th e behavior o f th e in d iv id u a l o f f i c e r r a t h e r
than th e t a r g e te d inmate.
In f a c t , th e r e l a t i v e frequency o f t h i s ru le v i o l a t i o n suggests
t h a t i f o f f i c e r s were going to w r i te an inmate up f o r a v i o l a t i o n t h i s
one was employed more so than aqy o th e r , in p a r t due to th e ambiguity
o f th e d efined r u le and a ls o r e l a t i v e to th e success o f o th e r methods
o f c o n tr o l.

I t was mentioned in a previous c h a p te r how th e o f f i c e r

r o le a t HVMF was not only p re c a rio u s but a ls o d i f f i c u l t and
fru stra tin g .

In a d d i ti o n , i t was suggested t h a t because o f th e

a l i e n a t i o n and d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n with th e priso n a d m in is tr a tio n ,
o f f i c e r s were req u ired to p a rta k e in many informal and symbiotic
r e l a t io n s h i p s w ith inm ates, promoting and m ain tain ing a p riso n
e q u ilib riu m p re d ic a te d on in fo r m a lity .
As a r e s u l t , many o f th e formal o p e ra tio n s in t e r n a l to th e p riso n
s e t t i n g , such as w r i t t e n r u le v i o l a t i o n s were avoided by many of the
o f f i c e r s , except th o se which could be employed to g e t r e c a l c i t r a n t
inmates out o f th e housing u n i t .

In t h i s in s ta n c e , th e disobeying a

d i r e c t o rd e r r u le was employed when o f f i c e r s f e l t t h a t in fo r m a lity had
fa ile d :
A:
What you do i s squeeze the assh o les who are
g ivin g you tr o u b le and be f l e x i b l e w ith th ose who go
along with th e game plan . . . . You squeeze them
because you want t o g e t them o u t o f y our h a i r . Let
someone e l s e deal w ith them. This i s ty p ic a l o f a l o t
o f o f f i c e r s in t h i s p la c e .

TABLE 5.1

PERCENTAGE OF MISCONDUCT? BY TYPE OF OFFENSE
Offense
Escape
Felony
Homicide
A ssau lt and B attery
Threatening Behavior
Sexual A ssau lt
F ig hting
Disobeying a D ire c t Order
Possession o f Forged Document
I n c i te to Riot
I n te rf e re n c e w /A dm inistrati on o f Rules
Bribery o f Employee
Insolence
D estruction/M isuse o f S ta te P roperty
F a ilu r e to Maintain Employment
Possession o f Dangerous Contraband
P ossession o f Money
C reating a D isturbance
Sexual Misconduct
Substance Abuse
Unauthorized Occupation o f a Cell/Room
Out o f Place
T heft
Gambli ng
Minor Misconducts
Total

Total

38%

( 0)
( 2)
( 0)
( 29)
( 20)
( 2)
( 10)
( 94)
( 1)
( 0)
( 0)
( 0)
( 28)
( 19)
( 0)
( 15)
( 1)
( 20)
( 7)
( 29)
( 9)
( 25)
( 1)
( 3)
(196)

100%

(511)

*
6%
4%

*

2%
18%

*

5%
4%
3%

*

4%
1%
6%
2%
5%

*
*

aMajor misconducts re p re s e n t 62% (315) o f th e d i s t r i b u t i o n .
*These t o t a l e d to g e th e r make up th e remaining 2 p ercen t o f th e
d istrib u tio n .

176

A:
Writing t i c k e t s Is w orthless u nless you can
prove the v i o la tio n . . . so you only w rite one when you
th in k 1t w ill be found g u i l t y .

A:
You got to w r ite t i c k e t s on some s t u f f , but
o th e r s t u f f you l e t s l i d e because you know I t a i n ' t
going to s ti c k anyone. . . .
I only w r ite when I have
to . . . anything e l s e 1s j u s t b u l l s h i t .

A:
T ickets are
minor junk you l e t go
I f you c a n ' t c l e a r I t
y ou've l o s t the guy .
most d o n 't.

O.K. f o r major s t u f f , but the
because i t s j u s t b u l l s h i t . . . .
with a guy in another way, then
. . some guys need t i c k e t s but

A:
Nobody g ives a s h i t about t i c k e t s , even the
s u p e rv is o rs , so why should I w rite them. . . .
I 'v e
been here since t h i s place opened and I only wrote about
ten t i c k e t s . . . you d o n 't need them i f y o u 'r e good.
In e f f e c t , o f f i c e r s s e l e c t i v e ly enforced and applied those r u le s which
allowed them to co n tro l the prison environment, choosing s p e c if ic
ru le s which were In h e re n tly nebulous in th e enforcement procedure.
Also, because some o f the r u le s were w r itte n so vaguely, many inmate
a c t i v i t i e s and /o r behaviors were ab le to be categ o rized w ithin some
type of ru le v io la tio n .
While most o f f i c e r s were of th e perception t h a t many inmates were
" g e ttin g o ff" th e ch arg es, o r t h a t th e f in a l d is p o s itio n was resolved
in favor of the inmate, the data in d ic a te d something q u ite d i f f e r e n t .
Table 5.2 shows t h a t th e percentage o f g u ilty fin d in g s in r e l a t io n to
th e number o f formal charges was q u ite high, with 89% of the charges

177

In major v i o l a t i o n s being found g u i l t y and 99% o f th e minor
misconducts being a d ju d ic a te d g u i l t y .
Furthermore, a c h i-s q u a re a n a ly s is o f t h i s data revealed an
a s s o c ia tio n between th e type o f misconduct and th e f in a l d i s p o s i t i o n ,
showing th e a s s o c i a t i o n to be s i g n i f i c a n t a t th e .001 l e v e l .

However,

f u r t h e r a n a ly s is revealed t h a t th e r e l a tio n s h i p between type of
misconduct and th e f in a l d is p o s i t io n was weak ( . 1 6 ) , su gg esting t h a t
r e g a r d le s s o f th e type o f misconduct th e r e was s t i l l going to be a
g r e a t e r percentage o f g u i l t y fin d in g s .

From t h i s d a ta , one can

su gg est two p o s s ib le i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s .
F i r s t , a m a jo rity o f th e Inmates who were charged were g u i l t y o f
th e s p e c i f i c v i o l a t i o n s .

This does not seem reasonable co n sid e rin g

th e broadly defin ed c h a r a c t e r o f th e v i o l a t i o n s .

In b r i e f , because

th e r u le s were in h e r e n tly nebulous, i t would be d i f f i c u l t to conclude
t h a t a m a jo rity o f th e Inmates were g u i l t y o f th e charged o f fe n s e s .
second i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s more p la u s ib le in t h i s d is c u s s io n .

A

This view

holds t h a t th e formal charging procedure o f th e o f f i c e r s r e f l e c t e d
only those behaviors which they considered c o n v ic ta b le .
T herefore, o f f i c e r s a t HVMF only wrote a t i c k e t on a p r is o n e r i f
h e/she f e l t th e r e was a good p r o b a b i li t y tha\t th e p e r p e t r a t o r would be
found g u i l t y .

Following t h i s l i n e o f reasoning I s c o n s i s t e n t w ith the

d a ta , and i t su g gests t h a t most ru le v i o la t i o n s on th e p a r t o f inmates
were handled in fo r m a lly , su pporting th e informal s tr u c t u r e a t HVMF.

178

TABLE 5 .2

PERCENTAGE OF MISCONDUCTS BY TYPE AND FINAL DISPOSITION

Minor
Not g u i l t y
G uilty

1* (

Major

Total

4)

11%

( 34)

99% (197)

89%

(276)

93%

(473)

100%

(310)

100%

(511)

100 %

( 201 )

7% ( 38)

x2 = 14.271 with 1 d f; s ig n if ic a n c e = .001
0 = .167

More im p o rta n tly , t h i s degree o f in fo rm a lity and r u le enforcement were
r e l a t i v e to th e p a r t i c u l a r are a w ith in the i n s t i t u t i o n .
One would expect th e r e woule be varying degrees o f both
in fo rm a lity and f o rm a lity o f r u le enforcement c o n tin g en t upon the
s o c ia l lo c a tio n o f th e i n c i d e n t .

For example, Housing u n i t s 1 and 2

were th e d e te n tio n , se g re g a tio n and p ro te c tio n u n i t s , and one would
expect more s t r i n g e n t and formal r u le enforcement w ith in th e se u n its
r a t h e r than th e o th e r housing a r e a s .

On th e whole, th e se in d iv id u a ls

re q u ire d more s u p erv isio n and were made more t r a c t a b l e through the
l i m i t a t i o n o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l p r iv i l e g e s and th e r e s t r i c t i o n on
movement.

As a r e s u l t , one would expect more misconducts and

d i s r u p t i v e behaviors to o ccur, o r a t l e a s t be observed, w ith in those
a re a s o r l o c a tio n s where co n tro l was more form alized.

179

Social Location and E tiology o f Misconducts
Table 5.3 I n d ic a te s th e percentage o f misconducts by type and
s o c ia l lo c a tio n .

The data i n d ic a te t h a t Major Misconducts were the

most p r e v a le n t, 315 o u t o f a p o s s ib le 511 o r 62% o f a l l m isconducts.
Furtherm ore, 43% o f th e major misconducts were w r i tte n In the
d e te n tio n , s e g re g a tio n , and p r o te c tio n a r e a s , w ith 31% In general
p o pu lation lo c a t i o n s and 26% in o th e r a r e a s , r e s p e c t iv e ly .

On the

o th e r hand, a s iz e a b l e percentage o f th e Minor Misconducts were
w r i tt e n In th e general p o p ulatio n l o c a tio n s (60%), w ith o th e r areas
(22%) fo llow ing and D eten tio n , S eg reg atio n , and P ro te c tio n a re a s
showing th e low est percentage (18%).

Also, when examining the

p ercentage t o t a l s , th e h ig h e s t percentage e x i s t s in th e general
p o p ulatio n categ ory (42%), followed by th e D eten tio n, S eg reg atio n , and
p r o te c tio n a re a s (34%) and th e l e a s t percentage in th e categ ory
la b e le d o th e r a re a s (24%).
The major misconducts tended to be lo c a te d in th e D eten tion ,
S eg reg atio n , and P ro te c tio n l o c a t i o n s , o f f e r i n g th re e p o s s ib le
e x p la n a tio n s to th e d a ta .

F i r s t , one would expect more major t i c k e t s

being w r i tt e n in th e s e a re a s because o f th e problem atic n atu re o f
th e s e inm ates.
On th e o th e r hand, the high percentage o f Major Misconducts w ithin
th e se l o c a tio n s may be i n d i c a t i v e o f a p a r t i c u l a r enforcement p a tte r n
on the p a r t o f o f f i c e r s .

S p e c i f ic a l l y , major misconducts were more a

fu n c tio n o f th e o f f i c e r and h i s / h e r p e rcep tio n o f th e inmate.

The

180

TABLE 5 . 3

PERCENTAGE OF MISCONDUCTS BY TYPE AND SOCIAL LOCATION

Minor

Major

Total

a D etention,
18%

( 36)

43%

(136)

34%

(172)

^General
Population

60%

(118)

31%

( 97)

42%

(215)

c0 th e r Areas

22%

( 42)

26%

( 82)

24%

(124)

100%

(196)

100%

(315)

100%

(511)

& P ro te c tio n

x2 = 47.95, with 2 d f; s ig n if ic a n c e = .001
v = .30.
aThese lo c a tio n s were housing Units 1 and 2 in the i n s t i t u t i o n .
They were desig n a te d a s d e te n tio n , s e g re g a tio n , and p r o te c tio n u n i t s
by th e I n s t i t u t i o n .
^General p o pu latio n c o n s i s t s o f Units 3, 4, 5. T h is, to o , i s an
i n s t i t u t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n o f general po pu lation.
cThese a reas r e f e r to th e school, food s e r v ic e , y a r d , in firm a ry ,
co n tro l c e n t e r , v i s i t i n g a r e a , and gymnasium.

181

major misconduct re p resen ted more the o f f i c e r ' s b e l i e f s and a t t i t u d e s
r e l a t i v e to th e type o f inm ate, and as a r e s u l t , th e o f f i c e r attem pted
t o be more observant o f r u le v i o l a t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y th ose defined as
major.

Also, th e s e u n i t s were designed to make inmates more t r a c t a b l e

and r u le v i o l a t i o n s , t h e r e f o r e , become necessary products o f In te n siv e
co n tro l s t r a t e g i e s and procedures.
Thus, major misconducts in th ese s p e c i f ic lo c a tio n s rep resen ted
th e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f th e r u le s more s t r i n g e n t l y , allow ing behavior
which may be a minor v i o la t io n to become major.

For example, o f f i c e r s

w ith in th e d e te n tio n , s e g re g a tio n , and p r o te c tio n a reas may view
m arijuana smoking as a major misconduct (substance ab u se), while
o f f i c e r s in th e general po pulation a reas may view the same o ffen se as
a minor ru le v i o la tio n (co ntraband ).

I t would be expected t h a t the

s p e c i f i c goals o f th e d e te n tio n , s e g re g a tio n , and p r o te c tio n areas
were co n tro l and s tr i n g e n t r u le a p p l i c a t io n ; t h e r e f o r e , many
v io l a t i o n s became I n d ic a t iv e o f s p e c i f i c i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f th e r u le s .
This i s a lso borne out when one examines the percentage o f Minor
Misconducts.

S ix ty p e rc e n t o f a l l minor misconducts occurred w ith in

th e general population a r e a s , and o f the t o t a l misconducts, 42% were
found 1n th ese a r e a s .

The data suggest t h a t in r e l a t i o n to major and

minor misconducts, the bulk o f major r u le v i o l a t i o n s resid ed in the
d e te n tio n , s e g re g a tio n , and p r o te c tio n a r e a s , while a s i g n i f i c a n t
percentage o f minor misconducts were lo cated in the general population
a re a s .

182

Moreover, th e c h i-s q u a re a n a l y s is revealed an a s s o c ia tio n between
th e type o f misconduct and th e s e s p e c i f i c I n s t i t u t i o n a l lo c a t io n s ,
with th e le v e l o f a s s o c i a t i o n being s i g n i f i c a n t a t the .001 l e v e l .

In

a d d itio n , th e Cramer's V in d ic a te d t h a t w hile th e measure o f
a s s o c ia tio n I s .30, th e a ctu al v arian ce being explained i s only 9%.
T herefore, one can conclude t h a t th e r e was a connection between the
type o f misconduct and the vario u s s o c ia l lo c a tio n s w ith in the
in stitu tio n .

However, i t should be noted t h a t th e a s s o c ia tio n was

r e l a t i v e l y weak, as o th e r f a c t o r s may in te rv e n e in t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p .
Frequency o f A ssau lts and C o n tro llin g D isru p tiv e Behavior
Table 5.1 i n d i c a t e s t h a t 6% o f a l l major misconducts w r i tt e n were
f o r a s s a u l t and b a t t e r y .

While a s s a u l t s r e p re s e n t a r a t h e r low

percentage In terms o f th e t o t a l p i c t u r e , they s t i l l a r e i n d ic a t o r s of
te n s io n w ithin th e p riso n s e t t i n g , making them good i n d ic a to r s o f
p rison s t a b i l i t y and e q u ilib riu m .

More im p o rta n tly , HVMF s t a f f have

t h i s as one o f t h e i r top p r i o r i t i e s :

th e prevention and co n tro l o f

v i o l e n t behavior on th e p a r t o f inmates.
While o f f i c e r s p erceived t h a t inmates could tak e over th e prison
apy time they d e s ir e d ,

th e reasons f o r vio lence and d is r u p tiv e

behavior could be tra c e d to s p e c i f i c behaviors on th e p a r t o f o th e r
inmates and s t a f f :
A:
People g e t a tta c k e d and stuck f o r a l o t o f
reason s. . . . The most common a re someone owing money
t o someone, people have c o n tr a c ts on o th e r s , o r j u s t one
guy i s je a lo u s because h is s is s y i s going to someone
e lse . . . .
All s o r t s o f b u l l s h i t can g e t you a s s a u lte d .

183

A:
Some o f th e se o f f i c e r s g e t stuck because they
give Inmates very l i t t l e r e s p e c t. . . . I'm t e l l i n g you
th e ones t h a t g e t stabbed deserve I t .

A:
Inmates g e t stabbed because they might got
money somebody wants o r they got drugs. . . .
I f you
g o t something, someone always wants I t and t h e y 'l l tak e
1 t when you d o n 't do something about I t .

A:
These a s sh o le s w ill sta b each o th e r f o r j u s t
about any reason . . . but th e big th in g i s how much
money you got . . . .
A1so 1f you be fucklng wlth
people and p r e s s l n ' them f o r money and sex, then you
b e t t e r watch your back a l l the time.

A:
Both o f f i c e r s and inmates g e t stabbed because
t h e y 'r e dumb. . . . O f fic e r s because o f power t r i p s and
Inmates because they g et o f f In to o th e r p e o p le 's
b u s in e s s . That b u l l s h i t w ill always g e t you in t r o u b le .
Also, mary a s s a u l t s which occurred w ithin th e i n s t i t u t i o n were not
re p o rte d , p a r t i c u l a r l y inmate upon Inmate a t t a c k s .

Inmates did not

want to be i d e n t i f i e d to th e a d m in is tra tio n as troublem akers, nor did
they want to wind up in p r o te c tio n o r s e g re g a tio n , sin c e t h i s would
mean i s o l a t i o n from o th e r inmates and a lo s s o f p r i v i l e g e s .

One

inmate discussed why he did not want to r e p o r t th e f a c t t h a t he had
been stabbed:
A:
. . . I d o n 't know how mary s ta b b in g s.
o f th ese stab b in g s d o n 't g e t rep o rted .
I:

Why's t h a t ?

A:

'Cause he lo cks you up.

A lo t

184

I:

Nobody wants to

g e t locked up.

A: Nobody wants to g et locked up. See, t h a t ' s
what probably caused me to g e t , be so f a t a l , because I
w ould n't go to th e in firm a ry . You know, I was w a s tin ' a
l o t o f tim e, you know?
I:

What's so bad about being locked up?

A:

They j u s t d o n 't

want to be in s e g re g a tio n .

I:
Cause then everybody knows t h a t y o u 'r e in
seg reg atio n f o r some reason?
A:
No, i t a i n ' t so much t h a t . When you get
stabbed everybody gonna know anyway. So, l i k e you now,
they c u t your freedom o f f . You're s a y in ' i f I stabbed
you and they locked us up, they put me In seg reg atio n
and they put you in s e g re g a tio n , and we got th e same
kind o f p r i v i l e g e s and, you now, I stabbed you, you
know? T h a t's why, you know, t h a t ' s what everyone go
through—you know, why should I be lock up, you know?
And they do t h a t you know, they keep you locked up f o r a
w hile.
T h erefo re, th e formal measure o f a s s a u l t s v ia th e major misconduct
r e p o r t was somewhat tenuous and a s s a u ts were o ccurring a t HVMF which
were going unnoticed o r unrepo rted.
While th e frequency o f a s s a u l t s i s r e le v a n t in understanding
p ris o n s t a b i l i t y , th e r e a re o th e r behaviors which enable one to a s se s s
control w ith in p riso n s t r u c t u r e s .

One o f th e se behaviors i s p riso n

homosexuality.

Probably no o th e r to p ic has received so much public
27
outrage and j o u r n a l i s t i c coverage.
In f a c t , th e se r e p o r ts have
d i s t o r t e d the r e a l i t y o f p riso n homosexuality.

N e v erth eless, the

purpose o f th e follow in g s e c tio n i s to d e fin e and ex plo re th e e x te n t
o f homosexuality a t HVMF, d isc u s s the types o f homosexual a l l i a n c e s ,

185

s t a t e th e s o c ia l lo c a ti o n o f homosexuals, and examine th e problems
endemic to p riso n homosexuality and i t s c o n tr o l.
4.

Homosexuali ty
Homosexuality defined and amount o f homosexuality a c t i v i t y .

Wooden and Parker (1982) have d is tin g u is h e d fo u r types o f sexual
behavior o r sexual s c r i p t s among in c a r c e ra te d men:

F i r s t , the "kid"

o r "punk" r e p re s e n ts a c l a s s o f men who have been "turned out" o r
forced in to some type o f sexual en co u n ter, u su ally assuming the
s e x u a lly submissive r o l e .

The second ty p e , th e "jocker" o r " s tu d ,"

a re in d iv id u a ls who i d e n t i f y w ith th e "masculine i d e n t i t y " and do not
c o n s id e r themselves as homosexuals; i t i s th e p a r tn e r who i s t y p i c a l l y
co nsid ered submissive and i s th ought of as a "broad" o r " s is s y " in the
enounter.
The "queen" o r " s is s y " r e f e r s to the inmate who adopts the
s te r e o t y p i c a l v ersio n o f th e submissive p a r t n e r , with i d e n t i f i a b l e
female c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and effem in ate mannerisms.

They are

d is tin g u is h e d from th e fo u rth ty p e , which i s th e "homosexual" o r
"gay."

These inmates vary in t h e i r sexual o r i e n t a t i o n s , assuming both

dominant and submissive r o le s in t h e i r sexual a f f a i r s .

A ccordingly,

th e p riso n p op ulation can be broken down in to one o r a combination of
th e above sexual s c r i p t s .

In t h i s way. th e sexual p r o c l i v i t i e s o f the

inmate population can be d ivid ed and s y s te m a tic a lly examined.
At HVMF th e amount o f homosexuality was lim ite d compared to o th e r
28
i n s t i t u t i o n s in the system.
A consensus among the inmates

186

Interview ed was t h a t th e frequency o f homosexual encounters was low.
In f a c t , one Inmate showed s u r p r i s e over the amount o f homosexuality
among Inmates:
A:
I'm s u rp r is e d t h a t i t ' s not high here, t h e r e 's
n o t, t h e r e 's a very few, t h e y 'r e h ere, but t h e r e 's no
. . . See, up a t Marquette y o u 'd have a k id , and t h e r e 'd
be 3 o r 4 guys . . . t h e y 'r e w hite. I h a v e n 't seen t h a t
down h ere, I h a v e n 't seen anybody, a s is s y going around
with a man, o r a man g o ln ' around w ith a s i s s y . I t ' s
s tr a n g e , i t ' s a f i r s t . T h e re's not t h a t many
homosexuals here.
Another inmate was more e x p l i c i t about how the homosexuals were viewed by
o th e r Inmates:
I:
Ok, I see. What about the lev el of
homosexuality In t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n compared to Jackson?
A:

S h it.

Jackson i s f u l l o f them.

I:

What about here?

A:

3 o r 4, 5 o r 5, maybe.

I:

A l o t lower.

A:

A l o t lower.

I:
Does everybody in here know who th e
homosexuals are?
A:

Yeah, they know them.

I:
What, how do they t r e a t them, how do they deal
with them?
A:
s tre e t.
I:

Well, j u s t l i k e they deal with them in the
In what re g a rd , exp lain t h a t a l i t t l e b i t more.

A:
J u s t l i k e i f I know i f i t ' s your king, then I
w o n 't fuck with him. I'm sp eak in' to him and t r e a t i n '
him n ic e , you know, j u s t because o f th e f a c t t h a t he

187

belongs to you. I t ' s j u s t l i k e a p r o s t i t u t e o r
something, you know. The guy i s u s u a lly p r o s t i t u t i n 1
him around, you know, from t h i s guy to t h a t guy, t h i s
guy to t h a t guy.
I:
Do a l o t o f guys e n t e r in to homosexual
r e l a t i o n s around here?
A:

No.

I:

Ok, so i t ' s only a few people.

A:

Right.

I : Ok.
occur h ere, i s

.

Is most o f th e homosexuality t h a t does
i t agreed upon o r i s i t forced?

A:

Mostly agreed upon.

I:

A l o t o f rape in here?

A: No.I d o n 't know, but sin ce I 'v e
. . one guy got raped over 1n Unit 2.

been here

The r e le v a n t p o in t out o f t h i s response was th e notion o f
tre atm e n t which some " s i s s i e s " were affo rd ed by inm ates.

On many

occasions I was t o ld th e i d e n t i t y o f one in d iv id u al who was a known
s is s y and s e rv ic in g many inmates among th e p r is o n e r p o p la tio n .
I n i t i a l l y observed him in th e d ining h a l l .

I

I t was not n e c e s s a r ily his

mannerisms but more so h is s o c ia l lo c a tio n w ithin th e d in in g h a l l .

As

Figure 4.2 i n d i c a t e s , th e dinin g area i s t y p i c a l l y segregated by race
and r e l ig i o u s groups.

However, on one occasio n , I n o ticed how one

white inmate s a t in th e middle o f a group o f b la c k s , so I in q u ired
about 1 t to th e o f f i c e r on duty.

He s t a t e d t h a t in d iv id u a l was a

s is s y f o r those black inm ates, and he t y p i c a l l y serv iced many inmates

188

1n th e p r is o n .

In e f f e c t , h i s re p u ta tio n got out and he was lab eled

a s a s i s s y , one to be sex u ally e x p lo ite d , In th e Inmate h ie ra rc h y .
Types o f Homosexual A llia n c e s
At HVMF th e most common type o f sexual o r i e n t a ti o n among the
Inmate population was t h a t o f a "jocker" o r " s tu d ."

Since th e purpose

o f t h i s research was not to I n v e s tig a te the frequency o f d i f f e r i n g
sexual a l l i a n c e s , i t was d i f f i c u l t to a s s e s s th e prevalence o f one
sexual o r i e n t a t i o n over ano ther.

However, i t was made c l e a r by

inmates t h a t homosexuality did occur but t h a t th e jo c k e rs o r stu d s did
n ot view themselves as homosexuals per se.

This i s c o n s is t e n t with

Wooden and P a r k e r's typology, sin c e t h e i r t y p i f i c a t i o n o f th e p riso n
stu d u s u a lly embodies masculine f e a tu r e s and does not a ccep t the
sexual encounter as being homosexual.
These studs were u s u a lly serv iced by a s e l e c t few inmates who were
known s i s s i e s and co nsid ered homosexual because o f t h e i r submissive
a t t i t u d e s toward th e more agg ressiv e s tu d s .

T y p ic a lly , the

i n t e r a c t io n o f th e s is s y with th e stud l a s t e d only a few m inutes, with
th e s is s y providing a v a r i e ty of sexual s e r v ic e s .

These s e rv ic e s

range from anal p e n e tr a tio n t o some form o f o ral sex.

More

s p e c i f i c a l l y , most o f th e se sexual encounters were v o lu n ta r ily agreed
upon by both p a r t i e s :
A:
No, no. M atter o f f a c t , I 'v e done i t m yself,
I 'v e done i t m yself. But see i t ' s l i k e , I do something
l i k e t h a t , man, i t ' s going back to what I t e l l e a r l i e r .
T h e re's going to be understan din g, understanding to be
understood—no p r e s s i n '. . .1 would say l i k e , I d o n 't
condone i t , man, I f ig u r e l i k e they p eo ple, you know.

189

And i t ' s j u s t l i k e arjything e l s e , when y o u 'r e hungry,
you e a t , you know, and when you g o tta take a s h i t , you
tak e a s h i t , when you g o tta p i s s . I t ' s j u s t
lik e
anything e ls e t h a t g o tta be taken care o f. But hey,
. . . I c o u l d n 't have sex, I n te rc o u r s e , with one o f
th e se women o f f i c e r s , no way, Jack. So I g o tta do the
b e s t , I g o tta go t o th e s u b s t i t u t e
to do th e th in g t h a t
I can g e t in t o , you know?

A:
The sex t h a t goes on here i s p r e t ty much not
forced . . . you know people need i t and t h e y 'l l do
anything to g e t 1 t. S h i t , 1f two guys want to do t h a t
s o r t o f th in g , t h a t i s t h e i r b u s in e s s . J u s t keep them
away from me.

A:
Not much sex
. . . you can pick th e
each o th e r. Everybody
want. . . . I f y o u 'r e
can always fin d i t .

goes on compared to o th e r p laces
fags o u t, and they c o l l e c t with
knows who they are and what they
i n to t h a t type o f b u l l s h i t , you

A:
I 'v e done 1 t. . . . Not too many guys
a p p re c ia te you d isc u s s in g i t w ith them. But, I b e t most
have done I t b u t they w o n 't admit i t . . . . I do have
to say though th e r e a i n ' t much rape and squeezing f o r
sex in here l i k e o t h e r p laces . . . but i t does occur.
The guys who do i t r e g u la r ly are your s i s s i e s . They got
to watch themselves because they can be squeezed by
o th e r inmates.
T herefo re, the inmate p o pulation a t HVMF can be broken down
f u r t h e r in to s i s s i e s and s tu d s .

The o th e r two conceptual

c a t e g o r ie s —homosexual and punk—e x is te d a t HVMF, but they were q u ite
rare.

In f a c t , th e kid o r punk, th e in d iv id u al who had been coerced

in to a sexual a f f a i r o r raped, was v i r t u a l l y n o n - e x is te n t a t HVMF.
was rumored t h a t one o f th e r e l i g i o u s group members was raped during

It

190

th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l d istu rb a n c e which occurred in 1982.

For p r o te c tio n

purposes, t h i s In d iv id u a l jo in e d a r e l i g i o u s group and was no lon ger
30
s e x u a lly harassed by o t h e r Inmates.
When in q u irin g about th e lev el o f homosexuality among Inmates,
a d m in is tr a to r s voiced th e follow ing o p in io n s:
A:
We h a v e n 't had a h e ll o f a l o t o f t i c k e t s
I n d ic a tin g what we've cau g ht, OK, f o r sexual misconduct,
you know, whatever t h a t may c o n s is t o f . We h a v e n 't had
a h ell o f a l o t o f t i c k e t s in r e s p e c t to t h a t . There
a re a number o f , you know, adm itted homosexuals In the
p o p ulatio n who seem to be g e tt i n g along j u s t f in e .
There are some homosexuals who are locked up In
p r o te c t io n . The amount o f homosexual a c t i v i t y , what I s
app arent t h a t w e 're well aware o f , I s , in my o p in io n ,
probably, maybe a b i t l e s s than u su al. And a g a in , I
say , t h a t ' s only what i s documented. What I 'v e been
informed o f , what I know o f , be I t through a t i c k e t , be
i t through h eresay , be i t through what, t h a t ' s r e a l l y ,
you know, t h e r e ' s never, i t has not been brought to my
a t t e n t i o n a g r e a t deal In r e s p e c t to homosexual
a s s a u l t s . Homosexual a c t i v i t y , a l l consensual type
th i n g , going on. I th in k i t might be very s h ie ld e d , you
know. The guy ta k e s h is opportune sh o t a t an oth er guy
and they hook up, o r w hatever, co nsen su al, you know,
d o in ' t h e i r t h in g , t h a t kind o f th in g .

A:
We d o n 't have th e problems w ith homosexuals
and rape l i k e o th e r p r is o n s . T h a t's because we
s e g re g a te them i f they a re causing problems. . . .
If
we d o n 't then they can cause more problems and t h a t I s
something we c a n ' t a f f o r d .

A:
There i s some rape but most o f th e se guys who
do t h a t s h i t are caught and bounced out o f here. . . .
I f f a c t , th e only rape I heard o f happened a while
back. We responded to i t and t h a t ' s t h a t . I t ' s r e a l l y
no big deal here.

191

As a r e s u l t , much o f th e homosexuality a t HVMF occurred among s i s s i e s
and stu d s and was consensual in n a tu re , w ith a few number o f people
being "turned out" and known homosexuals.
no big deal . . .

As one inmate put i t , " I t ' s

You have them in every p riso n and t h a t ' s j u s t a p a r t

o f p riso n l i f e . "
Social Location o f Homosexuals
The a c tu a l lo c a tio n o f mapy homosexuals was very d i f f i c u l t to
determ ine, p a r t l y because o f th e n atu re o f th e b ehavior.
a c t i v i t y was not lo c a te d in any s p e c i f i c a re a .

Homosexual

However, i t was the

concern o f many a d m in is tr a to r s a t HVMF t h a t having known homosexuals
31
among th e general p o p u latio n would have d e l e t e r i o u s e f f e c t s .
In
response to t h i s s i t u a t i o n , a l l known homosexuals were i s o l a t e d w ith in
housing u n i t 2, and some were even placed under p r o te c tio n s t a t u s
32
because o f th e problems they had caused in general p o p u la tio n .
While many were c e n t r a l l y lo c a te d in u n it 2, some key inmates
interv iew ed suggested t h a t th e r e were s t i l l a number o f s i s s i e s in
general p op ulation and t h a t they serv iced many o f the inmates in
housing u n i ts 3, 4 and 5.

As a r e s u l t , th e level of homosexual

a c t i v i t y was remaining c o n s ta n t.

The b e l i e f was t h a t the b l a t a n t

(known) homosexuals would become overly a g g ressiv e in th e inmate
p o p ulation and cause many problems among inm ates, a l l competing fo r
the homosexual's s e r v i c e s .

This may not be n e c e s s a r ily t r u e ;

n e v e r th e le s s , i t was b e lie v e d and determined i n s t i t u t i o n a l p o lic y .
was th e problem atic c h a r a c t e r o f th e homosexual ro le which

It

192

a d m in is tr a to rs fe a re d , even to the p o in t o f i s o l a t i n g them from o th er
inmates 1n general p o p u la tio n .
Problems with Prison Homosexuality and I t s Control
Because o f th e somewhat lim ite d number o f s i s s i e s in the general
p o p u latio n many inmates were o fte n d e s iro u s o f them.

T y p ic a lly ,

inmates fought over th e ownership o f a p a r t i c u l a r s i s s y .

Even inmates

who claimed t h a t they were not homosexuals s ta t e d t h a t many the
a s s a u l t s and stab bin gs occurred because two p ris o n e rs were f ig h tin g
ov er th e use o f a s i s s y :
A:
Them s i s s i e s cause a l o t o f problems . . .
they use inmates a g a i n s t each o th e r and cause a l o t o f
problems in the p la c e . There a r e n ' t t h a t many h e re , but
they s t i l l cause problems . . . they should ship a l l
t h e i r asses out o f here . . . .
I th in k a l o t of guys
would be b e t t e r in th e long run.
This opinion was g e n e ra lly held by many o f th e a d m in is tra tiv e s t a f f
in terv iew ed .

In p a r t i c u l a r , th e warden expressed th e problems

homosexuals could cause in the priso n environment:
I:
How about th e le v e l o f homosexuality among
inmates here compared to o th e r i n s t i t u t i o n s . Is I t
about the same, more, l e s s ?
A:
I d o n 't know i f i t ' s the same. I know
homosexuality in a p riso n i s a problem, and i f
any body'll t e l l you d i f f e r e n t , t h e y 'r e ly in g to you.
I:

How i s i t a problem?

A:
Well, one person i s with one person, and the
o th e r person wants them and you have f i g h t s , you have
a s s a u l t s and ev ery th in g e l s e .
Another a d m in is tr a to r was more s p e c i f i c about th e problems o f
homosexuality:

193

A:
Yeah, as I s a id th e r e was a p rev io u s, you g e t
guys t h a t are f ig h t i n g over a s i s s y , you know, . . .
over a s i s s y . You know, t h a t might j u s t be a s i t u a t i o n
where th e person wants to change lo v ers . . . change and
f o r whatever reaso n , goes f o r ano th er person and t h a t
kind o f th in g and they end up f ig h t in g over i t and, oh
s h i t . And a l o t o f t h a t , not a l o t o f i t , but I s t i l l
th in k t h a t the b ig g e s t, one o f the b ig g e s t problems in
t h a t I s t h e , f o r lack o f a b e t t e r term, the homosexual
who i s th e r e c i p i e n t o f th e a f f e c t i o n s placed upon him,
In o th e r words th e p a s s iv e , th e more feminine a c tin g and
t h i s kind o f th i n g , th e s e lf - a d m itte d homo in t h i s kind
o f se n se , causes a l o t o f t h a t s h i t because h e 's j u s t ,
he g e ts enjoyment out o f having th e se people f i g h t over
him. Yeah, t h a t kind o f th i n g , i t ' s no, you know, and
t h a t causes us rape problems. You know, as I s a id t h a t
one s i t u a t i o n , th ey were d o i n ', you know, t h a t ' s what
happened.
T herefore, p riso n homosexuality posed a problem f o r inm ates, o f f i c e r s ,
and a d m in is tr a to rs in keeping a s ta b l e p riso n s e t t i n g .

N ev erth eless, the

c r u c ia l p o in t about homosexuality a t HVMF was the varied r o le s which i t
assumed.
Based on the typology o ffe re d by Wooden and P arker, we can conclude
t h a t a m a jo rity o f th e homosexual a c t i v i t y e x is te d v ia th e s i s s y / s t u d or
j o c k e r r e l a t i o n s h i p , with very few rapes and sexual a s s a u l t s .
Concomitantly, th e presence o f actu al o r known homosexuals in th e prison
s o c ia l s e t t i n g was very lim ite d because o f the seg reg atio n o f th ese
i n d iv id u a ls from general p o p u latio n .

As a r e s u l t , th e lim ite d number o f

s i s s i e s in the environment t y p i c a l l y serv iced those inmates in the
general po pulation who d e s ir e d t h i s form o f sexual r e le a s e .
5.

I n s t i t u t i o n a l Control and S t a b i l i t y :

A Summary Statement

The purpose o f t h i s ch a p te r was to explore s p e c if i c focal concerns in
th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment a t HVMF.

These focal concerns were:

194

contraband, race r e l a t i o n s , i n s t i t u t i o n a l misconducts, and p riso n
homosexuality.

I t was contended t h a t each o f th ese r e f l e c t e d on and

Impacted upon th e le v e l o f co n tro l in th e p riso n environment.

More

Im p o rtan tly , they impinged upon the power r e l a t i o n s w ithin the
in s titu tio n a l s e ttin g .
Concerning contraband i t was mentioned t h a t " so ft" types of
contraband were a c c e s s i b l e to th e inmate p opulation a t HVMF, e s p e c i a l l y
m arijuana and a lc o h o l.

Also, th e demand f o r th ese types o f contraband

was q u ite high and i t a f f e c t e d th e le v e l o f s t a b i l i t y in th e p riso n
environment; however, th e amount o f contraband was lim ite d .

For t h i s

reason , some Inmates were powerful because o f t h e i r a b i l i t y to supply
th e s e d e sire d re so u rc e s.

In response to t h i s s i t u a t i o n , a d m in is tr a to rs

attem pted to co n tro l th e p riso n contraband system.

While no one

a d m in is tr a to r adm itted a formal re c o g n itio n and support o f i l l e g a l
markets a t HVMF, i t was understood as something i n e v ita b le and endemic to
p ris o n o rg a n iz a tio n .

By s t a b i l i z i n g t h i s type of market a c t i v i t y , they

were ab le to co n tro l th e power o f key inmates who influenced th e
d i r e c t io n o f th e inmate s o c ie ty .
This idea o f p ris o n s t a b i l i t y was a ls o tr u e in referen ce to race
r e l a t i o n s in th e p riso n s e t t i n g .

At HVMF th e r e was a v oluntary

s e g reg atio n o f inmates by ra c e , where blacks and w hites were t y p i c a l ly
d isp ersed throughout th e I n s t i t u t i o n and s it u a te d in i d e n t i f i a b l e so cial
lo c a t i o n s .

In a d d i t i o n , the problems between the races which many

i n s t i t u t i o n s had experienced over th e p a s t 10 to 15 y e a r s were ra re a t

195

HVMF.

While th e l i t e r a t u r e suggested t h a t race as a v a r ia b le in

understanding contemporary p riso n s o c ia l s tr u c t u r e was im p o rtan t, t h i s
was only r e l e v a n t when th e p riso n environment, in t o t o , was not
ex p erien cin g some d e p rlv a tio n a l event which a f fe c te d both white and black
inm ates.

O v e ra ll, th e r e l a t i o n s between blacks and w hites were p o s i t i v e ,

even though blacks outnumbered w hites w ith in the p r is o n e r p o p u latio n .
An are a which was much more d i f f i c u l t to a s s e s s was i n s t i t u t i o n a l
m isconducts.

The d ata rev ealed t h a t th e issu an ce o f a formal misconduct

t i c k e t was more r e l a t e d to th e behavior o f th e o f f i c e r r a t h e r than th e
v io l a t i n g inmate.

In f a c t , i t was suggested t h a t t i c k e t w r itin g

re p re se n te d th e f in a l e f f o r t on th e p a r t o f an o f f i c e r when informal
means f a i l e d .

Furtherm ore, th e o f f i c e r was not going to is s u e a t i c k e t

u n less he/she p erceived a high p r o b a b i li t y o f i t being disposed as
g u ilty .

In t h i s way, o f f i c e r s s t a b i l i z e d the p riso n environment through

informal and formal means.
In a d d itio n , th e lo c a t io n o f a m a jo rity o f the s e rio u s ru le
v i o l a t i o n s o ccurred in th e d e te n tio n , s e g re g a tio n , and p r o te c tio n a r e a s ,
w hile a s iz e a b le number o f minor i n f r a c t i o n s were evidenced in the
general p o pu lation a r e a s o f th e p r is o n , suggesting t h a t a d i f f e r e n t i a l
le v e l of ru le enforcement e x is te d r e l a t i v e to th e o rg a n iz a tio n a l
s t r u c t u r e o f those a r e a s and th e p e rc e p tio n s o f in d iv id u a l o f f i c e r s
w ith in th ose a re a s .

This was due to t h e i r assessment o f the degree o f

c o n tro l needed to promote s t a b i l i t y .

196

In r e l a t i o n to p ris o n homosexuality, i t was concluded t h a t i t s
frequency was much lower a t HVMF than o th e r I n s t i t u t i o n s ; however, the
a n a l y s is a ls o suggested t h a t v io lence and a s s a u l t s r e s u l te d from th e s e
re la tio n sh ip s.

When th e priso n p opulation was ex p erien cin g sexual

d e p r iv a tio n , th e se a s s a u l t i v e behaviors were n a tu ra l b y -p ro d u cts.
Up to t h i s p o in t, some focal concerns o f inm ates, o f f i c e r s , and
a d m in is tr a to r s a t HVMF have been d isc u sse d ; however, a comparative
a n a l y s is o f HVMF with a s im il a r i n s t i t u t i o n on th e se a re a s i s re q u ire d .
The purpose o f th e fo llo w ing c h a p te r 1s to examine th e s e focal concerns,
ex p lo rin g how HVMF i s s im i l a r an d /o r d i s s i m i l a r to a n o th e r maximum
secu rity in s titu tio n .

Also, th e a n a l y s is in clu d es an exam ination o f c o s t

f i g u r e s , attem p ting t o determ ine where a m ajo rity o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n s '
monies a re sp en t.

In b r i e f , where do th e i n s t i t u t i o n s spend t h e i r

monies, and do they i n d ic a te any kind o f p h ilo so p h ical o r i e n ta t i o n on the
p a r t o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n s ?
than tre a tm e n t programs?
v ocational programs?

Are th e elements o f co n tro l more im portant
How developed are t h e i r ed u catio nal and

These and o th e r q u estio n s sh a ll be examined and

explored in an attem p t t o comprehend not only th e n atu re o f HVMF but a lso
an o th er p riso n f a c i l i t y which has a s im il a r Inmate p o p u la tio n .

197

Endnotes - Chapter 5
Tspud-juice was th e I n s t i t u t i o n a l name f o r an a lc o h o lic beverage. I t
was made by Inmates in t h e i r c e l l s . On a few occasions I observed
inmates who appeared to be drunk in th e housing u n i t s , tyy hunches were
proven c o r r e c t when o f f i c e r s s t a t e d i t was a common phenomenon.
^Common in th e sense t h a t i t was n o tic e a b le . I do not want to suggest
1 t i s a ty p ic a l behavio r f o r a p ris o n s e t t i n g . On th e c o n tr a r y , i t i s
u s u a lly common behavior in many p ris o n s throughout th e co un try.
^Inmates expressed th e d e s ir e to be s a fe In th e p r is o n . One way to
p rev en t tro u b le i s to co n tro l dangerous weapons, something which even a
m a jo rity o f inmates agreed i s needed in p riso n s e t t i n g s .
4 In t h i s p a r t i c u l a r i n c i d e n t , the payment was fiv e c a rto n s of
c i g a r e t t e s , which i s a s l g n l f c a n t number co n sid e rin g th e value o f
c i g a r e t t e s in the inmate s o c ia l system.
5|3y s o f t contraband I am r e f e r r in g to not only drugs but a ls o money,
unauthorized item s, o r e x c e ssiv e s to r e item s.
6This term was coined by C arro ll in h is a n a ly s is o f race r e l a t i o n s in a
maximum s e c u r it y p r is o n . I t r e f e r s to a form o f economic exchange, such
as s h a rin g , tr a d in g , a n d /o r s e l l i n g .
7 Inmates d iscu ssed how many p r is o n e r s were g r e a t con a r t i s t s and how
you had to watch o u t f o r th o se I n d iv id u a ls . As one Inmate s t a t e d , "They
could t a l k you out of th e gold in your t e e t h . "
®A c l a s s i c phrase a t t r i b u t e d t o Sykes and Messinger (1960) in t h e i r
d isc u s s io n o f how informal r e l a t i o n s h i p s a re a t th e core o f co n tro l in
p ris o n s o c ie ty . In e f f e c t , t h i s c o rru p tio n i s necessary to m aintain
in stitu tio n a l s ta b ility .
^This i s a key p o in t. Group behavior in p riso n r e p re s e n ts the
co ncerted e f f o r t ( s ) o f in d iv id u a ls who i d e n t i f y and r e l a t e to s im ila r
value s t r u c t u r e s . S im i l a r ly , they do not i d e n t i f y with o th e r groups
because they d i s l i k e them; they d i s a s s o c i a te themselves w ith a l i e n a t i n g
groups because "they have nothing in common with them."
l° T h is i s p a r t i c u l a r l y im portant in p ris o n s o f western s t a t e s , where
inmate p o p u latio n s r e p r e s e n t a d iv e rs e grouping o f c u l t u r a l , economic,
and s o c ia l v alues. In f a c t , much o f the re sa rc h on contemporary p riso n
s o c ie ty has come from th e s e a r e a s . This may in d i c a t e th e i n v a l i d i t y of
much o f th e modern r e s e a rc h : i t ten ds to be c e n t r a li z e d in c e r t a i n
regio ns o f th e c o u n try , and th e a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f th e se f in d in g s to o th e r
a re a s o f the country may be su sp ect.

198

At th e time o f t h i s r e s e a r c h , th e re were four Muslim r e l i g i o u s
groups, each having anywhere from 15 to 30 members. These numbers may
seem small but they r e f l e c t e d group s o l i d a r i t y , something which
a d m in is tr a to rs were f e a r f u l o f in r e l a t i o n to th e i n s t i t u t i o n ' s s t a b i l i t y .
l 2This group o f b ik e r s was lo o se ly connected. In f a c t , they were not
r e a l l y considered a group; however, they did "hang to g e th e r" w ith in the
in stitu tio n .
13"Throw down" r e f e r s to g e t t i n g ready to f i g h t . I t was a phrase which
inmates used c o n s ta n tly when I probed about i n s t i t u t i o n a l v io len ce.
l^Nor do they t o t a l l y l i k e each o th e r . However, th e real se p a ra tio n
between th e two was not based on h atred but d iff e r e n c e s in what they
valued and d e s ir e d . In essen ce, th e r e was not much in common between the
two.
l^ T h is was made ap p aren t to me by many inmates when I asked them to
compare HVMF with t h e i r previous i n s t i t u t i o n s . Without a doubt, HVMF was
much b e t t e r in t h i s regard.
l 6This numbers advantage was roughly 2:1 a t HVMF. At some i n s t i t u t i o n s
in th e s t a t e , th e numbers r e f l e c t e d an even higher p ro p o rtio n o f black
p r is o n e r s to white p r is o n e r s .
l?A t th e time o f t h i s w r i tin g , the s to r e was to be reorganized to
in clud e more item s and a d i f f e r e n t method o f ac q u irin g th e goods. How
t h i s w ill o p erate i s s p e c u la tiv e a t t h i s tim e. However, the p o in t i s
t h a t a change 1s being made by th e warden to a l l e v i a t e the problems
a s s o c ia te d with the s t o r e .
18Some o f th e r e s i d e n t u n i t managers (RUM's) suggested t h a t the
a d m in is tr a tio n was using t h i s s tr a t e g y because o f th e p erceived power of
some o f the r e l i g i o u s groups.
19a s tr a t e g y which a d m in is tr a to r s o f p riso n s have t r a d i t i o n a l l y
employed in c o n t r o ll i n g r e c a l c i t r a n t inmates.
20 rh is was an i n s t i t u t i o n a l phrase which re fe re d to a d istu rb an ce o r
r i o t about to occur.
21 I t should be noted t h a t along with these misconduct v i o l a t i o n s an
inmate can a ls o be charged w ith accom plice, a tte m p t, o r conspiracy to
commit a s p e c i f i c v i o l a t i o n . These are charges which may be added to the
o r ig in a l major o r minor misconduct v i o l a ti o n .
22Toplock was a term which r e fe r e d to being locked up in o n e 's c e ll fo r
punishment purposes. I t was a common form o f punishment given to inmates
who v io la te d minor misconduct r u le s .

199

23i observed t h i s in one o f th e housing u n i t s . I t was a t t h i s time
t h a t I r e a l iz e d th e broad d i s c r e t i o n a r y a u t h o r it y o f th e r u l e s , and how
o f f i c e r s m anipulated th e r u le s to f i t j u s t about any behavior on the p a r t
o f inmates.
24-rhis was a common com plaint among o f f i c e r s , i . e . , th e r u le s were
u s e le s s and o fte n c o n t r a d i c t o r y . So, in e f f e c t , "you do what you feel i s
necessary to c o n tro l th e u n i t . " This supported th e informal
r e l a t io n s h i p s between o f f i c e r s and inmates and f u r t h e r a l ie n a t e d both
groups from c e n tr a l a d m in is tr a tio n .
25a t o t a l o f fo u r months o f misconducts was a l l I could o b ta in , p a r t ly
because o f th e newness o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n and t h e i r accounting system.
Also, t o r e t r i e v e t h i s kind o f Inform ation req u ire d much p a tie n c e because
many a d m in is tr a to rs did not want th e inform ation re le a se d u n t i l they were
sure what you were using i t f o r .
2 6 jh is was a common p e rc e p tio n among both o f f i c e r s and inm ates, even
more so f o r o f f i c e r s . This was something which was not taken l i g h t l y by
th e o f f i c e r s , e s p e c i a l l y i f t h e i r s a f e ty was in q u estio n .
That was why
they sought more c o e rc iv e c o n tro l over th e inmate p o p u latio n .
27jhe p o in t I am t r y i n g to make here i s t h a t many j o u r n a l i s t i c accounts
o f p riso n homosexuality have accentu ated th e v iolen ce and b r u t a l i t y
w ith o u t examining i t in r e l a t i o n to th e t o t a l p ris o n s i t u a t i o n . In o th e r
words, th e se accounts have f a i l e d to r e a l i z e how homosexuality i s only a
small p a r t o f a complex s o c ia l world. Homosexuality i s only one
ex p ressio n o f t h i s environment. This lim ite d p e rs p e c tiv e does not allow
a deeper understanding o f th e problems a s s o c ia te d with contemporary
p riso n s t r u c t u r e s .
28This w ill be one o f th e to p ic s in th e next c h a p te r , along with a
comparison o f co n trab an d, c r i t i c a l I n c id e n ts , race r e l a t i o n s , and c o s t
f ig u r e s .
29()ne o f th e problems with studying t h i s to p ic a l area i s th e s e n s i t i v e
n atu re o f th e in fo rm atio n . One can only hope t h a t some type o f
assessm ent I s r e l i a b l e but y e t aware o f th e problem atic natu re o f the
t o p ic .
3tylany inmates in terview ed relay ed t h i s experience and most f e l t t h a t
th e r e l i g i o u s groups were only f r o n ts f o r p r o te c tio n r a c k e ts , along w ith
o th e r i l l e g a l a c t i v i t i e s .
31 This b e l i e f im p lies t h a t homosexuals w ill e x p l o i t the p riso n
p o p u latio n . While t r u e in some i n s ta n c e s , I am not su re t h a t a l l known
homosexuals a c t in t h i s fa sh io n . A more a c c u ra te p ic tu r e might be to
view them s im i la r to h e te r o s e x u a ls , each s t r i v i n g f o r a sexual o u t l e t
r e l a t i v e to th e d e p r iv a tio n they a re exp erien cin g.

200

S^This i s changing a t HVMF, with Unit 2 sw itching from a p r o te c tio n
u n i t to general p o p u la tio n . As a r e s u l t , homosexuals w ill have t o "walk
th e y ard l i k e anyone e l s e o r be put i n t o s e g re g a tio n . This w ill a l t e r
some arrangements in th e inmate s o c ia l system. What problems may a r i s e
i s s p e c u la tiv e , b ut one could expect more a s s a u l t s due to th e increased
number o f homosexuals.

CHAPTER V I

INSTITUTIONAL COMPARISONS:

HURON VALLEY MEN'S

FACILITY AND MARQUETTE BRANCH PRISON

The previous c h a p te r examined HVMF r e l a t i v e to fo u r focal
concerns:

con trab an d, race r e l a t i o n s , i n s t i t u t i o n a l m isconducts, and

homosexuality.

Concerning contraband, th e a n a ly s is concluded t h a t i t

was a c c e s s ib le to th o se inmates who had reso u rces.

Also, i t was

suggested t h a t c e r t a i n kinds o f non-dangerous contraband provided
s t a b i l i t y t o th e p ris o n environment.

In regard to race r e l a t i o n s , th e

a n a ly s is pointed o u t how th e races a t HVMF were segreg ated and t h a t
race r e l a t i o n s took on a s i g n i f i c a n t meaning only when th e e n t i r e
inmate o rg a n iz a tio n was n o t ex p erien cin g group d e p riv a tio n .
Furtherm ore, info rm ation concerning i n s t i t u t i o n a l misconduct was
analyzed.

The i n t e r p r e t a t i o n provided suggested t h a t whether o r not

o f f i c e r s r e l ie d on i n s t i t u t i o n a l misconducts as a c o n tro l s tr a t e g y was
dependent upon two f a c t o r s :

th e p r o b a b i lit y o f gaining a g u i l t

c o n v ic tio n and th e s o c ia l lo c a ti o n o f th e o ffe n s e .

F i n a l l y , an

i n v e s t i g a t i o n was conducted in th e area o f homosexuality.

Relying on

p a s t l i t e r a t u r e , a typology o f p riso n sexual s c r i p t s was used in th e
a n a l y s is o f sexual en co u n ters a t HVMF.

201

Of th e fo u r s c r i p t s provided

202

by th e l i t e r a t u r e , i t was held t h a t th e two dominant s c r i p t s among the
inmate pop ulation were jo c k e r s o r stu d s and s i s s i e s .

The p r is o n e r who

had been raped o r tu rn e d o u t and the known homosexual were v i r t u a l l y
n o n - e x is te n t a t HVMF.
The purpose o f t h i s c h a p te r i s to ex plore th e s e Is s u e s a t a
comparable p riso n f a c i l i t y which emphasizes s t r i c t c o n tro l o f inmates
and r o u ti n i z a t i o n o f th e p riso n environment.

The i n s t i t u t i o n s e le c te d

i s th e only comparable f a c i l i t y w ith in th e Michigan C o rrection al
System, an i n s t i t u t i o n which i s c l a s s i f i e d as maximum s e c u r it y and
emphasizes a p u n i t iv e - c o n tr o l philosophy.

The comparison w ill be on

th e focal concerns examined e a r l i e r in r e l a t i o n to HVMF and a s e c tio n
on p riso n a p p r o p ria tio n s and e x p en d itu res.

The examination w ill

explore how th e s e fo cal concerns a s s e s s th e r e l a t i v e amount o f co ntro l
and s t a b i l i t y a t both HVMF and Marquette Branch Prison (MBP).
To exp lore th e se i s s u e s , a v a r i e t y o f measures a re employed,
ranging from o b je c tiv e d a ta to perceptual m aterial provided by inmates
who had been a t MBP and c u r r e n t l y re s id e a t HVMF.

This l a t t e r

m ateria l i s q u a l i t a t i v e and r e p re s e n ts th e p e rc e p tio n s o f inmates on
th e s ta t e d focal concerns.

Conversely, th e o b je c tiv e d a ta r e f l e c t s

p riso n a p p r o p r ia tio n s , i n s t i t u t i o n a l and programmatic e x p e n d itu re s ,
and th e numbers and ty pes o f c r i t i c a l in c id e n ts a t each f a c i l i t y .
These f ig u r e s give o b je c tiv e in d ic e s to a s s e s s th e elements o f
c o n t r o l, s t a b i l i t y , and c o s t e f f e c tiv e n e s s in r e l a t i o n to th e
i n s t i t u t i o n a l s e t t i n g s o f th e two p ris o n s .

203

1.

Prison A p propriations and Expenditures
During th e f i s c a l y e a r ending September 30, 1983, th e S ta te o f

Michigan a p p ro p ria te d $234,051,900 to th e Department o f C orrectio ns
f o r th e maintenance and o p e ra tio n o f a l l th o se f a c i l i t i e s and s e rv ic e s
which deal with c o r r e c t i o n s .
follow ing :

Included in t h i s d e f i n i t i o n a re th e

ex ecu tiv e s e c tio n o f th e departm ent, th e a d m in is tr a tiv e

o p e ra tio n s bureau, p ris o n i n d u s t r i e s o p e r a tio n s , programming bureau,
c o r r e c tio n a l f a c i l i t i e s a d m in is tr a tio n , o f f i c e o f h e a lth c a r e ,
i n s t i t u t i o n a l c l i n i c a l o p e r a tio n s , f i e l d s e rv ic e s a d m in is tr a tio n ,
f i e l d s u p e rv is io n , community c o r r e c tio n c e n t e r s , and th e o p e ra tio n and
maintenance o f twelve c o r r e c tio n a l f a c i l i t i e s o r p ris o n s .
Table 6.1 shows th e t o t a l monies a p p ro p ria te d to both HVMF and MBP
by fu n c tio n .

The t a b l e i n d i c a t e s t h a t a m a jo rity o f th e monies, 75%

and 76% o f th e t o t a l s , were a p p ro p ria te d to HVMF and MBP f o r personnel
m a tte rs , while 21% and 19% were a llo c a te d f o r o p e ra tio n s o f th e
in stitu tio n s.

More im p o rta n tly , th e t a b l e r e f l e c t s a minimal

percentage a llo c a te d f o r tre a tm e n t a n d /o r r e h a b i l i t a t i o n purposes,
c o n s is tin g o f only 4% and 5% o f th e t o t a l a p p r o p ria tio n s .
While th e s iz e s o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n s a re q u ite d i f f e r e n t , with HVMF
averaging around 411 inmates and MBP about 9831 , t h i s d ata reveal
t h a t personnel and o p e ra tio n s a p p ro p ria tio n s f a r exceed th e
t r e a t m e n t / r e h a b i l i t a t i o n fu n c tio n .

In e f f e c t , both i n s t i t u t i o n s are

p re d ic a te d on a co n tro l philosophy, with very l i t t l e concern f o r
tre a tm e n t o r change o f th e in d iv id u al inmate.

However, t h i s statem ent

i s only s p e c u la tiv e a t t h i s p o i n t , sin ce a p p r o p ria tio n s are

204

TABLE 6.1

ACTUAL APPROPRIATIONS* AT HURON VALLEY MEN'S FACILITY
AND MARQUETTE BRANCHPRISON"BYTUNCTIoFT---------

Function

HVMF {%)

MBP (%)

Personnel9

$6,435,700(

75)

$10,307,300(

76)

O perations1*

$1,826,900(

21)

$ 2 ,5 0 0 ,1 00(

19)

T re a tm e n t/R e h a b ilita tio n 0

$

Total

$8,581,000(100)

318,400(

4)

$

694,100(

5)

$13,501,500(100)

9

This category re p re s e n ts tho se a p p ro p ria tio n s in th e follow ing
a r e a s : s a l a r i e s and wages, lo n g ev ity and in su ran ce, and
re tire m e n t.

b

This Includes c o n tra c tu a l s e r v i c e s , s u p p lie s and m a t e r ia ls , fuel
and u t i l i t i e s , t r a v e l , equipment and food.

c

The only a p p ro p ria tio n in t h i s catego ry i s la b e le d Academic/
Vocational Programs.

*This ap p ro p ria tio n i s f o r the f i s c a l y e a r ending September 30, 1983.
Source:

S ta te o f Michigan, 8 1 st L e g is la tu r e , E nrolled Senate B ill
No. 740, Act No. 262, Public Acts o f 1982.

205

not n e c e s s a r ily i n d i c a t o r s o f where th e monies a r e sp en t.

I t is

p riso n ex pend itures which seem r e le v a n t in understanding the
philosophy and d i r e c t i o n o f th e se i n s t i t u t i o n s .
Programs, S e rv ic e s, and Costs
Table 6.2 e x h i b i t s th e t o t a l ex p en d itu res o f HVMF and MBP by
fu n c tio n .

This t a b l e shows th e a c tu a l amount o f monies sp en t by each
2
s p e c i f i c fu n ctio n f o r th e f i s c a l y e a r ending in 1982.
The
e x p en ditures r e p r e s e n t f iv e fu n c tio n s :

inmate c a re and c o n t r o l,
3
tre a tm e n t, a d m in is tr a tio n , sch o o ls, and o th e r.
Table 6.2 i n d i c a t e s t h a t both i n s t i t u t i o n s spend a s iz e a b le
percentage o f t h e i r monies on inmate ca re and c o n t r o l —54% a t HVMF and
60% a t MBP.

In a d d itio n , 42% o f th e ex p en d itu res a t HVMF were f o r

a d m in is tr a tiv e purposes, w hile 28% o f MBP ex p en d itu res occurred in
t h i s area.

The percentage d iff e r e n c e may r e p re s e n t th e in c lu s io n o f

advanced computer technology in t h e i r lo cking system a t HVMF.

In

f a c t , t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n was b u i l t with th e idea o f using a computer
locking system f o r more e f f i c i e n t and e f f e c t i v e co ntro l o f inmates.
This i s supported by a reduced number o f personnel working a t HVMF
compared to MBP—252 to 369; however, HVMF does have fewer inmates.
In e s sen ce, HVMF attem p ts to c o n tro l the inmate popu latio n through
more contemporary methods, u t i l i z i n g computer technology and a lim ite d
number o f personnel.

On th e o th e r hand, MBP i s a t r a d i t i o n a l l y

designed p riso n o r g a n iz a tio n which attem p ts to co n tro l inmates through
in creased numbers o f personnel and lim ite d advanced technology.
However, th e most s i g n i f i c a n t piece o f datum from th e t a b l e may be in

206

TABLE 6 .2

ACTUAL EXPENDITURES* AT HURON VALLEY MEN'S FACILITY
and mArQuETTe branch Er I soN by fuNCYio N
HVMF (%)

Function

MBP (%)

Inmate Care & Control®

$4,,376,243.36( 54)

Treatment^

$

A d m in istratio n c

$3,, 407.235.66( 42)

Schoolsd

$

197,141.72(

121,215.78(

3)

1)

0 th e r e
Total

$8,101,836.52(100)

$ 8,244,944.22( 60)
$

150,678.01(

1)

$ 3 ,8 6 2 ,7 7 3 .70( 28)
$

612,182.53(

5)

$

832,194.09(

6)

$13,702,772.55(100)

a

Included in t h i s catego ry are wages and s a l a r i e s , t r a v e l ,
equipment, and s u p p lie s .

b

This r e f e r s to th e psychological programs, jo b read in ess
a c t i v i t i e s , substance abuse programs, and ed ucational
preparedness a c t i v i t i e s .

c

A d m in istratio n r e f e r s to th e actu al o p e ra tin g u n i t s which allow
th e i n s t i t u t i o n to o p e ra te . For example, personnel o f f i c e ,
b u sin e ss o f f i c e , maintenance, and budgeting personnel a re a l l
co nsidered a p a r t o f a d m in is tra tio n o f th e p ris o n . Included in
t h i s i s th e computer locking system a t HVMF.

d

This category s o le l y d e p ic ts th e monies sp en t on th e schools f o r
t h e i r c a re and upkeep.

e

This f ig u r e a t th e Marquette Branch Prison r e p re s e n ts monies
sp ent f o r work o rd e rs and r i o t c o s t s . Since th e se were not
evidenced a t HVMF during th e '82 f i s c a l y e a r , th e re were no
f ig u r e s .

*This exp enditure i s f o r th e f i s c a l y e a r ending September 30, 1982.
Source:

F iscal Management Inform ation System R e s p o n s ib ility R eport,
Michigan Department o f C o rre c tio n s, September 30, 1962.

207

r e l a t i o n to th e monies spent on tre a tm e n t and scho ols.

Only 4% o f the

e x p en d itu res a t HVMF were sp en t on tre a tm e n t and sc h o o l-o rie n te d
a c t i v i t i e s and 6% o f th e ex p en d itu res a t MBP re p re s e n tin g s im i la r
fu n c tio n s .
I n s t i t u t i o n a l Comparisons:

HVMF and MBP and Cost E ffe c tiv e n e ss

While th e Michigan Department o f C o rrectio n s r e p o r ts t h a t th e per
c a p i ta c o s ts f o r p r is o n e r ca re and custody was much lower a t MBP
($38.42) than HVMF ($53.65) f o r f i s c a l y e a r '8 1 - '8 2 , t h i s i s a
m isleading f ig u r e which does not tak e i n t o c o n s id e ra tio n th e lim ite d
4
number o f inmates a t HVMF during t h i s f i s c a l y e a r .
HVMF was not a t
c a p a c ity , and th e f ig u r e c i t e d does not a c t u a l ly r e f l e c t th e tru e
c h a r a c te r o f t o t a l c o s t .

Thus, any statem ent about th e comparative

c o s t e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f th e two i n s t i t u t i o n s would be in a c c u ra te .
However, what can be examined i s th e in h e r e n t t r a d e o f f between th e
i n s t i t u t i o n s in terms o f technology and personnel.
T herefore, th e e s s e n t i a l q u estio n becomes:

Does th e technology a t

HVMF provide g r e a t e r c o n tro l and s t a b i l i t y to the priso n s e t t i n g ,
while a t th e same time being more c o s t e f f e c t i v e ?

The only c r e d ib le

way to a s s e s s t h i s c o n s tr u c t was to appeal to those who worked in the
5
i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment.
While c o r r e c tio n a l o f f i c e r s were s e n s i t i v e about rev ealin g
in fo rm atio n , th e r e were is s u e s which many openly d isc u sse d .

One o f

th e se a re a s was th e e f f e c t o f th e computer locking system on
m aintainin g co n tro l w ith in th e p ris o n environment.

There were a

208

myriad o f s t o r i e s about th e inadequacies o f th e system.

One o f th e

more re v e a lin g t a l e s an o f f i c e r provided was how th e lo cking system
opened when i t was supposed to a u to m a tic a lly lo ck :
A:
I t was n ig h t . . . I was r e a l l y scared because
th e doors a l l opened, and i f th e inmates wanted they
could have walked o u t o f t h e i r c e l l s . . . They d i d n 't
b u t t h a t was I th in k because a l o t o f guys d i d n 't know
t h a t t h e i r doors were open. That was when I wanted to
smash t h a t computer term inal . . . Ever sin ce then I 'v e
had nothing b u t problems with th e damn th in g .
I t was common to hear t h i s among o f f i c e r s ;

in f a c t ,

o f f i c e r s even

suggested t h a t i t made them la?y and n e g lig e n t

in doing

t h e i r jo b s :

A:
These computers a re nothing b u t a jo k e ; they
make you la ? y , so you d o n 't walk around when you are
supposed to . . . You r e ly on them too much and t h a t
causes problems, e s p e c i a l l y when th e damn th in g s break
down.

A:
I 'v e gained so much weight sin c e I 'v e began
here . . . t h a t ' s because you r e a l l y d o n 't have to do
much . . . th e computer does ev ery th in g f o r you . . . .
You can r e a l l y be n e g lig e n t in y o u r d u t ie s i f you r e l y
on t h i s th in g . . . .
I t s t i l l breaks down.

A:
You can become r e a l l y lazy when you work
here. . . . The computer opens th e doors, t e l l s you i f
i t s opened o r n o t, and lo ck s i t . . . . Why should you
g e t o f f your r e a r end when you d o n 't have to? Many guys
know t h i s and t r y to g e t up and do t h e i r jo b s . . . i t ' s
j u s t so hard a f t e r a w hile.
As a r e s u l t o f th e many problems with th e computer lo cking system,
many o f f i c e r s f e l t t h a t they were not a b le to s a t i s f a c t o r i l y complete
t h e i r ta s k s and provide c o n tro l in th e environment.

209

Many o f f i c e r s a t HVMF r e j e c t e d the mechanization o f c o r r e c t i o n s ,
p a r t l y because th e r e were so many m alfunctions with th e system and
a ls o th e f a c t t h a t i t lim ite d t h e i r numbers in r e l a t i o n to inm ates.
T h is, in e f f e c t , was th e dilemma which th e hardware c r e a te d :

one has

increased technology f o r th e c o n tro l and s t a b i l i t y o f th e p riso n
o rg a n iz a tio n b ut th e r e tu r n was a lim ite d number o f people o p eratin g
in th e o f f i c e r r o le .

For t h i s reason, many o f f i c e r s voiced th e

opinion t h a t th e computer locking system should be removed, and in i t s
p la c e , money should be spent on o b ta in in g more c o r r e c tio n s o f f i c e r s :
A:
Nobody knows why we have a l l th e se computers
in here anyway. • • • The people who so ld t h i s junk to
th e s t a t e a re here every month try in g to f i x i t . . . .
I t always m alfu n ctio n s. . . . S h i t , I would r a t h e r have
more people on th e f r o n t l i n e in s te a d o f a u s e le s s p i l e
o f junk.

A:
When you got 84 inmates in a housing u n i t and
only 2 o f f i c e r s , problems can always come up . . . .
What we need i s more o f f i c e r s in th e housing u n i t s , and
th e a d m in is tr a tio n knows i t , but they j u s t l i k e a l l the
p o l i t i c i a n s d o n 't give a s h i t about us. . . . Inmates
know they can outnumber us and they w ill i f nothing i s
done.

A:
What we need here 1s a gun tower r i g h t in th e
middle o f th e d in in g h a l l . All our gun towers a re on
th e o u ts id e o f th e place . . . but t h a t means more men
as o f f i c e r s . Nobody wants t h a t cause i t c o s ts too much,
b u t h e ll what about a l l th e money they sp ent on b u ild in g
and f ix in g t h i s computer system . . . i t ' s always
fucking up.
However, t h i s argument i s only ten ab le i f i t can be shown t h a t the
in tro d u c tio n o f such advanced technology to c o r r e c tio n s i s r e a l l y not

210

b e n e f ic ia l in terms o f v io le n c e , a s s a u l t s , and d i s r u p t i v e b eh av io rs.
Does HVMF e x h i b i t fewer in c id e n ts which in d ic a te i n s t a b i l i t y ?

The

next s e c tio n examines t h i s qu estio n in r e l a t i o n to th e number o f
c r i t i c a l in c id e n ts between th e two i n s t i t u t i o n s . 6
2.

C r i t i c a l In c id e n ts :

HVMF and MBP

Table 6.3 shows th e frequency o f c r i t i c a l in c id e n ts a t HVMF and
MBP by type and number.

The t a b l e i n d ic a te s t h a t th e t o t a l number o f

in c id e n ts was much lower a t HVMF—113 to 154, suggesting t h a t th e re
may be more s t a b i l i t y and con trol a t HVMF than MBP.^

However, by

examining th e c r i t i c a l in c id e n ts more thoroughly, some were more
p re v a le n t a t HVMF than MBP and v ic e - v e rs a .

For example, w hile both
Q
HVMF and MBP had few homicides and s u ic id e s , the number o f a s s a u l t s
was h ig h er, with 39 o ccu rrin g a t HVMF and 40 a t MBP.
However, th e se a s s a u l t s , as th e t a b l e i n d i c a t e s , can be broken
g
down in to r e s i s ta n c e and n o n - re s is ta n c e .
Where r e s i s ta n c e did
o ccur, th e victim o f th e a s s a u l t was always a s t a f f member a t both
HVMF and MBP, w hile th e n o n -re s ista n c e a s s a u l t s i n d i c a t e a g r e a t e r
number occurring w ith th e r e s id e n t being th e victim a t HVMF and the
s t a f f member th e v ic tim a t MBP.

While a t HVMF th e inmate would be

a tta c k e d more so w ith o u t p rovocation, t h i s was th e o p p o site a t MBP.
The reason f o r t h i s d if f e r e n c e can only be s p e c u la tiv e a t t h i s p o in t
because o f th e low number o f occurrences a t both i n s t i t u t i o n s . ^ 0

In

e f f e c t , th e data does not r e a l l y in d ic a te an i d e n t i f i a b l e d if f e r e n c e
between the two i n s t i t u t i o n s on a s s a u l t s .

211

TABLE 6 .3

CRITICAL INCIDENTS* AT HURON VALLEY MEN'S FACILITY

AKlP ’ MAftQUETTF-gKANCn' P ftr S B r B Y H T P E AND FREQUENCY
Type o f In cid en t
HOMICIDE
S taff
Resident
SUICIDE
Death
Attempt
ASSAULTS
R esistance
S ta ff/V ic tim
Res. Victim
Weapon
S erious In jury
Non-Resistance
S ta ff/V ic tim
Res. Victim
Weapon
S erious In jury
SMUGGLING
S taff
Drugs
Weapons
A1cohol
Money
Other
Resident
Drugs
Weapons
A1cohol
Money
Other
V is it o r s
Drugs
Weapons
A1cohol
Money
Other
RIOT/MUTINY/STRIKE
INSUBORDINATION
THEFT
EXTORTION
SUBSTANCE ABUSE

HVMF

MBP

1
1
14
1
13
39
14
14

10
1
9
40
8
8

2
4
25
9
16
8
6
1

1
1
32
17
15
13
9
2

1
1

2
1
1

3
10
2
73

212

Table 6.3 (continued)
Type o f In c id e n t
FIRE/ACCIDENT
S t a f f In ju ry
Resident Injury
FIREARM/MACE DISCHARGE
DEATH
ESCAPE FROM SECURE INSTITUTION
OTHER VISITOR
OTHER
STAFF USE OF FORCE
ATTEMPTED ESCAPE
VANDALISM
POSSESSION OF MONEY
FIGHT
Weapon
Inju ry
TOTAL

*This i s f o r th e 1982 i n s t i t u t i o n a l y e a r.

HVMF

MBP

2

2

1
7
1
1

1

12
15
2
13
1
2
1

3
2
1
1

113

154

1
5

213

Moreover, th e t a b l e su gg ests t h a t HVMF and MBP were s im i l a r in
r e l a t i o n to c r i t i c a l in c i d e n t s .

However, o th e r im portant and r e le v a n t

statem en ts can be made from th e d a ta .

F i r s t , th e r e were fo u r c r i t i c a l

in c id e n t a reas where a d i f f e r e n c e was d is c e rn a b le :
o f f o r c e , vandalism , and substance abuse.

t h e f t , s t a f f use

Concerning t h e f t , th e d ata

in d i c a t e t h a t th e r e were 10 in c id e n ts which occurred a t MBP, while no
such events were known a t HVMF.

This does not su gg est t h a t no t h e f t

occurred a t HVMF, only t h a t i t was not rep o rted nor l i s t e d with the
department.
Furthermore, th e c r i t i c a l in c i d e n t c a te g o r ie s o f s t a f f use of
fo rce and vandalism were h ig h er a t HVMF than MBP, w ith 15 in c id e n ts
o ccu rrin g a t HVMF and 5 a t MBP f o r th e former and 13 occurrences a t
HVMF and 3 a t MBP f o r th e l a t t e r .

While th e r e were some n o tic e a b le

d if f e r e n c e s which were n e g l i g i b l e on th e se th re e c a t e g o r i e s , the
fo u rth c r i t i c a l i n c id e n t area was more r e v e a lin g in examining the
d if f e r e n c e s between th e two i n s t i t u t i o n s .
The substance abuse catego ry showed a s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e
between th e two p ris o n s t r u c t u r e s .

At MBP th e re were 73 in c id e n ts of

substance abuse, w hile HVMF only had recorded 1 such o ccurrence,
su ggesting t h a t MBP may have more problems with n a r c o tic s and i t s
con trol than HVMF.

This f in d in g i n d i c a te s t h a t th e r e may be more

access to n a r c o tic s and alcohol a t MBP t h a t a t HVMF, something which
i s c o n s is te n t w ith a p r i o r fin d in g t h a t th e contraband market in
n a r c o tic s was not as developed a t HVMF as opposed to MBP.

214

Second, i t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to see how substance abuse was higher a t
MBP, while th e in c id e n ts o f smuggling were v i r t u a l l y n o n -e x is te n t.
Table 6.3 shows t h a t th e r e were only two in c id e n ts of smuggling a t MBP
and one a t HVMF.

N ev erth eless, th e most common method o f gaining

access to n a r c o tic s w ith in a p riso n s tr u c tu r e i s via smuggling,
whether i t be through s t a f f , v i s i t o r , o r r e s i d e n t.

One cannot o b ta in

drugs and o th e r contraband u n less i t i s smuggled in by someone, y e t
the data in Table 6.3 i n d ic a te very few in c id e n ts o f smuggling which
were known to both i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a f f s .

There are a number of

p o s sib le reasons f o r such an occurrence.
F i r s t , the s t a f f s of both p riso n s were unaware o f the smuggling
techniques and how contraband was coming in to t h e i r re sp e c tiv e
in stitu tio n s.

This ex plan atio n i s tenuous, p a r t i c u l a r l y i f one i s

aware o f how p riso n s a r e th e worst place to keep s e c r e t s .

Knowledge

o f such an o p eratio n would not be d i f f i c u l t to d is c e rn , as th e r e are
always i n s t i t u t i o n a l leak s on inform ation, e s p e c ia lly contraband item s.
Second, contraband re p o rtin g via c r i t i c a l in c id e n ts may not be
rep o rted because o f th e neg ative image i t would p o rtray about the
in stitu tio n .

As a r e s u l t , a d m in is tra to rs would not r e le a s e a l l o f the

inform ation they know about the contraband system in t h e i r p ris o n ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y when one i s t a l k i n g about the smuggling o f contraband by
o f f i c e r s o r o th e r c o r r e c tio n a l w o r k e r s .^

As in th e former

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , t h i s i s u n lik e ly , sin ce a d m in istra to rs would be
concealing and condoning crim inal a c t i v i t i e s w ith in t h e i r

215

in stitu tio n .

While being a c o r re c tio n a l a d m in is tr a to r i s a ris k y

b u s in e s s , i t i s not probable t h a t gross v i o l a t i o n s o f th e law would be
condoned by many o f them.
A t h i r d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n may be more ac c u ra te in understanding the
smuggling phenomenon.

This view holds t h a t i t was an informal

occurrence which was o p e ra te d , m onitored, and c o n tr o lle d by a few key
f ig u r e s among both th e o f f i c e r and inmate ranks.

This ex p la n a tio n i s

c o n s is t e n t with what was sa id e a r l i e r about the ro le o f in fo r m a lity as
being a fu n ctio n a l a d a p ta tio n to th e formal system o f c o n t r o l.

Much

o f t h i s a c t i v i t y i s m aintained by informal and lo o se ly c o n s tru c te d
re c ip ro c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s , thereby escaping th e purview o f th e formal
p riso n s tr u c t u r e .
T herefore, the d i v e r s i t y o f smuggling contraband may be explained
through a combination o f th e f i r s t and t h i r d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s , where
only th o se in d iv id u a ls who were p iv o tal in the Informal p riso n system
were aware o f the smuggling o p eratio n s and cognizant o f th e in h e re n t
value in keeping i t q u i e t .

As in d ic a te d in Table 6 .3 , substance abuse

e x is te d a t MBP, and i t would be lu d ic ro u s to th in k t h a t smuggling did
n ot occur to support such an a c t i v i t y .

However, t h i s l a t t e r

e x p lan atio n must be tempered with the f a c t t h a t known occurrences o f
smuggling a t HVMF were a ls o q u ite low, which may suggest t h a t HVMF has
b e t t e r co n tro l over smuggling.

This may be t r u e , p a r t ic u a r l y when one

examines th e number o f substance abuse in c id e n ts a t HVMF.

216

Not only does HVMF have a fewer number o f smuggling in c id e n ts but
i t a ls o has a r a t h e r i n s i g n i f i c a n t number o f substance abuse in c id e n t
rep o rts.

This d ata su gg est smuggling was an informal a c t i v i t y among

key p a r t ic i p a n t s in th e Inmate s o c ia l world and o f f i c e r corps and t h a t
i t was underdeveloped a t HVMF.

This would be an understandable

e x p la n a tio n , sin ce HVMF i s a new i n s t i t u t i o n , and a d iv e rs e contraband
system which i s p re d ic a te d on a c o v e rt smuggling o p eratio n may not be
entrenched w ith in th e p riso n o r g a n iz a tio n .
ex p lan atio n can be provided.

However, an oth er

This i n t e r p r e t a t i o n simply s ta t e d i s

t h a t HVMF has much more co n tro l a t t h i s time in r e l a t i o n to contraband
and smuggling than MBP.
This e x p lan atio n would not be erroneous but i t would be
12
s p e c u la tiv e because o f th e newness o f th e f a c i l i t y .
I t i s the
notion o f s t a b i l i t y and co n tro l which we are attem pting to a s s e s s .
Thus, i t would be a c c u ra te t h a t , a t l e a s t in regard to th e data
provided by Table 6 .3 , th e re was more co n tro l over smuggling a t HVMF
than MBP i f we c o n s id e r i t in connection to th e number o f i n c id e n ts o f
substance abuse.

I f c r i t i c a l in c id e n ts are s u f f i c i e n t measures o f

r e l a t i v e co n tro l and s t a b i l i t y o f both HVMF and MBP, one can say t h a t
HVMF i s more c o n t r o ll e d .
However, mar\y inmates a t HVMF f e l t MBP was more c o n tr o lle d even
though th e physical s t r u c t u r e was much worse:

217

A: I t was a h e ll h o le , i t ' s a h e ll h o le , OK?
You've got no problems h ere, r i g h t here y o u'v e got a
door, a metal door, l i k e t h i s . . . g la s s on. I f you
want to go to th e t o i l e t . . . piece o f paper, s i t down
and re la x and read th e paper— I'm in th e h a b it o f
r e a d in ' th e paper when I tak e a s h i t , you know?—read
th e damn paper, and I fe e l more com fortable when
nobody's l o o k i n '. Where in M arquette, y o u 'v e always got
somebody, a h a ll boy o r guard, cornin' in when y o u 'r e
s i t t i n ' on the p o t. And y o u'v e got privacy as f a r as
someone s ta n d in ' th e r e t a k i n ' count when y o u 'r e t a k i n ' a
s h i t , you know? T h e re 's no p rivacy a t a l l . The room up
t h e r e , a l l r i g h t , you g o t a tower, a guard tower, you
c a n ' t go anywhere th e r e where you can t be seen by th e
tower o r a guard, down here you can. You've got l i t t l e
hide-aways. The guards up t h e r e , o f co u rse, a re a l o t
d i f f e r e n t than they a r e down here to an e x t e n t , but
t h e y 'r e s t i l l guards. The reason I say t h a t i s t h i s ,
th e guards up t h e r e , i t ' s more o r l e s s a fam ily th in g .
In o th e r words, th e y 'v e been working up th e r e f o r y e a rs
and y e a r s , t h e i r f a t h e r ' s been working th e r e f o r y e a r s ,
and t h e i r c o u sin , nephew, . . .

A:
M arquette i s nothing but a dungeon. . . .
It
and Jackson a re about th e same. You have no privacy a t
a l l a t e i t h e r o f th o se p la c e s . . . . They can see
ev ery th in g t h a t i s going down th e r e and everyone knows
i t . . . you know they got more physical co n tro l up a t
Marquette than down here (HVMF).
A:
There i s n ' t any re a l t o t a l co n tro l in any
p riso n . . . but M arquette I s much t i g h t e r . They g o t
more p o lic e ( o f f i c e r s ) walking around and watching
you. . . .
You c a n ' t s h i t o u t o f place up th e r e because
eyes are a l l over. In t h i s place (HVMF), th e re i s more
slac k on th e a ctu al physical c o n s tr u c tio n and some b lin d
s p o ts .
A m a jo rity o f th e inmates interview ed f e l t t h a t th e so cia l
arrangement between keeper and kept was more developed a t MBP than
HVMF, and t h a t o f f i c e r s were aware o f a l l o f th e t r i c k s which inmates
a tte m p te d :

218

A:
At M arquette i t ' s a d i f f e r e n t b a ll game. I t ' s
been th e re a long tim e, th e guards f o r th e most p a r t
have been th e r e a long tim e, th e y 'v e heard every s to r y ,
t h e r e 's no type o f b e n e f it o f th e doubt. You g e t caught
with . . . t h e r e ' s no b e n e f i t o f th e doubt. Here you
can t a l k your way o u t o f i t , u s u a lly .

A:
I t was n ice up a t M arquette, e s p e c ia l ly i f you
were w h ite , because th e o f f i c e r s ran th e s h i t a l o t
b e t t e r . . . . They r e a l l y understood inmates . . . t h a t
includ es a l l th e games and c r a z in e s s t h a t inmates t r y to
pull on them. . . . Not only t h a t you could deal with
them. . . . They would l e t s h i t s l i d e , but they made i t
c l e a r t h a t they were in c o n tr o l.

A:
M arquette has too many o f f i c e r s t h a t have been
around. . . . They know a l l th e b u l l s h i t t h a t c o n v ic ts
run on them and each o th e r . . . b u t t h a t ' s good. . . .
I t ' s good because you can deal with them . . . s t i l l
though they can r e a l l y squeeze you w ith th e r u le s i f you
fuck up in M arquette. One th in g you d o n 't want i s them
guards th in k in g you a r e running something on them . . .
s h i t , t h a t ' s when they r e a l l y g e t p iss e d o f f . . . . You
can b e t they w ill l e t you know real quick.
While a m ajo rity o f Inmates f e l t t h a t MBP was c o n t r o ll e d and
s t a b i l i z e d much more than HVMF, they s t i l l , on th e whole, wanted to
remain a t HVMF because o f i t s physical s t r u c t u r e and c lo se n e ss to
f r i e n d s and r e l a t i v e s .
However, a t MBP, inmates and o f f i c e r s knew t h e i r r o le s and
executed them w ith f u l l awareness o f what th e outcomes would be.
does not e x i s t a t HVMF.

This

On th e c o n tr a r y , many o f f i c e r s and inmates

expressed u n c e r ta in ty on how they were expected t o a c t . In e f f e c t ,
13
th e i n s t i t u t i o n has n o t " s e t t l e d down"
enough f o r c e r t a i n t y in th e
environment.

In more p r a c t i c a l term s, th e in fo rm a lity which p re v a ile d

219

a t MBP was weak a t HVMF.

Thus, th e s t a b i l i z a t i o n o f th e environment

has not o ccu rred , and u n t i l formal and informal l i n e s a re drawn, th e re
w ill be a jockey in g o f inm ates, o f f i c e r s , and a d m in is tr a to r s fo r
o r g a n iz a tio n a l p o s it i o n s .
I t i s f o r t h i s reason t h a t HVMF had many problems o f adjustm ent in
i t s e a r l y beginning; th e demarcation between formal and informal
a c t i v i t i e s was not i d e n t i f i e d ; consequently, a l l subsequent
i n s t i t u t i o n a l b eh av io r became an attem p t to d e fin e and s o l i d i f y th e
param eters o f th e o r g a n iz a tio n .

T h e refore, con trol and s t a b i l i t y o f a

p riso n o rg a n iz a tio n can l a r g e l y be determined through th e a l l i a n c e s
and in terd e p en d en cies o f th e formal system
informal network o f inmates and o f f i c e r s .

o f a u t h o r it y w ith th e
In t h i s re g a rd , MBP was

much more c o n tr o ll e d because o f th e s t a b i l i z a t i o n o f i t s formal
mechanism o f co n tro l w ith th e Informal workings of inmates and
o ffic e rs.
A:
I t i s so im portant t h a t inmates and o f f i c e r s
know how to do time to g e th e r . . . . When I was doing
time up in M arquette, th e o f f i c e r s knew where you were
coming from and you could make d e a ls w ith them . . .
t h a t took tim e. They would always c u t you some slac k i f
you were good to them. This kind o f s t u f f d o e s n 't
happen here . . . th e r e are too many young
o f f i c e r s . . . . They d o n 't know what c o r r e c tio n s i s a l l
about y e t .

A:
I lik e d i t b e t t e r in M arquette. . . . You
could gamble and deal with more inmates and o f f i c e r s up
t h e r e . H e ll, they had gambling t a b l e s r i g h t in th e y ard
and everyone knew what was going down. . . .
I t 's th a t
kind o f r e s p e c t you develop between y o u r s e l f and the
p o lic e ( o f f i c e r ) . . . .
I'm t e l l i n g you t h a t i s what
ran Marquette . . . not here now.

220

A:
You got to work with them guards to make i t
man. . . .
I d o n 't want to say everyone does, b u t i t
seems th e smart ones do a l l th e time. . . . You know
i t s l i k e he giv es me th in g s and I help him o u t. . . .
When you work to g e th e r , ev ery th ing i s cool . . . i t ' s
when they t r y to jump on your s h i t t h a t tro u b le
s t a r t s . . . . T h a t's w h at's happening here (HVMF).
These o f f i c e r s have to le a r n t h a t we a l l here to g e th e r
. . . t r y in g to make i t .
Thus, o f f i c e r s and inmates knew how to "do time" a t MBP.

On the

o th e r hand, a t HVMF th e s e r o l e s , e x p e c ta tio n s , and a l l i a n c e s have not
s u f f i c i e n t l y developed to i n d i c a t e a s ta b le priso n environment.
3.

Contraband
Overview o f contraband a t HVMF.

In th e p r i o r ch a p te r th e dynamics

and co m p lex ities o f contraband were examined a t HVMF.

The a n a ly s is

concluded t h a t th e r e was a contraband network e x i s ti n g a t HVMF;
however, t h a t network was not as developed as in some p ris o n s in th e
system.

In a d d itio n , th e a n a ly s is suggested t h a t th e most

s o u g h t- a f t e r contraband items were m arijuana and s p u d -ju ic e , with many
inmates s t a t i n g t h a t dangerous weapons as a form o f contraband needed
to be c o n tr o lle d in th e p riso n environment.

In a d d itio n , i t was

mentioned t h a t the a c c e s s i b i l i t y o f contraband, p a r t i c u l a r l y those
items which were high in demand, was co n tin g e n t upon the reso u rces an
inmate had to n e g o tia te .
Contraband a t MBP
The amount o f contraband a t MBP was much higher and more d iv e rse
than in HVMF.

In f a c t , t h i s statem en t sums up an opinion which many

221

inmates expressed during th e f i e l d re se a rc h .

While a m a jo rity o f them

agreed t h a t they wanted to s ta y a t HVMF, what they did miss about MBP
was th e d i v e r s i t y o f th e contraband system, e s p e c i a l l y in r e l a t i o n to
th e v a r i e t y o f drugs t h a t i t did provide.

On one p a r t i c u l a r occasio n,

two inmates d iscu ssed how contraband a t MBP was operated and
c o n tr o lle d by white inmates and how both o f them liv e d well a t MBP
because o f t h e i r involvement:
A:
You could g e t any kind o f drug t h a t you wanted
and money could buy up a t Marquette. . . . Everyone
knew what was going on. . . . I t was n ice because, you
not only could g e t high, but you could a ls o make some
money o f f o f doing i t . . . . A fte r I l e f t M arquette, I
had so much money from d ealin g t h a t I d i d n 't know what
to do with i t . . . . I l e f t almost 4 o r 5 ounces o f
dope up th e r e because I c o u l d n 't take i t with me.

A:
Dave (n o t h is real name) and me had a re a l
good business up in Marquette. We were running 15 to 20
ounces o f dope, p i l l s , some cocaine to anyone who could
pay f o r i t . . . .
I had i t good with them
guards. . . .
I made my money and they made
t h e i r s . . . . S h i t , i f I d i d n 't want t o , I never went
to chow because I had a l l my own s t u f f in my c e l l . . .
i t was l i k e a l i t t l e s to r e with a l l th e p le a s u re s o f
home. I wish I d i d n 't have to le a v e .
Another inmate d iscu ssed the amount o f dope a t MBP in comparison
to HVMF:
I:
OK. What kind o f contraband a re you ta lk in g
about, th e n , t h a t ' s here?
A:

I was looking a t ev ery thin g.

I:

What about dope?

222

A: Very l i t t l e do you have contraband here. Down
here you may have guys maybe caught with a couple o f
ounces, a r e e f e r o r a spoonful o f h ero in o r
something—in M arquette, you g e t caught with pounds, you
know, a l o t o f ounces—10 o r 11 ounces—probably th e
b ig g e s t amount you g e t caught down here maybe i s 2
ounces, I h a v e n 't even heard o f i t .
Many inmates d iscussed how th e MBP environment could be dangerous
because o f th e amount o f money and reso u rces in th e p riso n s e t t i n g .
One Inmate d escribed h is gambling a c t i v i t i e s a t MBP and th e a s s o c ia te d
te n sio n i t produced:
A:
Yeah, I had, a t one tim e, I had 3 blackjack
t a b l e s going, and 2 . . . t a b l e s g o in 1 and I had $1800
book, t h a t I was lo an -sh ark in g up th e r e . I had about,
ah, $2300, a l l th e tim e. And I was takin* a n e t o f $500.
I:
Holy C h r i s t , you had a good l i f e . Do the
guys, s o r t o f , does t h a t p i s s 'em o f f because t h e r e 's no
money around here?
A: Yeah. But you know, a l o t o f men do, because,
s e e , when t h e r e 's money, t h e r e 's a l i t t l e more ten sio n
and you got something to p r o t e c t , i t ' s something t h a t
everybody's a f t e r .
The irony o f t h i s s i t u a t i o n was t h a t while inmates were ab le to
cope w ith t h e i r in c a r c e r a ti o n more e f f e c t i v e l y because o f th e presence
o f a more e la b o r a te contraband system a t MBP, th e r e was th e tr a d e o f f
o f increased te n s io n .

N ev erth eless, t h i s te n s io n was m o llif ie d

through th e informal r e l a t io n s h i p s which occurred among o f f i c e r s and
inmates a t MBP.

In th e long run, th e p ris o n so cia l s e t t i n g a t MBP was

s t a b i l i z e d through th e informal exchange r e l a t io n s h i p s which inmates
and o f f i c e r s e s ta b li s h e d .

For example, a group o f inmates d iscussed

223

how th e se tenuous exchange r e l a t io n s h i p s made MBP a b e t t e r f a c i l i t y to
do tim e:
A:
L ife 1n p riso n i s nothing but pure h e l l , and
so you do you r b e s t to deal with 1 t . . . . I f you can
g e t something going with th e guards, t h a t ' s good because
they can make yo u r l i f e a l o t e a s i e r . . . very common
a t Marquette.

A:
Doing time i s nothing b u t a head game. . . .
You have got to know what i s needed to make your l i f e
b e t t e r . . . th e only th in g t h a t makes l i f e b e t t e r i s
the guards. You know you wash n\y back and I ' l l wash
y o u rs. . . .
A l o t o f them guards do t h a t w ith inmates
and I th in k i t makes everybocty's l i f e e a s i e r . . . i t ' s
j u s t normal a t Marquette.

A:
Some o f th e se o f f i c e r s need a l l the help they
can g e t . . . inmates know t h i s . . . .
So you t r y to
g e t a th in g going with him. I f he sees yo u r s t r a i g h t
w ith him, then h e ' l l give you some slac k l a t e r some
tim e. . . . When I was up a t M arquette, t h i s was re a l
common . . . you know you need i t in t h i s kind o f p la c e .

A:
I t ' s only th e dumb o f f i c e r s who d o n 't
understand th e game . . . t h a t ' s what you have down here
(HVMF), a l o t o f dumb motherfucking p o lic e
( o f f i c e r s ) . . . . When I was up a t M arquette, you had
alm ost a l l r a c i s t guards but you could work w ith them i f
you were smart. I t made time e a s i e r f o r you and them.
As a r e s u l t o f th e se barg ain ing r e l a t i o n s h i p s between o f f i c e r s and
inm ates, th e p ercep tio n among a m a jo rity o f th e inmates was t h a t MBP
was a much t i g h t e r f a c i l i t y and e x h ib ite d more o v e ra ll s t a b i l i t y .
r e l a t i o n to contraband,

i t was found t h a t i t served th e fu n c tio n o f

s t a b i l i z i n g th e environment a t MBP.

On th e o th e r hand, th e d ata

In

224

re v e a le d t h a t o f f i c e r s and Inmates did not have such a r e l a t i o n s h i p a t
HVMF.

T herefo re, Inmates were o f th e opinion t h a t i t produced a l e s s

c o n tr o lle d s t r u c t u r e and more s u s c e p tib le to problems In th e f u tu r e .
4.

Race R elatio n s
Race r e l a t i o n s a t HVMF.

I t was s ta t e d t h a t th e r e l a t i o n s between

blacks and w hites a t HVMF were b e t t e r than in most i n s t i t u t i o n s in the
system .14

The most powerful inmates among th e blacks were the

r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r s , e x h i b i t i n g a form o f r e f e r e n t power as t h e i r
compliance s t r a t e g y .

On th e o th e r hand, white inmates were more

fragmented, w ith only th e b ik e r s being i d e n t i f i e d as a group, even
though to c o n s id e r them as a gang would be erroneous sin c e they did
not have any i d e n t i f i a b l e group goals o r o b je c tiv e s s im i l a r to th e
r e l i g i o u s groups.

I t was suggested t h a t th e re was no r a c ia l te n s io n ,

b ut t h a t th e r e was v o l u n t a r i l y s e g re g a tio n because o f a lack o f
commonality between th e ra c e s.
MBP:

Race R e la tio n s
While r a c i a l d i v i s io n does e x i s t a t HVMF, t h i s was more

problem atic a t MBP.

In f a c t , when d is c u s s in g t h i s to p ic w ith black

inm ates, many did not want to r e tu r n to MBP because o f th e r a c ia l
te n sio n and d i v i s io n between th e ra c e s .

A number o f black inmates

suggested t h a t th e i n t e r a c t i o n s among s t a f f and inmates were between
w hite o f f i c e r s and w hite inm ates.

The white inmates a t MBP c o n tr o lle d

th e e n t i r e inmate o r g a n iz a tio n , with very few, i f no, i n t e r r u p t i o n s
from black p r is o n e r s .

As a r e s u l t , th e w hite and black inmates were

a l ie n a t e d front each o th e r .

225

I t i s th e p e rc e p tio n o f racism a t MBP which was so entrenched
w ith in many o f th e black Inmates a t HVMF.

Many had sp en t time a t MBP,

and t h e i r f e e l i n g s were extrem ely n eg ativ e about MBP, e s p e c i a l l y in
r e l a t i o n to r a c i a l te n s io n and d iv is io n s :
A:

Marquette i s c e n te re d on racism .

I:

A l o t o f racism?

S:
Right, because th e p e n i t e n t i a r y i s . . .
alm ost white p o p u latio n e n t i r e l y and w e 'll j u s t come
th e r e and when most inmates are from M arquette. And a
l o t o f b lack s a re p re ju d ic e up t h e r e . You may have two
black o f f i c e r s in th e whole i n s t i t u t i o n .
I:

Two?

A:

Yeah, yeah.

I:

Holy s h i t .

A:
And as f a r as g e t t i n ' . . . t h e r e , i t ' s
im po ssible. The w hites can do j u s t about anything.
I:

Are th e r e gangs up t h e r e —white . . . ?

A: Well, n o t . . . gang . . . They see a white
guy a s s o c ia tin g with a black guy, . . . they say , hey
man, you c a n ' t keep a s s o c ia tin g 1 ike t h a t . . . w hite
guy . . .
I:

Is th e r e a l o t o f r a c ia l te n sio n up th e re ?

A:

Oh, very much.

I:
i

How do you compare t h a t , th e te n sio n now, to

A:
There i s no comparison. T h e re's r e a l l y no
r a c i a l te n s io n h e re . Blacks and Whites are r e a l l y
se p a ra te d a t M arquette. . . . There are no Blacks and
Whites t h a t want t o r e a l l y g e t to g e th e r up t h e r e . You
could even say th e r e i s a l o t o f hatred between th e
two. T h a t's what th e a d m in is tr a to r s want . . . they
want to s e p a ra te us because they can co ntro l us b e t t e r
. . . a l o t o f racism a t Marquette.

226

A:
I never want to go back to M arquette. Not
only i s th e place a l l fucked up and old . . . i t a ls o
has nothing but r a c i s t guards. . . . Mothers, f a t h e r s ,
b r o th e r s , and s i s t e r s a l l work up a t M arquette. I t ' s a
fam ily th in g where they a l l hate th e nig gers and they
want to p re ss you down . . . t h a t s h i t d o n 't work h ere,
but i t does a t M arquette.

A:
Racism i s everywhere. . . .
c o n cen trated high er in Marquette. . . .
i s n ' t b u t, I th i n k , one guard up th e re
b lack . . . . Not only t h a t th e guards
t h e r e , and they l e t w hites do anything
I t ' s t e r r i b l e f o r blacks a t Marquette.

I t's ju st
You know th e re
th a t is
hate blacks up
they want. . . .

This lack o f involvement was what f u r t h e r se p a ra te d blacks from w hites
a t MBP and p e rp etu ated the r a c ia l te n s io n .

Not only were blacks o f

th e opinion t h a t they had no a u th o r it y in the workings o f th e inmate
s o c ia l system but they were a ls o e x p lo ite d by a m ajo rity o f white
inm ates.
A:
There i s no doubt about i t . . . Them w hites
co n tro l ev ery th in g up a t M arquette. They s h i t on us
b lack s everywhere, and up a t Marquette i t ' s th e worst
. . . T h a t's because a l l th e w hites have t h e i r
b r o th e r s , s i s t e r s , cou sin s and uncles working a t the
p riso n . . . They are a l l th e r e to s h i t on th e b lack s.

A:
White man i s th e only man up a t
M arquette. . . .
You have nothing f o r blacks up a t
Marquette. . . . Other white inmates d o n 't give a fuck
about you o r any o th e r b lack s. . . . They do a l l t h e i r
b u l l s h i t with th e r a c i s t guards and then they wonder why
Blacks and Whites d o n 't g et along in the p lace.
These im pressions were c o n s is te n t w ith w hite inmates who had done
15
time a t MBP. A number o f white inmates expressed how th e "boots"

227

were In l i n e a t MBP, and more Im p o rtan tly , how they had no co n tro l
over any o f the contraband markets.

The t r a d i t i o n a l l y w h ite -o rie n te d

con s tr u c t u r e e x i s t e d a t MBP, w ith th e inmate o r g a n iz a tio n being
c o n tr o lle d and op erated by a few white p ris o n e rs who had e s ta b lis h e d
p o s it i v e r e l a t i o n s w ith c u s to d ia l s t a f f .
One white inmate even wanted to go back to MBP because he liv e d
much b e t t e r and did n o t have to deal with th e blacks up th e r e :
A:
As soon as p o s sib le I'm going to t r y to go
back to MBP because i t ' s a l o t n ic e r up th e r e . . . You
got ev eryth in g you want and you d o n 't have to put up
with a l l th e se j i t t e r b u g s (b la ck s) up th e r e . They know
t h e i r place and I know mine . . .
Plus I can l i v e a
l o t b e t t e r up t h e r e . T heir s to r e i s n ' t a l l fucked up
l i k e i t i s down here.
This s i t u a t i o n f u r t h e r d iv id e s th e inmate o r g a n iz a tio n , and i t could
be problem atic in th e co n tro l o f Inmates, p a r t i c u l a r l y i f r a c ia l
te n s io n i s high.

T h erefo re, i t can be concluded t h a t HVMF had more

s ta b l e r e l a t i o n s between th e r a c e s , while MBP e x h ib ite d r a c i a l
d i v is io n s which in d ic a te d g r e a t e r i n s t a b i l i t y .

When th e se d iv is io n s

lead to Increased vio len ce and a s s a u l t s between th e r a c e s , i t i s a t
t h i s p o in t t h a t th e r e i s no c o n tr o l.
5.

Homosexuality
Overview o f Homosexuality a t HVMF.

Homosexuality a t HVMF was

examined r e ly in g on th e typology provided by Wooden and Parker.
Accordingly, i t was suggested t h a t a m ajo rity o f homosexual encounters
a t HVMF occurred between jo c k e rs o r stu d s and s i s s i e s .

The l a s t two

c a te g o r ie s o f the typology—punk and homosexual—were v i r t u a l l y

228

n o n -e x is te n t a t HVMF.

I t was concluded t h a t th e jo c k e r o r stud was

th e most common sexual s c r i p t among inm ates, with s i s s i e s s e rv ic in g
many o f th e inmates in general p o p u latio n .

Also, th e known

homosexuals were t y p i c a l l y segregated from th e general p o p u latio n , due
to th e p ercep tio n on th e p a r t o f many a d m in is tr a to rs t h a t they caused
problems w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n .
F i n a l l y , i t was suggested t h a t the prevalence o f s i s s i e s w ithin
the general p o p u latio n caused many v io l e n t i n t e r a c t io n s among inm ates,
where th e jo c k e rs o r stu d s t y p i c a l l y r e s o r te d to physical violence in
competing f o r a few number o f s i s s i e s .

Because s i s s i e s were q u ite

lim ite d in the i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment, they were u s u a lly in demand
among those inmates who d e s ire d t h e i r s e r v i c e s .

They, as a r e s u l t ,

could cause problems i f they d e s ir e d , and a d m in is tr a to rs were o fte n
m onitoring th e a c t i v i t i e s o f th e se inmates.
D iv e rsity o f Homosexuality a t MBP
While th e ty p ic a l homosexual a l l i a n c e a t HVMF was between a stud
and s i s s y , MBP e x h ib ite d more d iv e rs e sexual s c r i p t s , in clu d in g more
inmates being "turned out" and known homosexuals in the environment.
Many inmates a t HVMF explained t h a t MBP had a v a r ie ty o f sexual
a c t i v i t i e s e x i s t i n g , e s p e c ia l ly th e prevalence o f homosexual rape
where young inmates were turned o u t by th e more ag g ressiv e s tu d s .
inmate d iscu ssed how he was p r o te c tin g a young inmate who was
t e r r i f i e d o f being s e x u a lly a s s a u lte d :

One

229

A:
M arquette 1s p r e t t y bad.
I know a young kid
up th e r e t h a t I was p r o te c tin g . . . They thought I was
tu rn in g him o u t . . . S h i t , he was j u s t a kid who was
scared and cry in g a l l th e tim e. He was only 17 f u c k in '
y e a r s o ld , man . . . and he was scared t o death o f being
a tta c k e d and raped by o th e r Inmates.
Also, th e j o c k e r o r stu d was ab le to g e t serv iced any time he
d e s ir e d because o f th e prevalence o f I n s t i t u t i o n a l s i s s i e s .

This

sexual s c r i p t was so common t h a t anyone could "g et o f f " ^ 6 i f they
d e s ire d .

In f a c t , th e environment had so many s i s s i e s t h a t fewer

problems e x i s t e d in t r y i n g to o b tain sexual r e l e a s e :
A:
Marquette i s alm ost l i k e Jackson. You can
have anything you want. . . . There a re s i s s i e s , f a g s ,
queens . . . a l l s o r t s o f s h i t up th e r e . . . . You know
t h a t ' s good s o r t o f because you d o n 't have as much
k i l l i n g and s ti c k i n g f o r sex up t h e r e . . . .
I f you
want i t you can have i t . . . t h a t ' s not t r u e here.

A:
When y o u r in p r is o n , sex i s something you
th in k ab ou t, e s p e c i a l l y when your young. . . .
At
M arquette, guys were always g e t t i n g o f f . . . th e same
in Jackson. . . . You a i n ' t got t h a t down here . . .
not as many s i s s i e s and homos. I th in k you g o t more
tro u b le with s i s s i e s here because they use guys to f i g h t
f o r them. . . . You always have t h a t in p ris o n b u t here
i t ' s a l i t t l e b i t worse.

A:
I f you did t h a t kind o f s t u f f a t M arquette, i t
w a s n 't t h a t bad because people were more w i l li n g . . .
you had more o f them and everyone knew 1 t. There w a s n 't
t h a t much s ti c k in g and k n ifin g u n less you fucked with
th e wrong s i s s y . . . . Here you got l e s s o f them and
t h a t causes some problems. . . .
I d o n 't do t h a t type
o f s h i t but th e r e a re a l o t o f inmates who do and
t h e y 'l l f i g h t and k i l l f o r them.

230

N ev erth eless, w hile a c t s o f vio len ce over homosexual encounters
may be reduced because o f the number o f w il l i n g s i s s i e s , you s t i l l
have problems when in d iv id u a l inmates " f a ll in l o v e ." 17

I t was a

consensus among th e inmates how s i s s i e s were thought o f as p ro perty
once they developed sexual r e l a t i o n s with some inm ates.

Thus, i t

became very d i f f i c u l t f o r inmates to share with o t h e r s ; th e r e s u l t i n g
s i t u a t i o n was where inmates fought over th e use o f a p a r t i c u l a r
sis sy .

In s h o r t , th e a l l i a n c e between a s is s y and a stud may lead to

some je a lo u s y on th e p a r t o f th e s tu d ; as a r e s u l t , he does not wish
to share h is r e l a t io n s h i p w ith anyone e l s e , sometimes causing c o n f l i c t
between him and a n o th e r inmate:
A:
The problem with a l l those s i s s i e s i s t h a t
guys f i g h t over them . . . One guy w ill s t i c k an o th er
guy because h is s i s s y was going to him and f e e l s h is
s t u f f (p ro p erty ) was taken from him . . . These guys a re
so dumb and those s i s s i e s know i t . They l i k e to use
guys a g a i n s t each o t h e r . I t makes them feel big when
t h e y 'r e nothing b u t cowards.

A:
I t ' s l i k e o u t on th e s t r e e t . . . you have
some woman and you own her. . . .
In here, th e re are
guys who have t h e i r s i s s i e s and nobody can fuck w ith
them but them. I know guys who would k i l l someone f o r
ta k in g h is p ro p e rty . . . t h a t ' s a very p r iv a te m a tte r
f o r a l o t o f inmates.

A:
I know guys who got stuck by o th e r dudes
because they be fucking with a man's s is s y . . . t h a t
s h i t i s a l l b u l l s h i t . . . b u t i t happens in t h i s
p la c e . I t ' s a s e rio u s m a tte r and nobody wants h is s t u f f
taken from him, in c lu d in g h is s is s y .

231

In a d d i ti o n , known homosexuals were harassed and s e x u a lly abused
by mar\y inmates a t MBP.

This was c o n s is te n t with th e l i t e r a t u r e which

suggested t h a t many known homosexuals were o f te n se x u a lly e x p lo ite d by
18
o th e r inm ates.
Being an adm itted homosexual i s a dangerous
e x is te n c e w ith in th e p ris o n s e t t i n g ;

i t i s a p o s itio n which many

inmates r e je c te d y e t m anipulateed f o r t h e i r own sexual
s e lf-s a ti sfactio n :
A:
Nobody l i k e s them homosexuals, but I t e l l you
t h a t a l o t o f th e s e inmates go to them. . . . Sure they
w o n 't admit t h a t f a c t to you but i t i s s t i l l something
t h a t occurs. . . .
I d o n 't c a r e , but I 'v e gone to guys
f o r sex; i t ' s a p a r t o f being in t h i s p la c e . . . . Now,
Marquette i s a l o t d i f f e r e n t . . . . Everybody e x p l o i t s
them homosexuals up t h e i r , p lus they got a l o t more o f
them.

A:
There i s no r e s p e c t f o r th e fag in p ris o n
. . . l i k e M arquette i t was worse. . . . They are
abused and thrown o u t l i k e garbage. I guess t h a t ' s a l l
p a r t o f being in p r is o n . . . .
S t i l l guys hate them but
they use them. Any guy who says h e 's been in p ris o n
lo n g er than f iv e y e a r s and h a s n 't had sex with ano ther
guy i s b u l l s h i t t i n g . Everyone does i t once.
T h erefo re, what can be concluded about homosexual a f f a i r s a t MBP
i s as fo llo w s:

f i r s t , th e sexual s c r i p t s o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l

p o p u latio n were much more d iv e r s e , in clu d in g punks, s i s s i e s , s tu d s ,
and known homosexuals.

Second, th e r e were more s i s s i e s a t MBP in

comparison to HVMF, w ith th e ty p ic a l r e l a t i o n s h i p being between the
stu d and s i s s y .

This can cause problems in th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l

environment, s p e c i f i c a l l y when stu d s compete f o r th e e x c lu siv e use of
a p a rtic u la r s issy ;

t h i s was not evidenced a t HVMF, sin ce th e r e was a

232

r e s t r i c t e d supply o f th e s e in d iv id u a ls .

The v io lence which occurred

over s i s s i e s was because o f th e lim ite d number o f them and not over an
in d iv id u al s is s y .
T hird , many young and weak inmates were being raped o r turned out
a t MBP.

F ourth, th e known homosexuals w ithin th e I n s t i t u t i o n a l

environment were harassed by a number o f inmates a t MBP, where they
were sex u ally e x p lo ite d and m anipulated by th e inmate p o p u latio n .
This occurred because the percep tio n o f th e ty p ic a l inmate was t h a t
19
known homosexuals were weak and deserved to be m anipulated.
6.

Summary and Conclusion
I n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y and c o n t r o l:

HVMF and MBP.

This ch a p te r

has attem pted to ex p lo re th e r e l a t i v e s t a b i l i t y and co n tro l o f two
i n s t i t u t i o n s on th e focal concerns o f c r i t i c a l i n c id e n t s , contraband,
race r e l a t i o n s , and hom osexuality, w ith a f u r t h e r a n a ly s is o f prison
a p p r o p ria tio n s and e x p e n d itu re s.

An a n a ly s is o f th e se a p p ro p ria tio n

and c o s t f ig u r e s rev ealed t h a t both HVMF and MBP sp en t a m a jo rity o f
t h e i r monies on inmate ca re and c o n tro l and a small percentage on the
t r e a t m e n t / r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f inmates.

Also, i t was suggested t h a t

th e r e was an in h e r e n t t r a d e o f f between th e advanced computer
technology and th e number o f personnel being employed in th e o p e ra tio n
o f th e f a c i l i t i e s .
While HVMF attem pted to co n tro l inmates through the use o f a
computer locking system, MBP's con trol philosophy was p re d ic a te d on
p erso n n el, where more o f f i c e r s were employed in the co n tro l fu n c tio n .

233

I t was found t h a t many o f f i c e r s a t HVMF did not fav o r th e modernity of
c o r r e c t i o n s , due t o th e f a c t t h a t i t promoted indolence on t h e i r p a r t
and they o fte n experienced te c h n ic a l problems in m aintaining i t s
o p e ra tio n .
In r e l a t i o n to c r i t i c a l i n c id e n t s , the d ata revealed t h a t th e re
were a fewer number a t HVMF in comparison to MBP.

However, i t was

suggested t h a t some c a te g o r ie s were h igher a t HVMF than MBP and vice
v e rsa .

N ev erth eless, th e im portant p o in t was t h a t th e c r i t i c a l

in c id e n ts rep resen ted o f f i c e r behavior and i n s t i t u t i o n a l re p o rtin g
s t r a t e g i e s r a t h e r than a ctu al d i s r u p t i v e beh av io r.

This was

c o n s i s t e n t with th e e x p re ssio n s o f inmates who had done time a t MBP
and c u r r e n t l y r e s id e a t HVMF.
S im ila rly , th e a n a l y s is o f contraband systems a t both f a c i l i t i e s
in d ic a te d t h a t MBP was more d iv e rs e in terms o f q u a n t i t i e s and types
o f contraband.

In a d d itio n , th e contraband market evidenced a t MBP

in d ic a te d th e r e l a t i v e importance o f in m a te - o f f le e r networking
r e l a t io n s h i p s and how contraband was used as a v e h ic le in the
s t a b i l i z a t i o n o f th e p riso n s e t t i n g .

In e f f e c t , p riso n contraband

provided o f f i c e r s with the necessary c e r t a i n t y o f c o n t r o l, while i t
enabled inmates to deal w ith th e d e p r iv a tio n s o f p riso n l i f e .
T herefore, when d isc u s s in g co n tro l w ith in a c o r re c tio n a l
i n s t i t u t i o n , th e key f e a t u r e i s th e degree o f d e p riv a tio n experienced
by th e p r is o n e r s o c ia l system and a d m in is tr a tiv e responses to the
demands o f inmates in tr y in g to cope w ith t h e i r i n c a r c e r a tio n .

This

234

i s a ls o a p p lic a b le in an understanding o f race r e l a t i o n s and p riso n
homosexuality.

I t was mentioned t h a t in r e l a t i o n to the former HVMF

had l e s s r a c i a l d i v is io n and th e s e p a ra tio n o f th e races was more
v o lu n ta r ily imposed, whereas th e r a c ia l s i t u a t i o n a t MBP suggested
more o f an i d e n t i f i a b l e d iv is io n between th e ra c e s.
I f s e p a ra tio n o f th e races was employed as a s tr a te g y to d iv id e
and conquer th e inmate o r g a n iz a tio n , th e n e t e f f e c t was th e in creased
a l i e n a ti o n and d e p r iv a tio n f e l t by inm ates.

More im p o rta n tly , such a

s tr a te g y provides l e s s co n tro l and could lead to more s e rio u s c o n f l i c t
and d is o rd e r w ith in th e p riso n environment.

By promoting antagonism

between the r a c e s , th e a d m in is tr a tio n i s developing a s i t u a t i o n where
v io len ce could e r u p t.

The p iv o ta l argument presen ted here c e n te rs

around th e degree o f d e p riv a tio n p erceived by p ris o n e rs and how they
a d ju ste d to t h i s s i t u a t i o n w ith in th e o rg a n iz a tio n a l environment.

The

same l i n e o f reasoning holds t r u e f o r homosexual a l l i a n c e s w ith in
p ris o n environments.
I t was found t h a t th e d e p riv a tio n a l experiences o f inmates a t HVMF
was much lower than a t MBP, thereby c r e a t i n g a l e s s d iv e rse s e t o f
sexual a c t i v i t i e s .

S p e c i f i c a l ly , HVMF showed a predominance o f

i n s t i t u t i o n a l s i s s i e s and s tu d s , w ith very few rapes and known
homosexuals w ith in th e general p o p u latio n .

Conversely, MBP e x h ib ite d

a more d iv e rse s e t o f sexual s c r i p t s , in c lu d in g th e prevalence o f rape
and th e sexual abuse o f known i n s t i t u t i o n a l homosexuals.

The argument

f o r such a v a r ie t y o f sexual s c r i p t s was found in th e amount of

235

d e p riv a tio n experienced by p r is o n e r s .

T herefore, one would expect

more m a n ife s ta tio n s o f sexual v a r i a t io n s as the d e p riv a tio n a l
experience in c r e a s e s (Akers e t a l . , 1974; Wooden and P ark er, 1982).
I t s h a ll be th e purpose o f th e concluding c h a p te r o f t h i s re se a rc h
to examine th e many fin d in g s and im p lic a tio n s provided by t h i s
re se a rc h .

Furtherm ore, su g g estio n s s h a ll be provided which enable

c o r r e c tio n a l a d m in is tr a to r s to e f f e c t i v e l y co n tro l and s t a b i l i z e t h e i r
p ris o n environments.

I t i s hoped t h a t th e se recommendations w ill

prove help ful in making our c o r r e c tio n a l I n s t i t u t i o n s more t r a c t a b l e ,
w hile a t th e same time provide a sa fe and humane environment f o r a l l
people involved.

236

Endnotes - Chapter 6
^Marquette Branch P r is o n 's popu latio n a ls o included the inmates
r e s id in g in th e Michigan In te n siv e Program C enter, which housed an
a d d itio n a l 89 p r is o n e r s .
2In t h i s case th e e x p en d itu res r e f l e c t e d the f i r s t y e a r o f
o p eratio n f o r HVMF.
^The o th e r categ ory r e f e r s to c a p it a l o u tla y s and c o s ts in cu rred
from r i o t s .
4The fig u r e r e p r e s e n ts 311 inmates a t HVMF, while th e c u r r e n t
population i s 411.
^This method o f a s s e s s in g c o s t e f f e c ti v e n e s s was chosen because
o th e r f ig u r e s were n o t a v a i l a b l e , plus i t would be much more
problem atic to e x t r a p o l a t e some type o f meaning from f ig u r e s which
rep resen ted only a small p o rtio n o f th e t o t a l a c t i v i t y w ith in th e
environment. A more a p p r o p ria te method would be to ask those
in d iv id u a ls who work in th e s e t t i n g f o r a deeper u nd erstanding.
6A l i s t i n g and d e f i n i t i o n o f c r i t i c a l In c id e n ts are provided in
Appendix F.
^These were extrem ely p ro b le m a tic, in la r g e p a r t due to the f a c t
t h a t what they measured may have not been c o n tro l o f inmate behavior
b u t th e r e p o rtin g s t r a t e g i e s o f the i n s t i t u t i o n . Also, th e r e were
more inmates a t MBP, so one would expect a g r e a t e r number o f c r i t i c a l
i n c id e n ts re p o rte d .
^Contrary to p u b lic b e l i e f , th e s e f ig u r e s suggest t h a t th ese
events a re q u ite r a r e w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l s e t t i n g s o f p ris o n s .
N ev erth eless, they a re em bellished as i f they were ty p ic a l behaviors
o f such an environment. Nothing i s f u r t h e r from th e t r u t h .
R e s i s t a n c e r e f e r s to a s i t u a t i o n where an inmate a c t u a l l y
f i g h t s w ith a s t a f f member a n d /o r an o th er inmate. Provocation i s
included in t h i s d e f i n i t i o n . N o n -resistan ce i s defined as where th e re
i s no pro vo cation . For example, when an inmate a t t a c k s a s t a f f
member, t h i s i s co n sid e red a n o n - re s is ta n c e a s s a u l t i f no provocation
e x is te d during th e a s s a u l t .
l°Because th e r e were only 40 in c id e n ts o f a s s a u l t o f MBP and 39
a t HVMP, i t was d i f f i c u l t to determine from th e se f ig u r e s e x a c tly why
a s t a f f member would be involved in n o n - re s is ta n c e a s s a u l t s a t MBP as
opposed to an inmate a t HVMF.

237

^Some o f f i c e r s a t HVMF in d ic a te d t h a t th e
to cover up th e in cid en ce o f smuggling because
t h e i r a b i l i t y to c o n t r o l. Some even suggested
were no lo n g er searched thoroughly when coming

a d m in is tra tio n sought
i t r e f l e c t e d poorly on
t h a t was wlty o f f i c e r s
i n to th e f a c i l i t y .

12I f anything would be t r u e , i t would be th e ex a c t o p p o s ite :
th e r e i s more smuggling because th e f a c i l i t y I s new and th e o f f i c e r s
would not be aware o f how to adequately d e t e c t contraband in i t s many
forms.
13This was a common phrase inmates used in t a lk in g about the
o rg a n iz a tio n a l environment and how inm ates, o f f i c e r s , and
a d m in is tr a to rs f i t i n to i d e n t i f i a b l e r o le s which in su red c e r t a i n t y in
th e p ris o n s e t t i n g .
l^ T h is was a consensus among Inmates a t HVMF. In f a c t , a
m a jo rity wished o th e r i n s t i t u t i o n s in th e system were not so r a c i a l l y
d iv id ed .
l 5This was a phrase which white inmates used to r e f e r to black
inmates who were p a r t i c u l a r l y annoying and troublesome in th e
environment.
l 6This was inmate jarg o n which r e fe r e d to r e l ie v in g o n e 's sexual
fru stra tio n .
17()n occasion , inmates do f a l l in love with each o th e r . The
bond i s near permanent, a t l e a s t w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n , and t h i s i s
wlty th e r e a re so many problems; 1 t lead s to v i o l e n t c o n f l i c t s among
inmates.
lo s e e Wooden, Wayne S. and P ark er, J a y , Men Behind Bars: Sexual
E x p lo ita tio n in P r is o n , (Plenum P re ss , New Vork and London, 1582), f o r
a f u r t h e r understanding o f t h i s area o f p riso n s e x u a l i t y , e s p e c ia l ly
Chapter 7 o f th e book.
19D espite th e f a c t t h a t many inmates engaged in th e se o fte n
b i z a r r e sexual r e l a t i o n s , many expressed th e f a c t they f e l t no p i t y
f o r homosexuals. In f a c t , th e r e was much resentment among inmates
toward homosexuals a t HVMF.

CHAPTER V I I

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
1.

Conclusions
The purpose o f t h i s research was to explore the s o c ia l bases o f

power and th e amount o f t r a d i t i o n a l a u t h o r it y w ith in a
maximum-security p e n i t e n t i a r y .

E a r l i e r re se a rc h suggested t h a t p riso n

s o c i e ti e s were t y p i c a l l y co erciv e and o fte n lead to a d i v is io n between
keeper and kept.

In f a c t , much o f th e l i t e r a t u r e hypothesized t h a t

the s o c ia l o rg a n iz a tio n o f p r is o n e r s was l a r g e l y determined by the
s t r a t e g i e s o f co n tro l imposed upon them by p riso n o f f i c i a l s .

In

e f f e c t , as the p riso n a d m in is tra tio n attem pted to achieve co n tro l
through coerciv e measures, inmate s o c ie ty became a l i e n a t e d and f u r t h e r
separated from th e p r i s o n 's formal s t r u c t u r e .
Such was th e case a t HVMF.

This re se a rc h po in ted o u t t h a t th e re

were i d e n t i f i a b l e d iv is i o n s among th e groups a t HVMF and suggested
t h a t estrangem ent was a product o f a formal priso n h ie ra rc h y which
attem pted to i n s t i l l c o n tro l via a co erciv e con trol s t r a t e g y .

In

essen ce, a d m in is tr a to r s a t HVMF sought control through a
c e n t r a l i z a t i o n o f a u th o r ity and promulgation o f s p e c i f i c r u le s and
r e g u la tio n s .

238

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N ev erth eless, t h i s research in d ic a te d t h a t such a r i g i d , formal
s t r u c t u r e was i n e f f e c t i v e in providing co n tro l to th e prison s e t t i n g .
On th e c o n tr a ry , th e c e n tr a l fin d in g o f t h i s research was t h a t the
p riso n o rg a n iz a tio n a t HVMF perp etu ated th e development o f s p e c i f i c
types o f power among a d m in is tr a to r s , o f f i c e r s , and inmates which
f u r t h e r divided th e o rg a n iz a tio n .

Furthermore, th e in tro d u c tio n of

more s o p h is tic a te d hardware did not provide g r e a t e r co n tro l in th e
p ris o n s e t t i n g .

On th e c o n tr a ry , i t c r e a te d i d e n t i f i a b l e groups, each

e x e r c is in g variou s forms o f power.
As a r e s u l t , th e p ris o n environment had v i s i b l e groups which
sought to achieve t h e i r own o b j e c t i v e s .
extremely fragmented.

In s h o r t, th e s e t t i n g was

For a d m in is tr a to r s , i t was found t h a t t h e i r

power was lim ite d to th e bases o f c o e rc iv e , reward, and access to
in fo rm atio n.

I t was mentioned t h a t o f the th re e groups a d m in is tr a to rs

had th e l e a s t d iv e rse arrangement o f power a v a i la b le .

On th e o th e r

hand, inmates had a g r e a te r number o f power b a s e s, e x e rc is in g
c o e rc iv e , r e f e r e n t , l e g i t i m a t e , access to re s o u rc e s , and e x p e rt
power.

F i n a l ly , th e o f f i c e r r o le allowed the e x e r c is e o f c o e rc iv e ,

reward, r e f e r e n t , and le g itim a te kinds o f power.
Three s i g n i f i c a n t co n clusio ns emerged from the a n a ly s is .

F irst,

th e forms o f power a v a ila b le w ith in th e environment a t HVMF were
unevenly d i s t r i b u t e d .

Because th e hierarchy a t HVMF had fewer types

o f power a v a i l a b l e , i t was d i f f i c u l t to co n tro l th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l
se ttin g .

T heir r e lia n c e on coerciv e power, lim ite d reward s t r u c t u r e ,

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and q u estio n ab le methods o f c o l l e c t i n g in form ation had, in e f f e c t ,
made them l e s s powerful in r e l a t i o n to th e inmate body.
This i s not to su gg est t h a t they had no power; however, t h e i r
power was lim ite d .

For example, w hile i t was c o n s is t e n t among those

interview ed t h a t a d m in is tr a to r s had th e power to t r a n s f e r o u t
r e c a l c i t r a n t inmates o r punish r u le v i o l a t o r s , t h i s was viewed as an
ephemeral response to much deeper problems.

A dm inistrators cannot

t r a n s f e r everyone o u t o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n ; they must r e ly on o th e r
forms o f power to co n tro l th e environment.

At p r e s e n t, the

development o f o th e r means o f co n tro l have not been i n i t i a t e d , and as
a consequence, a d m in is tr a to rs have very l i t t l e long term control
w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n .
Second, because o f the form al, s tr u c t u r a l o rg a n iz a tio n of the
p r is o n , inmate power was much more d iv e rs e and g r e a t e r in number.

As

mentioned by th e l i t e r a t u r e , the p r is o n e r s o c ie ty develops i n d i r e c t
o p p o sitio n to th e r i g i d , h ie r a r c h ic a l s t r u c t u r e o f th e p ris o n .
same was t r u e a t HVMF.

The

Many o f th e inmate power bases rep resen ted

informal responses to a highly impersonal p riso n o r g a n iz a tio n .

In

a d d itio n , th e se kinds o f power enabled th e power h olders to e x e r c is e
tremendous amounts o f power w ith in th e o r g a n iz a tio n .

As an example,

i t was s ta t e d how r e l i g i o u s le a d e r s o f th e Muslim groups, in d iv id u a ls
who were knowledgeable about th e leg al system, and those inmates who
provided key re so u rc e s, s p e c i f i c a l l y m arijuana and o th e r forms of
contraband, e x e rc ise d much power in th e o r g a n iz a tio n .

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Thus, t h i s re se a rc h lends some credence to th e statem en t t h a t
"inmates run th e j o i n t . "

The argument was made t h a t many o f th ese

ty p es o f power were only s t r u c t u r a l m utations and a d a p ta tio n s to an
e x i s t i n g o rg a n iz a tio n a l design .

I t i s being suggested t h a t 1f the

p riso n o rg a n iz a tio n would seek to c o n t r o l , i t would a l t e r i t s c u r r e n t
s t r u c t u r a l c o n f ig u ra tio n to expand a d m in is tr a tiv e forms o f power.
Third, o f f i c e r s ' bases o f power, l i k e a d m in is tr a tiv e ty pes o f
power were s i g n i f i c a n t l y weaker in comparison to inmate bases o f
power.

I t was found t h a t the r o le o f a c o r r e c tio n a l o f f i c e r was

p ro b lem atic, o fte n f r u s t r a t i n g and always dangerous.

In a d d itio n , th e

d ata revealed t h a t many o f f i c e r s n e g o tia te d t h e i r own environments and
r e l i e d on s p e c i f i c kinds o f power in th e accomplishment o f t h e i r
o b jectiv es.

T herefore, th e power bases e x h ib ite d by o f f i c e r s were

c o e rc iv e , reward, r e f e r e n t , and l e g i ti m a t e .
Of g r e a t e r s ig n i f i c a n c e , however, many o f th e se forms o f power
were fu n ctio n a l r e a c tio n s to an o fte n perceived inadequate formal
system.

That 1s, th e se bases o f s o c ia l power re p resen ted ad ap tiv e

mechanisms to the a d m in is tr a tiv e scheme promulgated by
a d m in is tr a to r s .

Also, th e s p e c i f i c typ es o f power o f reward and

r e f e r e n t were employed by o f f i c e r s to m aintain c o n t r o l; however, they
a ls o served to promote d ish o n e s ty , m an ip u latio n , and d i s t r u s t on the
p a r t o f inmates.
F i n a l l y , the a n a ly s is suggested t h a t w ith in th e p riso n
o rg a n iz a tio n th e r e was an e q u ilib riu m c r e a te d by th e i n t e r a c t io n of

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th e bases o f power among th e groups.

The p ris o n o rg a n iz a tio n was

c o n tr o lle d and m aintained through a re c o g n itio n and acceptance o f the
various forms o f power among th e groups.

While recognized by a l l

groups in th e o r g a n iz a tio n , much o f th e se behaviors were informal and
s u s c e p tib le to change a t any moment.
This i s what was problem atic about th e o rg a n iz a tio n o f t h i s priso n
- - i t was t e r r i b l y informal w itho ut many permanent o r l a s t i n g r u le s o r
r e g u la tio n s .

As a r e s u l t , th e r e was always going to be much

u n c e r ta in ty in th e environment, in c re a s in g th e p o te n tia l f o r a
d istu rb a n c e in th e f u tu r e .

At p r e s e n t , i t would be extrem ely

dangerous t o attem p t t o a l t e r t h i s s tr u c t u r a l arrangem ent, a t l e a s t in
th e d i r e c t io n o f dim unition o f inmate power.

I f a d m i n i s tr a to r s , f o r

example, attem pted to a l t e r th e power o f those inmates who provided
reso u rc e s to th e inmate s o c ie ty , th e r e would be re p e rc u ssio n s in the
in stitu tio n a l se ttin g .
T his, in t u r n , would a l t e r th e e x is ti n g eq u ilib riu m and produce
f u r t h e r estrangem ent between a d m in is tr a to rs and inm ates.

Futhermore,

what was e x i s t e n t a t HVMF was a p erv erted sense o f o rd er and c o n t r o l,
p re d ic a te d on s e p a ra tio n and d i v is io n and p erp etu ated by th e
development o f p a r t i c u l a r bases o f power over o th e r s .

In o th e r words,

th e o rg a n iz a tio n a t HVMF was s t a b i l i z e d by the s t r u c t u r a l maintenance
o f p a r t i c u l a r s o c ia l bases o f power among a d m in is tr a to r s , o f f i c e r s ,
and inm ates.

In p a r t i c u l a r , however, o f f i c e r and inmate power bases

were c r e a te d in r e a c ti o n to the formal s t r u c t u r e o f the p ris o n .

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As a r e s u l t , i t was suggested t h a t i f th e o rg a n iz a tio n o f th e
p ris o n was rearran g ed to f o s t e r the development o f o th e r kinds of
power, th e environment would be more t r a c t a b l e .

C u rre n tly , th e bases

o f power employed by a d m in is tr a to rs developed o th e r forms o f power
among o f f i c e r s and inm ates, c r e a t i n g an atmosphere where co n tro l was
accomplished; however, i t was achieved in a tenuous fashion and o fte n
in o p p o sitio n to th e e x i s t i n g s t r u c t u r e .

T herefo re, i t was p o s ite d

t h a t more co n tro l could be r e a liz e d w ithin c o r re c tio n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s
i f o th e r typ es o f power were n u rtu red and developed by
a d m in is tr a to r s .

The s p e c i f i c power bases being r e f e r r e d to are

l e g i t i m a t e , reward, and r e f e r e n t .
Focal Concerns:

Measures o f Control

The focal concerns examined were contraband, race r e l a t i o n s ,
i n s t i t u t i o n a l m isconducts, and homosexuality.
some i n t e r e s t i n g f in d in g s .

The a n a ly s is revealed

F i r s t , i t was found t h a t the contraband

system a t HVMF was not as developed as in MBP.

However, the a n a ly s is

did suggest t h a t HVMF does have "SOFT" contraband, with key inmates
providing reso u rces to th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment.

I t was s ta t e d

t h a t th e se reso u rces t y p i c a l l y were drugs, in p a r t i c u l a r m arijuana.
Also, th e d ata rev ealed t h a t the contraband market a t MBP was much
more d iv e rse and organized among inm ates.

In s h o r t , th e r e were more

contraband items and a wider v a r i e t y o f th e se commodities a v a ila b le to
inmates a t MBP.

L a s t l y , i t was hypothesized t h a t th e se contraband

items s t a b i l i z e d th e p riso n s e t t i n g and provided a modicum o f co n tro l
t o a d m in is tr a to rs .

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Second, race r e l a t i o n s were examined a t HVMF and MBP.

The

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n provided suggested t h a t race r e l a t i o n s took on a
s i g n i f i c a n t c h a r a c t e r only when th e inmate o rg a n iz a tio n was not
experiencing some d e p riv a tio n a l experience.

The r e l a t i o n s between the

races a t HVMF were q u ite good in comparison to MBP.

Furtherm ore, once

th e r e was a cause which u n ited th e inmate p o p u la tio n , then th e
r e f e r e n t power o f th e r e l ig i o u s le a d e rs l o s t i t s s ig n if ic a n c e .
C u rre n tly , th e a n a l y s is in d ic a te d t h a t race was not a c r u c ia l f a c t o r
in understanding co n tro l a t HVMF, even though th e re was r e f e r e n t power
among r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r s .
Another area examined was i n s t i t u t i o n a l misconducts.

I t was found

t h a t th e issu ance o f a formal misconduct t i c k e t by an o f f i c e r
re p resen ted more o f f i c e r behavior r a t h e r than
on th e p a r t o f the inmate.

a ctu al ru le i n f r a c t i o n s

At HVMF, the d e c is io n to is s u e a t i c k e t

was co n tin g e n t upon th e p ercep tio n o f th e o f f i c e r t h a t i t was going to
be disposed as g u i l t y .

In a d d i t i o n , i t was shown t h a t a m a jo rity o f

th e major misconducts occurred in th e d e te n tio n , s e g re g a tio n , and
p r o te c tio n a r e a s , w hile a s i g n i f i c a n t number o f minor i n f r a c t i o n s were
lo c a te d in th e general pop ulation a re a s .

I t was suggested t h a t t h i s

was a fu n c tio n o f th e p a r t i c u l a r a reas in th e p riso n and the
p e rc e p tio n s o f o f f i c e r s in th ose a re a s.
I t i s lo g ic a l f o r more major misconducts to occur in the
d e te n tio n , s e g re g a tio n , and p ro te c tio n a r e a s , sin ce th ese were where a
m a jo rity o f th e s e rio u s r u le v i o l a t o r s were s i t u a t e d .

While a

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p la u s ib le i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , i t was hypothesized t h a t what was o ccu rrin g
was th e s e le c t i v e enforcement o f r u le s by o f f i c e r s , and t h a t r u le
enforcement was used only as a l a s t r e s o r t when o th e r methods proved
i n e f f e c t i v e , e . g . , informal avenues such as th ose in h e r e n t w ith in the
accomodative r e l a t i o n s h i p between o f f i c e r and inmate.

F i n a l l y , th e

a n a ly s is in d ic a te d s im i l a r f in d in g s when an e x p lo ra tio n was done
between HVMF and MBP on c r i t i c a l in c i d e n t s , i . e . , they rep resen ted
o f f i c e r behavior and i n s t i t u t i o n a l r e p o rtin g s t r a t e g i e s r a t h e r than
a c tu a l d i s r u p ti v e behavior.
The fo u rth and f in a l area was p riso n homosexuality.

HVMF

e x h ib ite d fewer sexual s c r i p t s o r o r i e n t a t i o n s , with th e ty p ic a l
sexual encounter being between a s is s y and a j o c k e r o r stu d .

Also,

th e r e were fewer rapes and known homosexuals w ith in th e general
pop ulation a t HVMF in comparison to MBP.

The hypothesis put f o r t h was

t h a t the v a r i a t i o n in th e sexual s c r i p t s was a fu n ctio n o f th e
d e p riv a tio n a l experience o f inm ates.

T h erefore, as the sexual

d e p riv a tio n o f inmates in c re a se d , one would expect more m a n ife s ta tio n s
o f various sexual r o le s .

This was more so th e case a t MBP than HVMF.

The key to t h i s d isc u s s io n o f focal concerns was i t s r e l a t i o n to
th e d e p riv a tio n s o f inmates.

Each one o f th e se in d ic a t o r s o f control

was connected to th e experience o f inm ates.

The crux o f t h i s argument

was t h a t when inmates experienced many pain s w ith in th e environment,
i t was much more d i f f i c u l t to c o n t r o l.

In terms o f power r e l a t i o n s ,

i t was p o s ite d t h a t co erciv e power in creased th e p ains being f e l t by

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inm ates.

In t u r n , i r o n i c a l l y , t h i s made th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment

much l e s s t r a c t a b l e .

Moreover, as a consequence, a d m in is tr a to rs

c r e a te d o r g a n iz a tio n a l clim a te s which produced bases o f power which
were a n t i t h e t i c a l to c o n t r o l.
By s tr e s s i n g co erciv e measures, th e p ris o n o r g a n iz a tio n was
a c t u a l l y making i t s e l f l e s s c o n t r o l l a b l e .

Conversely, i f

a d m in is tr a to rs could develop o th e r bases o f power which promoted
leg itim acy and acceptance on th e p a r t o f inm ates, they would have a
smoother running o r g a n iz a tio n .

T h e refo re, th e key q u estion becomes:

How does one develop leg itim acy among p r is o n e r s , and i s t h i s more
e f f e c t i v e in terms o f c o n tr o ll in g th e p riso n o rg a n iz a tio n ?
2.

Im p licatio n s
E tzioni (1975) has m aintained t h a t in d iv id u a ls who a re able to

become morally involved in t h e i r o rg a n iz a tio n show more committment to
th e o r g a n iz a tio n .
con clu sio n.

F u rth e r re se a rc h by o th e rs has come to th e same

Houghland and Wood (1980) found t h a t th e amount o f

co n tro l e x h ib ite d in church o r g a n iz a tio n s was r e l a t e d to the members'
t o t a l commitment to th e o r g a n iz a tio n .

Moreover, Styskal (1980)

concluded t h a t even some p a r t i c i p a t i o n on th e p a r t o f low er-level
members m aintained t h e i r le v e l o f commitment to the o r g a n iz a tio n .
However, th e se p a s t s tu d ie s have tended to focus on th e le v e l of
commitment w ith in v o lun tary o r g a n iz a tio n s , something which i s not
s im i l a r to th e s t r u c t u r a l arrangement of p riso n o rg a n iz a tio n s .

While

p riso n s s t r u c t u r e s a r e not v o lun tary in n a tu r e , i t i s s t i l l r e le v a n t

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to explore how p r is o n e r s can develop, o r g a n i z a ti o n a lly , a high le v e l
o f commitment to th e o r g a n iz a tio n .

This appears to be c r u c ia l in

attem pting to develop le g itim a c y w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l
environment.

This e n t a i l s the development o f l e g i t i m a t e power among

a d m in is tr a to r s , and th e acceptance o f t h i s form o f power among
p r is o n e r s .
I t has been shown in t h i s a n a l y s is t h a t a d m in is tr a to r s r e l i e d on
co erciv e means t o co n tro l th e i n s t i t u t i o n .

I t was concluded t h a t t h i s

type o f power a c t u a l l y promoted th e development o f more i n f lu e n c ia l
forms o f power among inm ates, and t h a t in e f f e c t , a d m in is tr a tiv e power
eroded in th e p ro cess.

T h erefo re, th e a c tu a l co n tro l and s t a b i l i t y of

th e i n s t i t u t i o n was l e f t up t o , in la r g e p a r t , to th e o r g a n iz a tio n of
inm ates, s p e c i f i c a l l y th o se inmates who were in powerful p o s it i o n s in
th e i n s t i t u t i o n a l s e t t i n g .
To modify t h i s o r g a n iz a tio n a l scheme, i t was suggested t h a t the
s tr u c t u r a l arrangement o f th e p riso n be re -o rg a n iz e d to develop o th e r
bases o f power among a d m i n is t r a to r s , o f f i c e r s , and inmates which
s tr e s s e d le g itim a c y .

T h is, in t u r n , would mean t h a t co erciv e measures

o f co n tro l would have to be m odified and reduced, while a t the same
time inclu ding Inmates more fo rm ally in to th e o p e ra tio n o f th e
in stitu tio n .

This may mean th e in c lu s io n o f inmates i n t o the formal

h ierarch y o f th e p ris o n o r g a n iz a tio n .
Baunach (1981) has o f fe r e d an a l t e r n a t i v e to th e t r a d i t i o n a l
p rison s t r u c t u r e through a model o f p a r t i c i p a t o r y management.

She

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su gg ests t h a t one can view i n s t i t u t i o n a l management models w ith in
p ris o n as being composed o f th re e ty p e s:
and Governmental.

Token, Quasi-Governmental,

Each o f th e se types r e p re s e n t d i f f e r e n t

m a n ife s ta tio n s o f power and e x te n t o f r e p r e s e n ta tio n .

Moreover, each

type has an inmate c o u n c il, with th e c o u n c ils fu n c tio n in g d i f f e r e n t l y
w ith in th e p riso n o rg a n iz a tio n .
For example, th e Token model allow s th e inmate council to fu n c tio n
only in a s u p e r f ic i a l se n se , li m i t i n g i t s power only t o a "small
p o r tio n o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n s o p e r a tio n s ."

Furtherm ore, inmate

involvement i s l im ite d and th e degree o f r e p re s e n ta tio n to th e formal
p ris o n s t r u c t u r e i s n o n - e x is te n t.
Within th e Quasi-Governmental model, th e r e i s some power w ith in
th e hands o f inm ates, p a r t i c u l a r l y in r e l a t i o n to th e determ in ation o f
work assignments among inmates and th e development o f some r o l e s ;
however, inmates a re n o t a council to determine sa n c tio n s f o r
v io la tio n s of ru le s.

N ev erth eless, inmates are e le c te d and do have

r e p r e s e n ta tio n w ith in t h i s model.

This type o f approach attem p ts to

develop a c l o s e r t i e between a d m in is tr a tiv e o f f i c i a l s and inmates.
The l a s t type proposed i s th e Governmental model.

This model

comes th e c l o s e s t to th e p a r t i c i p a to r y approach; i t allows inmates to
make ex ecu tiv e d e te rm in a tio n s (c a rry in g o u t p o l i c i e s ) , th e c r e a ti o n o f
r u le s v ia l e g i s l a t i v e a c t i o n , th e determ in atio n o f s a n c tio n s through
j u d i c i a l procedu res, and inmate r e p re s e n ta tio n through inmate
p a r t i c i p a t i o n in th e formal e l e c t i o n p rocess.

Under t h i s approach,

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inmates a r e empowered with s p e c i f i c d u tie s and o b lig a tio n s in the
o p e ra tio n o f the i n s t i t u t i o n .
However, t h i s approach, as with th e former two, does not allow
inmates a share in th e formal decision-m aking o f th e o r g a n iz a tio n ; i t
only empowers inmates to o p erate w ith in the g u id e lin e s e s ta b li s h e d by
th e formal a d m in is tr a tio n and expressed through th e inmate c o u n c ils.
In e f f e c t , t h i s approach, while i t has mar\y powers, i s only advisory
in n atu re and much o f i t s work may be suspended by th e a d m in is tr a tio n .
In response to t h i s s i t u a t i o n , Baunach mentions t h a t an oth er model
does e x i s t which emphasizes f u l l p a r t i c i p a t i o n ; i t i s known as the
f u l l p a r t i c i p a t i o n model and i s c u r r e n t ly h y p o th e tic a l, sin ce the
model has n o t been f u l l y o p e r a tio n a liz e d to d a te .

She s t a t e s the

b a s ic t e n e t s to t h i s model:
The primary d i s t i n c t i o n between t h i s model and the
o th e r s i s t h a t in t h i s model a d m in is tr a to r s , s t a f f , and
inmates c o l l e c t i v e l y share the decision-making a u th o r ity and
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r d e c is io n s made.
The value o f such an approach i s how th e a d m in is tr a tiv e
o r g a n iz a tio n i s d e c e n tr a liz e d and power to make d e c is io n s i s in the
hands o f a d m i n is t r a t o r s , o f f i c e r s , and inm ates.

In e f f e c t , by

g ra n tin g inmates more decision-making a u th o r ity over t h e i r own
d e s t i n i e s , one i s developing a form o f l e g itim a te power.

In t h i s

f a sh io n , inmates a re a b le to develop a normative system which allows
th e i n t e r n a l i z a t i o n o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n s goals an d /o r o b je c tiv e s .

In

s h o r t , inmates a re a b le to I d e n tif y with th e o rg a n iz a tio n when th e r e
i s a commitment on t h e i r p a r t .

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However, t h i s commitment i s only developed through a re c o g n itio n
on th e p a r t o f a d m in is tr a to r s t h a t inmates r e q u ire some form o f
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y in c o n t r o l l i n g t h e i r own l i v e s .

As suggested by Fogel

(1975), inmates should be allowed to "wield lawful power" w ith in the
in stitu tio n .

Only through t h i s l e g i t i m iz a tio n process w ill inmates

allow co n tro l and s t a b i l i t y to develop over tim e; in a d d i t i o n , i t
enables th e inmate o r g a n iz a tio n to develop more congruous
r e l a t io n s h i p s w ith o f f i c e r s and a d m in is tr a to rs .
In the p a s t , th e d i r e c t i o n o f c o r r e c tio n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s has been
determined by th e accomodative and re c ip ro c a l b argaining arrangements
between o f f i c e r s and p r is o n e r s .

With th e in c lu s io n o f a d m in is tr a to r s ,

o f f i c e r s , and inmates in to th e decision-m aking are n a , the i n t e r e s t s of
a l l groups w ill be r e p re s e n te d , and inmates can develop more legal
means to accomodate them selves.

C u rre n tly , th e formal prison

s tr u c t u r e e x h ib ite d a t HVMF and o th e r s im il a r c o r re c tio n a l
i n s t i t u t i o n s a c ro ss th e country in c u lc a te in inmates v alu es,
a t t i t u d e s , and b e l i e f s which f u r t h e r s e p a ra te them from the
a d m in is tr a tio n and i n s t i l l behaviors p re d ic a te d on m anipulation,
d e c e i t , and co ercio n .
These values need to be s u b s t it u t e d w ith o th e rs which s t r e s s an
acceptance o f a shared system o f governance.

Also, through the

development o f le g itim a te power, one can observe how p o s itiv e r e f e r e n t
power can be n u rtu red by c o r r e c tio n a l o f f i c i a l s .

HVMF employed an

anomalous form o f r e f e r e n t power which accentu ated g iv e -ta k e

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r e l a t io n s h i p s and compromised the a u th o r it y o f the o f f i c e r .

However,

with th e development and acceptance o f a le g i t im a t e system one can see
how th e o f f i c e r ro le would be more in tune with th e i n t e r e s t s o f the
p r is o n e r .

In t h i s fa s h io n , o f f i c e r s could serve as r o le models f o r

inmates to em ulate, and p ris o n e rs could use th e o f f i c e r as a r e f e r e n t
p o in t with which to change t h e i r own behaviors.
In a d d itio n , by gaining leg itim acy among the inmate o r g a n iz a tio n ,
a d m in is tr a to rs would be a b le to e s t a b l i s h and d i s t r i b u t e rewards more
e q u ita b ly w ith in th e i n s t i t u t i o n .

These rewards would r e p re s e n t

attem pts on th e p a r t o f a d m in is tr a to rs to p o s it i v e l y promote good
behavior on th e p a r t o f inm ates.

This reward power i s considered an

e x tension o f the formal s t r u c t u r e , which has been developed and
le g itim iz e d by a l l groups involved, includ ing inmates.

As a r e s u l t ,

reward power tak es on a meaning and value f o r inm ates.

In t h i s way,

reward power can be used by a d m in is tr a to rs to promote th e e f f e c t i v e
development o f th e inmate.

In th e p a s t, t h i s form o f power has been

employed by a d m in is tr a to rs and o f f i c e r s in a n e fa rio u s manner:
developing sym biotic r e l a t i o n s h i p s which breed f u r t h e r a l i e n a t i o n in
th e long run and serve as an inpediment to any form o f e f f e c t i v e
change on th e p a r t o f th e inmate.
Thus, th e o r g a n iz a tio n o f the priso n has been t r a d i t i o n a l l y
o perated through measures o f co ercion which accen tuated f u r t h e r
d iv is io n and the lo s s o f t o t a l power in the hands o f a d m in is tr a to rs
and o f f i c e r s .

As evidenced w ith in t h i s r e s e a r c h , t h e r e f o r e , the

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p riso n o rg a n iz a tio n has been s t a b i l i z e d and c o n tr o lle d by inmate
o rg a n iz a tio n s which have c r y s t a l l i z e d s p e c i f i c and informal ty pes o f
power, a l l being developed by a formal p ris o n system which s tr e s s e d
co erciv e measures o f c o n tr o l.
I r o n i c a l l y , th e se methods have proven i n e f f e c t i v e in providing
co n tro l to the o r g a n iz a tio n , and i f con trol was p r e s e n t , i t was
o p e ra tin g only tem p o ra rily u n ti l th e formal o r g a n iz a tio n attem pted to
r e s t r i c t and c o n s tr a in th e bases o f power o f inm ates.

At t h i s

ju n c tu re i s when th e p o te n tia l f o r p riso n i n s t a b i l i t y i s g r e a t e s t .
argued by McCleery (1960), when p riso n a d m in is tr a tio n attem pted to
u p set th e t r a d i t i o n a l l i n e s of a u t h o r it y and power w ith in th e inmate
h ie ra rc h y , a void was c r e a te d and re a c te d t o through v io len ce and
d istu rb a n c e .

Such was th e case in the Hawaii p riso n system in th e

1950's when th e l i n e s o f communication were a l t e r e d and no e f f e c t i v e
exchange could be conducted between key inmates and a d m in is tr a to r s .
As a r e s u l t , th e r i o t s re p resen ted a backlash on th e p a r t o f inmates
to a new l i n e o f communication between inmate le a d e r s and
a d m in is tr a to rs .
Such would be th e case a t HVMF.

I f a d m in is tr a to rs attem pted to

d i f f u s e the power o f key inmates (contraband p r o v id e rs , r e l i g i o u s
le a d e r s , and le g a l e x p e r t s ) , many problems could be expected w ith in
th e i n s t i t u t i o n .

What i s p a r t i c u l a r l y problem atic i s t h a t th e

d if f u s io n o f power among th e se inmates i s t y p i c a l l y handled through
c o erciv e measures, e . g . , t r a n s f e r r i n g o u t th e in d iv id u al o r hole

As

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time.

This only ex acerb ates th e e x i s t i n g tenuous s i t u a t i o n .

The

power o f th e se in d iv id u a ls can only be reorganized through a
r e s tr u c tu r in g o f th e environment to in clude them and o th e r inmates in
th e decision-making processes o f the i n s t i t u t i o n .
S tastny and Tyrnauer (1982) r e f e r to t h i s r e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f power
a s " d e to t a l iz a ti o n " o f the prison environment.

They suggest t h a t

fu tu r e prison o rg a n iz a tio n s should attem pt to i n s t i l l more democratic
values w ith in th e p ris o n e r po pu lation.

This e n t a i l s the r e a llo c a tio n

o f power and the development o f a more e f f e c t i v e voice among inmates.
However, as suggested by S tastn y and Tyrnauer, the prog ress toward
t h i s goal has been extremely slow.

Moreover, i t seems t h a t even when

i n i t i a t e d s u p e r f i c i a l l y the f in a l r e s u l t was t y p i c a l l y something which
r e i f i e d th e e x is ti n g o rg a n iz a tio n a l s t a t u s quo, with no s u b sta n tiv e
change in th e s t r u c t u r a l design o f the o rg a n iz a tio n .
As suggested by th e l i t e r a t u r e on o rg a n iz a tio n a l change and
development, th e idea o f "shared power" has much p o te n tia l fo r
o r g a n iz a tio n s , in clu din g p riso n o rg a n iz a tio n s .

As proposed by Greiner

(1978), t h i s shared power approach enables "new su rg e s -o f energy and
c r e a t i v i t y not prev iou sly imagined." to be developed.

Tannenbaum

(1962) f u r t h e r develops t h i s notion when he s t a t e s :
We assume f u r t h e r . . . t h a t in c re a sin g and d i s t r i b u t i n g
th e e x e rc ise o f co n tro l more broadly in an o rg a n iz a tio n helps
to d i s t r i b u t e an im portant sense o f involvement in the
o rg a n iz a tio n . Members become more ego involved. Aspects of
p e r s o n a lity which o r d in a r i l y do not fin d expression now
c o n tr ib u te to th e m otivation o f th e members. The
o rg an izatio n provides members with a f u l l e r range of
ex periences.

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There i s no reason to b e lie v e t h a t t h i s shared r e s p o n s i b i l i t y approach
cannot be ap p lie d to i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o r r e c ti o n s .
However, i t w ill ta k e th e commitment o f a l l the groups involved
and support from th e " o u tsid e " community f o r such a rearrangem ent to
succeed.

Until t h i s e f f o r t i s i n i t i a t e d , i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o r re c tio n s

w ill continue to e x i s t p re d ic a te d on the tenuous forms o f c o r ru p tio n ,
c o ercio n , and m anip ulatio n.

What i s s i g n i f i c a n t i s t h a t th e se forms

o f co n tro l a re bound t o f a i l , and c o r r e c tio n a l h i s to r y i s r e p l e t e with
examples which in d i c a t e th e n o n - u t i l i t y o f m aintaining such a
s t r u c t u r a l arrangement.
Im p licatio n s f o r F uture Research
While th e r e a re p r a c t i c a l im p lic a tio n s from t h i s study valuable to
th e o p eratio n and c o n tro l o f c o r r e c tio n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , th e r e a re a ls o
t h e o r e t i c a l , m ethodological, and re se a rc h im p lic a tio n s f o r fu tu re
re se a rc h e rs d e s ir i n g t o i n v e s t i g a t e power d i s t r i b u t i o n and co n tro l
w ith in c o r r e c tio n a l environments.

This re se a rc h has attem pted to show

t h a t research i n to th e elem ents o f power and s t a b i l i t y a re much more
d iv e rs e than p re v io u sly p o rtray ed w ith in th e l i t e r a t u r e .

P ast

research has suggested t h a t c o r r e c tio n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s operated
employing co erciv e measures as co n tro l mechanisms.

While p a r t i a l l y

t r u e , t h i s re se a rc h m aintained t h a t power and i t s v a r i a tio n s were
c o n tin g e n t upon the co n tex tu al arrangement o f the o rg a n iz a tio n .
Furthermore, c u r r e n t formal p r a c t i c e s implemented by a d m in is tr a to rs
tended to promote pow erlessness on t h e i r p a r t , while a t the same time
enhanced th e amount and types o f power among th e inmate o rg a n iz a tio n .

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Therefore, what was suggested was t h a t the power o f inmates was a
fu n ctio n a l response t o th e p riso n s tr u c t u r e .

However, i t was much

more than an adap tiv e r e a c tio n on the p a r t o f inm ates; i t was a ls o a
c r e a tio n and p e rp e tu a tio n o f types o f power.

In e f f e c t , not only were

inmates powerful v i s - a - v i s th e formal a d m in is tr a tiv e s t r u c t u r e , as
suggested by th e f u n c tio n a l- a d a p tiv e theory o f inmate s o c i a l i z a t i o n ,
b u t more im p o rtan tly , they were powerful in s p e c i f ic and i d e n t i f i a b l e
ways, whether i t be c o e r c iv e , r e f e r e n t , l e g i t i m a t e , e x p e r t, o r
providing o f re so u rc e s.
A th e o r e t ic a l im p lic a tio n f o r f u tu r e research would be the
d iff e r e n c e s in th e ty p e s o f power among v ario u s groups w ith in
d i f f e r i n g c o r re c tio n a l o rg a n iz a tio n s .

For example, are th e re

d i f f e r in g forms o f power c r e a te d w ith in tre a tm e n t o r ie n te d
i n s t i t u t i o n s as apposed to c u s to d ia l based p riso n s?

I f so, what are

th e varying types o f power among th e o p e ra tin g groups?
I t i s being suggested t h a t th e se kinds o f in v e s t i g a t io n s w ill
enable re se a rc h e rs and p r a c t i t i o n e r s to understand c o r r e c tio n a l
i n s t i t u t i o n s more thoroughly and provide a g r e a t e r degree o f s t a b i l i t y
to the environments.

Thus, f u tu r e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s w ith in p riso n

s o c i e t i e s need to t h e o r e t i c a l l y c o n sid e r th e v a r ia t io n s o f power and
how they are t i e d t o o rg a n iz a tio n a l s t r u c t u r e .

T herefore, th e c e n tra l

t h e s i s o f t h i s research was t h a t c o n tin g en t upon the o rg a n iz a tio n a l
s tr u c t u r e m aintained t h e r e were observable forms o f power among
a d m in is tr a to r s , o f f i c e r s , and inm ates.

And as a r e s u l t , recognizing

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th e se types o f power among th e groups enables a deeper understanding
o f th e n atu re o f c o n tro l In c o r r e c tio n a l environments.
While t h e o r e t ic a l im p lic a tio n s a re im p o rtan t, th e r e a re a ls o some
methodological is s u e s which need to be addressed.

F i r s t , because o f

th e n atu re o f th e re se a rc h i t was d i f f i c u l t t o o b tain responses from
p r is o n e r s in c e r t a i n a r e a s .

For example, many inmates were wary o f

d isc u ssin g how contraband op erated and who c o n tr o lle d th e subrosa
a c t i v i t i e s in th e p r is o n .

T herefo re, i t i s being suggested t h a t

f u tu r e research i n t o th e se to p ic a l a reas recognize the problem atic
n atu re o f such an i n v e s t i g a t i o n .

In a d d itio n , re s e a rc h e rs need to

develop in stru m ents which a s s e s s th e vario us c o n s tr u c ts w ithout
je o p a rd iz in g th e e n t i r e study.
Second, th e amount o f e f f o r t , tim e, and resou rces req u ired to
complete such a study deserve some a t t e n t i o n .

Regardless o f th e

advances made, fu tu r e r e s e a r c h e r s need to be aware o f th e tremendous
amounts o f e f f o r t re q u ire d to u t i l i z i n g such a methodological
approach.

Q u a lita tiv e a n a ly s is i s not sim ple; i t i s arduous and o fte n

fru stratin g .

T h erefo re, i t would be wise f o r f u tu r e re s e a rc h e rs to

c o n s id e r the req u ired e f f o r t before attem pting to employ such an
approach.
F i n a l l y , th e re a re research im p lic a tio n s from t h i s study:

F irst,

as mentioned e a r l i e r , i t would be i n t e r e s t i n g to see i f th e forms o f
power vary from d i f f e r i n g types o f c o r r e c tio n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s .
S p e c i f i c a l l y , i s th e r e a d iff e r e n c e in th e types o f power employed

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among th e groups 1n tre a tm e n t run i n s t i t u t i o n s as opposed to
c u s to d ia l - p u n it i v e p riso n s tr u c t u r e s ?

This type o f research would be

v aluable in a s s e s s in g th e r o le o f v ario u s o rg a n iz a tio n a l s t r u c t u r e s in
determ ining d i s p a r a t e forms o f power among priso n groups.

For

example, some i n s t i t u t i o n s attem p t to i n s t i l l a th e r a p e u tic
community.

Does t h i s mean le g itim a te a u th o r ity o r power 1s being

developed?

This r e q u ire s f u r t h e r i n v e s ti g a t i o n .

Second, i t would be h elpful to supplement the q u a l i t a t i v e method
with some q u a n t i t a t i v e approach.

In p a r t i c u l a r , i f an o b je c tiv e

measure o f th e so cia l bases o f power could be developed and employed,
i t would enhance our a b i l i t y to grasp th e c o n s tr u c t s .

In t h i s way,

th e instrum ent may be more v a lid in a s se s sin g th e vario u s forms of
power e x i s t i n g among th e groups.

In a d d itio n , o th e r methods o f

a s s e s s in g co ntro l via misconducts and c r i t i c a l in c id e n t r e p o rts would
expand our knowledge o f th e s t a b i l i t y o f a p a r t i c u l a r I n s t i t u t i o n .
L a s tly , o th e r research may i n d ic a te the f u t i l i t y o f attem pting to
con trol c o r r e c tio n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s employing advanced technology.

As

shown by t h i s r e s e a r c h , modern approaches in the control o f p ris o n e rs
mean very l i t t l e i f leg itim acy i s not given by th ose c o n tr o lle d .
Computer locking system s, microwave d e te c t o r s , and t e l e v i s i o n cameras
provide no e x tr a c o n tro l w ith in th e p riso n environment, and in f a c t ,
they may be too c o s tl y f o r what i s produced.

As an im p lic a tio n of

t h i s r e s e a r c h , i t i s being suggested t h a t th e advancement in the
u t i l i z a t i o n o f more s o p h is tic a te d hardware and technology may not

258

a l t e r and enhance c o e rc iv e co n tro l on th e p a r t o f a d m in is tr a to r s .

In

e f f e c t , th e employment o f such te c h n o lo g ie s may c r e a t e th e o pp osite
s i t u a t i o n , where power i s more d iv e rs e and con cen trated in the hands
o f key inm ates.

Knowing t h i s enables p o lic y makers to plan more

e f f e c t i v e l y and e f f i c i e n t l y in th e f u tu r e c o n s tr u c tio n o f prison
fa c ilitie s .
R egardless o f technology employed, co n tro l and s t a b i l i t y can only
be r e a l i z e d through a re c o g n itio n o f power u t i l i z e d , suggesting t h a t
some bases o f power a re more amenable to c o n tro l than o th e rs
( le g itim a te vs. c o e r c i v e ) .

T h erefo re, f u tu r e re se a rc h would want to

examine more thoroughly th e r o le o f modern forms o f s o p h is t i c a t i o n in
c o n t r o ll i n g p r is o n e r p o p u la tio n s.

At p r e s e n t, t h i s research suggests

t h a t such an employment was not r e le v a n t in understanding the
d i v e r s i t i e s and c o m p le x itie s o f power among groups w ithin p ris o n
s tru c tu re s.

Moreover, i t was tenuous a t b e s t to conclude t h a t i t made

inmates more t r a c t a b l e r a t h e r than th e t r a d i t i o n a l p riso n s t r u c t u r e .
In s p i t e o f th e su g g estio n s provided by t h i s type of r e s e a r c h , i t
was intended to shed some l i g h t on th e n a tu re o f bases o f s o c ia l power
and how they were interwoven with co n tro l and s t a b i l i t y o f a prison
s e ttin g .

Only w ith f u r t h e r i n v e s ti g a t i o n w ill more knowledge be made

a v a il a b l e to r e s e a r c h e r s , p r a c t i t i o n e r s , and laymen in t h e i r
c o l l e c t i v e understanding of c o r r e c tio n a l environments.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

Interv iew Guide

259

Appendix A
INTERVIEW GUIDE
1. How i s t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n b e t t e r to do time than your previous
in s titu tio n ?
2. Is inmate behavior c o n tr o lle d to a g r e a t e r e x te n t here than in
yo ur former i n s t i t u t i o n ? I f so , how i s i t c o n tr o lle d b e t t e r ?
3. How i s th e lev el o f contraband in t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n d i f f e r e n t
compared to your former i n s t i t u t i o n ?
4.

What kind o f a s s a u l t i v e in c id e n ts occur among inmates a t t h i s
i n s t i t u t i o n compared t o your former i n s t i t u t i o n ?

5. How does th e s t a f f co n tro l a s s a u l t i v e behavior in the i n s t i t u t i o n ?
6.

How much c o n tro l does th e s t a f f have in determ ining inm ates'
behavi or?

7.

What inmate groups e x e r c is e power in the i n s t i t u t i o n ?

8.

How do inmates e x e r c is e c o n tro l in the i n s t i t u t i o n ?

9.

How does th e a d m in is tr a tio n reward/punish p o s itiv e /n e g a tiv e
behavior on th e p a r t o f inmates?

10. How do th e guards reward/punish p o s iti v e /n e g a t i v e behavior on the
p a r t o f inm ates, both form ally and in form ally?
11. Of th o se inmates who are th e most in flu e n c ia l/p o w e rfu l in the
i n s t i t u t i o n , what giv es them t h a t in flu e n c e an d /o r power?
12. How does one become a s n itc h in the i n s t i t u t i o n ?
13. What makes an o f f i c e r resp ected in the i n s t i t u t i o n ?
14. What makes an inmate resp ected in th e i n s t i t u t i o n ?
15. How do blacks and w hites g e t along in th e i n s t i t u t i o n ?
16. How s a fe and secure i s t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n compared to your former
in stitu tio n ?
17. What i s th e lev el o f homosexual a c t i v i t y among inmates compared to
you r former i n s t i t u t i o n ?

APPENDIX B

C lie n t Release Form

260

Appendix B
CLIENT RELEASE FORM
I n s tr u c tio n s f o r S t a f f
Release must be signed and w itnessed p r i o r to any in te rv ie w s t h a t are
to be published o r b ro a d c a st 1n p a r t o r in whole and p r i o r to
production o f s t i l l a n d /o r motion p i c t u r e s an d /o r voice recordin gs
an d /o r v id eo tap e. S eparate occasions re q u ire s e p a ra te r e l e a s e forms.
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY:
I give my perm ission t o :

( I n i t i a l a l l t h a t apply)

Be interview ed
Be photographed with s t i l l equipment
Be film ed w ith motion p i c t u r e o r video ta p in g equipment
Have my voice recorded.
I understand t h a t th e r e s u l t i n g product can be cop yrig hted o r
so ld . I waive th e r i g h t to in sp e c t an d /o r approye^the f in is h e d
product.
I agree to the follow ing uses o f the p roduct:
apply)

( I n i t i a l those t h a t

Any le g a l use
Only f o r use by th e Department o f C o rrectio n s as i t
sees f i t (example: R eports, b ro ch u res, f ilm s , s l i d e s ,
e tc .)
Only f o r :

(P lease sp e c ify ) ___________________________

I understand t h a t i f I give my perm ission f o r the photographs,
f ilm in g , v id eo tap in g , in terv iew in g o r voice reco rd in g s t h a t I have
given up aqy r i g h t to privacy and the use o f th e product may i d e n t i f y
me to the general p u b lic as a c l i e n t o f th e Department o f C o rre c tio n s.
I have v o lu n ta r ily signed t h i s r e le a s e . I have been t o l d t h a t I do
not have to g ra n t perm ision, and t h a t I w ill not be su b jec te d to
unfavorable tre a tm e n t i f I re fu s e perm ission.
CLIENT SIGNATURE
WITNESS SIGNATURE
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY:

NO.

DATE

APPENDIX C

Contraband Defined

261

APPENDIX C
CONTRABAND DEFINED
1.

P ris o n e r c lo th in g may In clu d e:

T ro users; s h i r t s ; w in te r

j a c k e t o r c o a t ; lig h tw e ig h t j a c k e t ; sw eaters; d re ss shoes:
jogging o r canvas shoes; boots o r overshoes; bedroom s li p p e r s
o r shower shoes; pajamas; swim tru n k s ; headgear; walking o r
a t h l e t i c s h o r t s ; u n d e rsh o rts; u n d e r s h ir ts o r t - s h 1 r t s ; w in te r
underwear; socks; s w e a t s h ir t s ; d re ss gloves; r a in c o a t;
b athrob e; a t h l e t i c s u p p o rte r ; jump, a t h l e t i c o r jogging s u i t ;
b e lt.
2.

Radio, one o n ly , A.M., F.M. o r A.M.-F.M. combination
t r a n s i s t o r r a d i o , b a t t e r y o perated and equipped with e a r
plugs o r earphones.

3.

C a s s e tte tap e p la y e r , one o nly , b a t t e r y o perated and equipped
with earp lu g s (must be purchased through th e i n s t i t u t i o n ) .
Recorders a re not allowed.

4.

C a sse tte t a p e s , as a v a il a b l e from PRISONER s t o r e s .

Limit o f

30.
5.

Manual ty p e w r ite r , one only, p o rta b le w ith c a rry in g case.
E l e c tr i c t y p e w r ite r s p erm itted only on a t t r i t i o n b a s is
( e l e c t r i c ty p e w r ite rs not p erm itted a t Cassidy Lake and Camp
Program).

THIS ITEM CAN BE INCLUDED IN EXCESS OF THE DUFFLE

BAG AND F00TL0CKER REQUIREMENT.
6.

E l e c tr i c r a z o r an d /o r c l i p p e r s , one each.

262

7.

Table lamp, one o n ly , h ob by craft, purchased through r e s id e n t
s to r e o r approved vendor.

8.

Watch, one only.

9.

Wedding r in g , o r s e t , worn upon a r r i v a l a t RARC, one only.
Must be o f a design and s iz e so as not to p r e s e n t p o te n tia l
f o r use as weapon.

THIS ITEM SHALL ALSO BE RECORDED ON THE

PRISONER PROPERTY RECEIPT FORM.
10.

Jew elry:

Necklace, b r a c e l e t , PAIR e a r r in g s (one each ), as

approved by i n s t i t u t i o n .

Lim it o f $25 r e t a i l value.

THESE

ITEMS SHALL ALSO BE RECORDED ON THE PRISONER PROPERTY RECEIPT
FORM.
11.

C a lc u la to r , one o nly , lim ite d to $10 in r e t a i l value.

12.

Musical in stru m en ts w ill be p erm itted only with p r io r
approval o f th e warden o r s u p e rin te n d e n t o r t h e i r designee.
This item can be included in excess o f th e d u f f le bag and
f o o tlo c k e r requirem ent.

13.

Earphones r a te d a t 2000 ohms impedance with a standard two
conductor plug measuring 1/4 - in c h in diam eter and 1 1/4 -in c h
in len g th may be purchased t o s u b s t i t u t e f o r s t a t e is s u e s e ts .

14.

Eyeglasses and p ro s th e s e s as au th o riz e d by medical s t a f f .

15.

Sunglasses, one p a i r , purchased through p ris o n e r s to r e o r
brought in on v i s i t s .

263

16.

Black and w hite t e l e v i s i o n , one only, as a v a ila b le through
in s titu tio n s to re s .

All s e ts must be equipped w ith earp lug s

o r earphones, l i m i t o f $125 r e t a i l v alue.

This item can be

included in excess of the d u f fle bag and fo o tlo c k e r
requirem ent.
17.

I n s t i t u t i o n a l l y approved l e i s u r e time games such as playing
c a r d s , c h eck ers, chess s e t s , dominoes and crib bage boards.
Limit o f s ix (6 ).

18.

F o o tlo ck ers, one only, must f i t under bed.

19.

Padlock, as a v a ila b le from p r is o n e r s to r e .

20.

P o rtab le sewing machine, as approved by i n s t i t u t i o n , one only.

21.

R ecreation equipment, as s p e c i f i c a l l y approved by the
re s p e c tiv e f a c i l i t y , such as te n n is r a c q u e ts , s k a te s , g o lf
c lu b s , and so f o r t h should be sto re d in the r e c r e a tio n a re a .
W ritten a u th o r iz a tio n sh a ll be req u ired p r i o r to purchase i f
th e se items a re to be kept in the housing u n i t .

22.

Canteen o r inmate s to r e expendable merchandise s h a ll not be
p erm itted to accumulate in excess o f $45, with not more than
give (5) b o t t l e s o r cans of t o i l e t a r t i c l e s .

Whenever

p o s s ib l e , inmate s to r e s w ill s e l l t o i l e t a r t i c l e s in p l a s t i c
c o n ta in e r s only.
23.

Hobbycraft items w ill be lim ite d to those approved on the
hobbycraft perm it in reasonable q u a n t i t i e s a u th o riz ed by the
in stitu tio n .

Reading m a te r ia ls in the following q u a n t i t i e s a re considered
reaso n ab le:
a.

All school books, as au th o riz ed by p r i n c i p a l / t e a c h e r .

b.

Up to 10 law books as needed by th e p r is o n e r f o r
re se a rc h in g h i s / h e r own c a s e ; d isp u te s to be reso lv ed by
law l i b r a r i a n a n d /o r hearing o f f i c e r .

c.

Other books up to a t o t a l o f te n .

d.

Magazines, no more than ten is s u e s In p o sse ssio n .

e.

Scrap book f o r p ic tu r e and news c lip p in g s .

f.

Legal papers which a re concerned with a p r i s o n e r 's
personal pending l i t i g a t i o n .

In extreme in s ta n c e s t h i s

may be allowed beyond th e p ro perty l i m i t .
g.

Newspapers, ten is s u e s .

Cell f u rn is h in g s in a d d itio n to s t a t e issu ed f u r n i t u r e :
a.

One m irro r — g l a s s , s t a i n l e s s s te e l o r p o lish ed
aluminum (as d esig nated by th e f a c i l i t y ) except in
s e g re g a tio n a re a s where m irro rs w ill be provided by the
in stitu tio n .

b.

I n s t i t u t i o n s may approve the hanging o f b u l l e t i n boards
on th e w a lls except on b u l l e t i n boards.
may be d isp lay ed only in s id e lo c k e r s .
exceed two f e e t square in s iz e .

Nude p ic tu r e s
Items are not to

A reasonable s e le c t io n

o f n e a tly arranged p ic tu r e s w ill be allowed on the desk,
t a b l e o r lo c k e r to p .

265

26.

P r e s c r ip tio n m edications.

27.

Hair d ry e r, one on ly, as approved by i n s t i t u t i o n .

28.

Attache c a s e , one o n ly , as a v a ila b le through p r is o n e r s t o r e .

29.

One rug and one s e t o f d r a p e r i e s , as approved by i n s t i t u t i o n .

30.

R elig io us item s, as approved by i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a f f .

APPENDIX D

Major Misconducts Defined

266

Appendix D
MAJOR MISCONDUCTS DEFINED
Code

001

M a jo r Rule V io la tio n s

*Escape; Attempt to Escape
Leaving o r T a ilin g to re tu rn
to lawful custody w ithout
a u t h o r iz a t io n . F a ilu r e to
re tu r n w ith in two hours a f t e r
th e d esig n a te d tim e, o r w ith in
24 hours i f assig n ed to
community r e s i d e n t i a l
programs, from furlough to
p a ss.

Common Examples

Leaving from h o sp ita l t r i p
o r w hile housed a t h o s p it a l ;
hiding from a u t h o r i t i e s , even
i f s t i l l on p ris o n p r o p e rty ,
would be attem pted escape.
Unauthorized change o f
approved furlough d e s ti n a ­
ti o n . (Except i s a felony
and w ill always be r e f e r r e d
to th e p r o s e c u t o r . )

002

Felony
Breaking and e n te r in g
Any a c t t h a t would be a felony
u n d e r s ta te law i s a ls o a major
misconduct v i o l a t i o n . Reference
must be made to th e s p e c if i c
s t a t u t o r y c i t a t i o n in a l l cases
where t h i s charge i s a lle g e d .

010

*Homiclde
Causing th e death o f ano th er
person by any means.

Oil

*A ssault and B attery
Physical a tta c k on, o r i n t e n ­
t i o n a l , non-consensual touching
o f , an o th er p erson , done e i t h e r
in an ger, o r w ith th e purpose
o f abusing o r i n j u r i n g another.
In ju ry i s n o t n ecessary but
c o n ta c t i s .

012

t h r e a t e n i n g Behavior
Words, a c tio n s o r o th e r
beh avior e x p ressin g an i n t e n t
to i n j u r e , which in te n d s to
place a n o th e r in f e a r o f being
p h y s ic a lly harmed o r a s s a u l t e d ;
in clu d es a s s a u l t and b a t t e r y .

Attack by one o r more
p erson s; s t r i k i n g with feces
o r o th e r o b j e c t s ; physical
r e s i s ta n c e o f , o r i n t e r ­
feren ce w ith , an employee.
(Note t h a t th e victim o f an
a s s a u l t and b a tt e r y should
not be charged with a
v io latio n o f th is r u le .)
T hreats o f sexual a s s a u l t
made by one p r is o n e r to
ano ther p r is o n e r ; w ritin g
th re a te n in g l e t t e r s to
person.

267

Appendix D
Code

013

014

020

021

M a jo r Rule V io la tio n s

*Sexua1 A ssau lt
Sexual p e n e tr a tio n o f , o r
o th e r c o n ta c t w ith another
person w ith o u t t h a t p e rso n 's
co nsent; non-consensual
physical c o n ta c t fo r sexual
purposes.
*F1ght1ng
P h y s i c a l c o n f r o n t a t io n
between two o r more p erso ns,
Including a swing and m iss,
done with anger o r I n te n t to
I n ju r e .
eying
Di sobeyi
ng a D ire c t Order
Refusal o r f a i l u r e to follow
a v a l i d , reaso nable o rd e r.

Possession o f Forged
Documents; Forgery
Knowingly possessing a f a l s i ­
f ie d o r a l t e r e d document;
a lte rin g or fa lsify in g a
document w ith th e i n t e n t to
deceive o r defraud.

022

* I n c i te to R iot o r S t r i k e ,
R ioting o r S trik in g Encouragement o f a c tio n t o d i s r u p t o r
endanger the i n s t i t u t i o n ,
persons o r p ro p e rty ; p a r t i c i p a ­
ti o n in such a c tio n .

023

In te rf e re n c e with the
A d m inistratio n o f Rules
Acts in ten d in g to impede,
d i s r u p t o r m islead th e d i s c i ­
p lin a ry p ro cesses f o r s t a f f
o r p r is o n e r s .

Common Examples

Rape, i n te n tio n a l touching
o f sexual area ( e . g . , b u t­
to c k s , b r e a s t s , g e n i t a l s )
w ithout co n sen t; k is s in g or
embrace w ithout consent o f
one who i s k iss e d o r
embraced.
F ig h t between p r is o n e r s ,
whether w ith f i s t s , broom
handles o r o th e r weapons.

Refusal to submit to a shakedown; f le e i n g from an
o f f i c e r , a f t e r being d ire c te d
to stop.

A fake p a s s, a p p lic a tio n ,
furlough p apers, e t c . which
i s re p resen ted to be t r u e .

In tim id a tin g o r tampering
with an inform ant o r w itn e ss ;
tampering w ith o r destro yin g
evidence; i n t e r f e r i n g with
an employee w r itin g a mis­
conduct r e p o r t ; making f a l s e
accu satio n s o f misconduct

268

Appendix D
Code

M ajo r Rule V io la tio n s

Common Examples

a g a i n s t ano ther p r is o n e r o r
s t a f f which would o r d in a r i l y
r e s u l t in d i s c i p l i n a r y
a c tio n begin I n i t i a t e d
a g a i n s t t h a t person. (Note ■
should not be charged as
r e t a l i a t i o n f o r th e w r itin g
o f a g r ie v a n c e .)
024

Bribery o f an Employee
O ffering to give o r withhold
anything to persuade an employee
t o n e g le c t d u t i e s o r perform
fa v o rs .

026

Insolence
Words, a c tio n s o r o th e r
behavior which i s intended
to harass o r cause alarm in
an employee.

Cursing; abusive language,
w r itin g o r g e s tu re d ire c te d
a t an employee.

027

D estru ctio n o r Misuse o f
S ta te P ro p e rty with Value
o f fl'ff o f Wore
Tampering with locking
Any d e s tr u c t io n , removal,
device; use o f door plug.
a l t e r a t i o n , tam pering, o r
o th e r misuse o f s t a t e p rop erty
which has a value o f $10 o r more.

028

F a ilu re to M aintain Employment
F a ilu re o f a p r is o n e r in
community r e s i d e n t i a l o r work
pass programs to immediately
re p o r t to a p p r o p ria te d e p a r t­
ment s t a f f any absence fo r
i l l n e s s , la y o f f o r te rm in a tio n
from employment o r t r a i n i n g ;
f a i l u r e t o o b ta in p r i o r s t a f f
approval f o r planned absences
from, o r v o lu n tary term in atio n
o f , employment o r t r a i n i n g .

269

Appendix D
Code

030

Major Rule V io latio n s_________
*Possession o f Dangerous
Contraband
Unauthorized p ossessio n of
weapons, e x p lo s iv e s , a c id s ,
c a u s t i c s , m a t e r ia ls fo r
in cend iary d e v ic e s , o r escape
m a t e r ia ls ; p o ssessio n o f
" c r i t i c a l " t o o l s and m a te r ia ls
as defined by p o lic y .

Common Examples

G asoline, s u lp h u ric a c id ,
l y e , prison-made k niv es,
pipe bomb, rope and grappling
hook, anything which is
intended to be used as a
weapon; s crew d riv ers,
hammers, hobbycraft knives
i f o u ts id e o f au th o riz ed
a re a .

031

Possession o f Money
Possession o f unauthorized
In i n s t i t u t i o n s , any money
o th e r than 50 pennies.
amounts o f money o r money
from un auth orized sources.
Money i s defined as e i t h e r
cash o r a n e g o tia b le Instrum ent.

032

C reating a D isturbance

TlicHonioFliSorHs^T^ap r is o n e r which r e s u l t In
d is r u p tio n o r d istu rb an ce
among o t h e r s , but not
endangering persons o r
p ro p erty .
033

Sexual Misconduct
Consensual touching o f the
sexual o r o th e r in tim a te p a r t s
o f another person , done f o r
the purpose o f g r a t i f y i n g the
sexual d e s ir e o f e i t h e r p a r ty ;
indecent exposure; i m ita tin g
th e appearance o f th e o pp o site
sex; verbal abuse o f a sexual
n ature d i r e c t e d a t another
person in o r d e r to h arass o r
degrade t h a t person.

Excessive no ise which causes
o th e r p ris o n e rs to r e a c t ;
loud arguing in th e v i s i t o r s '
room which d is tu r b s o th e r s .

(NOTE: th e embrace autho­
r iz e d a t th e beginning o f a
v i s i t i s not m isconduct.)
K issin g , hugging, i n t e r course,sodomy. Wearing
c lo th in g o f th e o p p o site sex;
men wearing makeup. Whis­
t l i n g a t and making sexual
remarks to an oth er person;
making p ro p o s itio n s o f a
sexual n a tu re . (NOTE:
T hreats o f a sexual a s s a u l t
should be charged as
Threatening B ehavior.)

270

Appendix D
Code

034

035

036

M a jo r R ule V io la tio n s

Substance Abuse
P o ssessio n , u s e , s e l l i n g
o f pro vidin g to o t h e r s , o r
under the in flu e n c e o f , any
i n t o x i c a n t , i n h a l a n t , con­
t r o l l e d sub stance (as defined
by Michigan s t a t u t e s ) , a lc o ­
h o lic beverage, m arijuana
o r any o t h e r substance which
i s used to cause a c o n d itio n
o f i n t o x i c a t i o n , eup ho ria,
exc1te.nent, e x h i l a r a t i o n ,
s t u p i f i c a t l o n o r d u llin g o f
th e senses o r nervous system;
unauthorized p ossession o f
r e s t r i c t e d m edication;
po ssessio n o f n a r c o tic s
p a r a p h e rn a lia ; f a i l u r e o r
r e fu s a l to v o l u n t a r i l y
submit to t e s t i n g , Including
but not l i m it e d to u r i n a l y ­
s i s , blood a n a l y s i s , or
b re a th t e s t i n g , which i s
requ ested by th e Department
f o r th e purpose o f determ in­
ing the presence in the
p r is o n e r o f any substance
included in t h i s charge.
Unauthorized Occupation o f
Cell o r Room
Being in an o th er p r is o n e r o r
p r is o n e r s ' c e l l o r room w ithout
s p e c i f i c a u th o r iz a t io n from
s t a f f ; being p r e s e n t in any
c e l l , room o r o th e r walled
a r e a , w ith an o th er p r is o n e r o r
p r is o n e r s , w ith ou t s t a f f
a u th o r iz a t io n .
Out o f Place o r Bounds/AWQL
Being anywhere w itho u t the
proper a u t h o r i z a t i o n ; being
ab sen t from where req u ired to
be; breaking "toplock" w itho ut
a u t h o r iz a t io n .

Common Examples

N arcotics p a ra p h e rn a lia
in clu d es such Items as need­
l e s s , s y rin g e s , e t c . ( t h a t
i s , items used to a d m in iste r
n a r c o t i c s ) , b u t does not
in clude such Items as "roach
c l i p s , " pipes and c i g a r e t t e
papers.

Two p r is o n e r s in a "oneperson" c e l l ; th re e
p ris o n e rs in a "two-person"
room; two p r is o n e r s in a
restroom s t a l l .

"Skating" in another block;
no pass o r I.D. c a r d ; m issing
co u n t; f a i l u r e to re tu rn on
time from furlough but
retu rn e d w ith in two hours of

271

Appendix D
Code_______ M a jo r Rule V io la tio n s _____________________ Common Examples

d e a d lin e . ("S kating " in own
housing u n i t during th e day
1s a minor v io la tio n ? ?
u n less on toplock s t a t u s . )
F a ilu r e to be where req u ired
by d e t a i l .
037

Theft
Any un authorized tak in g of
an o th er p e r s o n 's p rop erty

038

Gambling; P o ssessio n o f
Gambling P arap h ern alia
PIgy^ng games o r making b e ts
f o r money o r anything o f
v alu e; p o ssessio n o f gam­
b lin g equipment, o r o th e r
m a te r ia ls commonly a sso ­
c i a t e d w ith wagering.

Possession o f d ic e o r b e tt i n g
s lip s ,

*These a re o ffe n s e s co nsidered "non-bondable."
Source:

Michigan Department o f C o rre c tio n s. P olicy D ir e c tiv e :
"P ris o n e r D is c ip lin a r y P o l i c y , 1' No. PD-DWA-60.01.

APPENDIX E

Minor Misconducts Defined

272

Appendix E
MINOR MISCONDUCTS DEFINED
M inor Rule V io la tio n s __________________ Common Examples

Misdemeanor
Any a c t t h a t would be a mis­
demeanor i f prosecuted under
Michigan law i s a lso a minor
misconduct v i o l a t i o n , u n less
s p e c if ie d elsewhere as a major.
Reference must be made to th e
s p e c i f i c s t a t u t o r y c i t a t i o n in
a l l cases where t h i s charge i s
a lle g e d .

Larceny under $100.

Abuse o f P r iv ile g e s
I n te n tio n a l v i o l a t i o n o f any
department o r i n s t i t u t i o n a l
r e g u la tio n d ealin g with
r e s i d e n t p r i v i l e g e s , u n le ss i t
i s s p e c ifie d elsewhere as a
major.
Contraband
Possession o r use o f nondangerous
p rop erty which a r e s i d e n t has no
a u th o r iz a tio n o have, where th e re
i s no su sp ic io n o f t h e f t o r frau d .
H ealth, S afety o r F ir e Hazard
C reating a h e a lth , s a f e ty o r
f i r e hazard by a c t o r omission.
Te” norary o u t o f Place/Bounds
Tn own housing u n i t , during the
day. Out o f p lace f o r a b r i e f
time o r a d ja c e n t to where
supposed t o be.
Unauthorized
Any c o n ta c t,
o r v e r b a lly ,
person o r in
manner.

Communications
by l e t t e r , g e s tu re
with an unauthorized
an unauthorized

Unauthorized item s; anything with
someone e l s e ' s name o r number on
i t ; excessive s to r e item s.

D irty c e l l ; smoking in unautho­
riz e d a r e a s ; lack o f personal
hygiene.
Tardy fo r count o r assignm ent: on
g a lle r y o u ts id e own c e l l . ("S k a t­
ing" in own housing u n i t i f on top
lock s t a t u s i s a m ajo r.)
Love l e t t e r s to an oth er r e s i d e n t ;
p assing p rop erty on a v i s i t e i t h e r
d i r e c t l y o r through a t h i r d person.

273

Appendix E
M in o r Rule V io la tio n s __________________ Common Examples

V io latio n o f Posted Rules
V io latio n o f r u le s o f community
r e s i d e n t i a l programs, housing
u n i t s , dining room, fu rlo u gh ,
work o r school assignm ent which
i s not covered elsew here.

Horseplay
Any physical c o n ta c t, o r
attem pted physical c o n ta c t,
between two o r more perso ns,
done in a prankish o r p layful
manner w ithout anger o r i n t e n t
to i n ju r e o r i n tim id a te .
Lying to an Employee
Knowingly provide f a l s e informa­
t i o n to an employee.

D estru ctio n o r Misuse o f S ta te
Property w ith Value o f Less
than $10
C reatio n o f sound, whether by use
o f human v o ic e , a r a i d , TV o r
any o th e r means, a t a le v e l which
could d is tu r b o th e r s .
Source:

V io latio n o f k itch en s a n it a r y
r e g u l a t io n s ; w asting food; exces­
s iv e noise in housing u n i t , playing
TV o r rad io w ithout earphone;
unauthorized d riv in g o f motor
v e h ic le ; f a i l u r e to r e p o r t income
to CRP.
Towel snapping a t o th e r s in
showers; p lay fu l body punching;
playing " g ra b -a s s ."

Giving a f a l s e name, number o r
room/cell assignm ent. (Note t h a t
making f a l s e a c c u s a tio n s of
misconduct i s included under the
major v i o l a ti o n o f I n te r f e r e n c e
w ith a d m in is tr a tio n o f r u l e s . )

Playing TV above allow able level
when o th e r s a re t r y i n g to s le e p ;
banging o b je c ts a g a in s t c e l l b a rs.

Michigan Department o f C o rrectio n s. P olicy D i r e c t i v e :
"P riso n er D is c ip lin a r y P o lic y ," No. PD-DWA-f>0.Ol.

APPENDIX F

C r i t i c a l In c id e n ts Defined

274

Appendix F

CRITICAL INCIDENTS DEFINED

The Michigan Department o f C o rrectio n s d e fin e s a c r i t i c a l in c id e n t
as follow s:
1.

Any r e s i d e n t mutiny, group u p r is in g , t h r e a t o f dem onstration,
s t r i k e , r i o t , o r c o l l e c t i v e in su b o rd in a tio n .

2.

Any s e rio u s i n c id e n t o f vio len ce an d /o r in ju r y to any
employee o r c i t i z e n by a c l i e n t o r c l i e n t s .

3.

Any in c id e n t o f homicide o r s u ic id e a t a Department o f
C o rrectio n s f a c i l i t y r e g a rd le s s o f th e circum stances.

4.

Escapes a n d /o r attem pted escape from in s id e any walled o r
fenced i n s t i t u t i o n , o r escape an d /o r attem pted escape o f a
p r is o n e r from such and i n s t i t u t i o n while in t r a n s i t .

5.

Escapes from t r u s t y assignm ents when hostages (employee o r
c i t i z e n ) are taken o r th e re i s any re p o rte d v io len ce.

6.

In c id e n ts in v o lv in g use o f Mace o r t e a r gas.

7.

Excessive use o f fo rc e by s t a f f in v i o l a t i o n of
PD-DWA-32.02.

The i n s t i t u t i o n head w ill ensure t h a t each

employee involved submits a complete and a c c u ra te w r itte n
r e p o r t to th e i n s t i t u t i o n head which in clu d es th e amount and
kind o f fo rc e used.

I t must in clu d e th e e x a c t holds used, i f

blows were d e liv e r e d , methods o f r e s t r a i n t , a re a s of th e body

275

s tru c k and i f weapons were used.

The r e p o r t must a ls o cover

th e presence o f o t h e r s , both r e s i d e n t s and employees and
t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n in th e i n c id e n t which involved use of
fo rce.

The r e p o r t w ill a ls o in clu d e verbal o rd e rs given

during th e i n c i d e n t , c o n v e rs a tio n , and i f p r o f a n ity o r r a c ia l
e p i t h e t s were used by employees a n d /o r r e s i d e n t s .
The following are a l s o considered c r i t i c a l in c id e n ts b ut do not need
to be rep o rted by phone.

A c r i t i c a l in c id e n t r e p o r t must, however, be

completed and forwarded to th e a p p ro p ria te deputy d i r e c t o r through the
i n s t i t u t i o n head and t h e regio n al a d m in is tr a to r .
8.

Employee use o f any fo rc e a g a in s t a r e s i d e n t / c l i e n t .

9.

Any a s s a u l t o f a r e s i d e n t by an o th er r e s i d e n t o r r e s id e n ts
r e s u l t i n g in s e rio u s i n ju r y .

10.

Any d isc h a rg e o f fire a rm s (except f o r t r a i n i n g purposes) by
an on-duty employee.

11.

Accident where in ju ry r e s u l t i n g in h o s p ita l adm ittance o ccu rs.

12.

F ir e s t h a t le a d to in ju r y o r more than $500 damage.

13.

O ther unusual in c i d e n t s , em ergencies, a n d /o r c o n tro v e rs ia l
s i t u a t i o n s n o t p rev io u sly d efined.

The follow ing in c id e n ts do not need to be rep o rted by phone nor do
they r e q u ire t h a t a c r i t i c a l in c id e n t r e p o r t be f i l e d f o r each
i n c id e n t.

They s h a ll be rep o rted in summary form on a monthly b a s is

and forwarded to th e BCF deputy d i r e c t o r through th e i n s t i t u t i o n head
and th e reg ion al a d m in is tr a to r .

276

1.

Vandalism damage over $100.

2.

Substance abuse, possession an d /o r use, Including a l l
s i t u a t i o n s where a r e s i d e n t 1s h o s p ita liz e d as a r e s u l t o f an
overdose.

3.

E xtortion/strongam vfng.

This r e f e r s to s e rio u s physical

abuse o r verbal t h r e a t s o f a n atu re t h a t in tim id a te a
r e s i d e n t so s e r io u s ly t h a t he/she performs an a c t a g a in s t
h i s / h e r w ill f o r f e a r o r r e p r i s a l .
4.

Smuggling dangerous contraband as defined in the Hearings
Handbook, Major and Minor Misconduct D e f in itio n s .

5.

Reported c e l l an d /o r o th e r t h e f t o f pro perty over $50.

6.

P ossession o f U.S. currency as defined in th e Hearings
Handbook, D i r e c t o r 's O ffice Memorandum, December 11, 1979,
031.

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