Crime in prisons

Introduction

Prison is a social institution designed to house those members of society who disobeyed social norms and caused havoc and diversion. It also functions as a reformatory group that supports people in making changes so they can be accepted as members of society. Additionally, as it is a component of civilization, crime also exists here. Compared to the outside world, prisons are violent places.

According to data published by the US government, male inmates commit physical assault at a rate that is more than 18 times higher than that of males in the general population. More than 27 times higher rates apply to female prisoners.[1] For a number of reasons, the issue of violence in prisons needs to be prioritised by prison administration and the prison health care system.

The likelihood of future violent and nonviolent crime, drug addiction, and intimate partner violence is increased, to start, by adolescent exposure to violence. This is known as the “violence begets violence” theory.[2] Therefore, if prisoners are placed in an atmosphere that increases their level of violence and criminality, the rehabilitation or corrective aspect of imprisonment is compromised.

Second, according to international law, detainees have a right to defence against aggression like rape, assault, and torture. In compliance with the 5th principle of the UN Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners: “Except for those limitations that are demonstrably necessitated by the fact of incarceration, all prisoners shall retain the human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights …”[3]

Therefore, the state must make sure that all violations of human rights against prisoners are prevented. Third, maintaining a violent institution is more challenging and expensive than managing a secure and safe institution with a welcoming atmosphere that includes a productive working environment.

Modern society’s responses to crime take many various shapes and have a wide range of goals, but they all ultimately aim to reduce crime. The necessity for reformative practises to be implemented, rehabilitative programmes to be started, and offenders to be treated stems from society’s desire to alter criminals so they won’t commit crimes in the future. Inmates might engage in the “reformation” process there.

To the extent that society desires defence against criminals. The prison accomplishes this goal by separating offenders from society, preventing criminals from having the potential to harm society. Society also anticipates retaliation. Criminals in prison must receive the same and equal treatment as those outside of prison because they have caused harm and made public life unpleasant. In the 18th century, the prison became the preferred form of punishment over corporal punishment.

Undoubtedly, the humanitarianism that developed throughout the enlightenment is one of the factors that led to the replacement of capital punishment and corporal punishment in jail. People started to see how horrifying the way society handled offenders was. Like the portrayal of the Merchant of Venice in Shakespeare, the historical basis of imprisonment was the infliction of physical misery as a kind of punishment for people who committed crimes against society.

Contrary to this notion, modern prisons focus on three main objectives: punishment, deterrence, and rehabilitation. These objectives strive to improve both a person’s intellect and physical health.

These three distinct areas, when combined into a single process, are meant to enable society to: remove criminals from situations where they may continue their criminal behaviour; place them in an institution that satisfies the general public’s desire for some form of retribution; persuade other potential criminals that such activities are not beneficial; and eventually mould them into law-abiding, productive citizens through positive psychological conditioning who may one day become law enforcement officers.

Such an idea makes sense in principle, but regrettably. This otherwise well-conceived technique is prevented from becoming a reality in practise by a number of unfavourable psychological experiences acquired while in prison.

Let’s begin by looking at the three obligations and purposes of prisons as described in textbooks. All prisoners must be kept secure, their welfare must be preserved and improved, and all of these goals must be accomplished with the greatest amount of effectiveness and economy. Safekeeping often consists of keeping prisoners segregated, tallied, and under control while providing brief intervals of welfare activities to meet needs through recreation, education, and counselling.

Unfortunately, an inmate’s psychological freedom and welfare are not influenced by the amount of schooling, counselling, and recreation he receives, but rather by how well he manages to live among and interact with the other convicts who make up his essential and only meaningful environment. Additionally, lockups and isolation have been shown through simulations of prison conditions to dehumanise inmates by making them feel nameless and by fostering negative emotions as a result of their rejection and condemnation by society as a whole.

In prison, inmates are reduced to a standard of living that is roughly equivalent to subsistence. Despite any physical discomforts this restriction may cause, it has a deeper psychological impact on the prisoner’s perception of his own sufficiency, especially when he is around other inmates who are thought to be 20% mentally ill and 5% insane. The foundation of the jail system is seclusion and separatist. The prisoner is first segregated from everything that led to his or her crimes and the outside world. Additionally, they are largely cut off from one another.

Overall, the prison experience, complete with its symbolic mechanisms of justice that include every lock, piece of barbed wire, thick walls, constant supervision and segregation, harsh isolation, and minimalistic lifestyles, is purposefully created to not only paralyse but psychologically restrain any prisoner’s personality traits that society has deemed undesirable or dangerous. Brutality, violence, and stress are frequent occurrences in prisons. Prisoners frequently experience violence and worry about their safety at all times.

The main source of stress for some convicts may be the break in communication with friends and family outside the institution. Additionally, there is the worry of decline. The absence of personal choice inside the jail environment may have negative effects on inmates. After being taught what to do for a long time, they could lose the capacity to must be able to independently reason and make their own free decisions.

Definition of violence in prison

Violence, according to the WHO is “The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation”[4] Notably the term covers psychological injury, stunted development, and deprivation in addition to physical pain or death, as well as threats like the potential use of force, and these outcomes are what are meant by the term.

Prison violence is a common occurrence because there is a wide variety of people there with various criminal backgrounds. The three types of attacks are self-inflicted, inmate-on-inmate, and inmate-on-guard (and vice versa). These assaults can either be rash and unplanned or deliberate and well-planned.[5] Violent attacks are influenced by gang rivalry, crowding, small disputes, and prison architecture. Violence can take a variety of forms, including physical, psychological, sexual, and deprivation or neglect.

• The prison administration has a broad responsibility to protect inmates from all sorts of violence, including the excessive use of force, inside the confines of a jail. In addition to the proportionate use of force necessary for security procedures, the following types of violence may occur in prisons:
• Suicides, suicide attempts, and self-harm;
• Physical violence (beatings, fights) among prisoners; robberies; thefts; robberies among staff; robberies among visitors; rob
• Psychological abuse like intimidation, bullying, or threats;
• Sexual assaults on inmates committed by personnel or other inmates;
• Severe violence, tantamount to torture, or insanity, used by prison guards towards inmates.

Brutality in prison

Prisoners use violence against one another, the guards, or even against themselves. One in five prisoners, or 20% of all prisoners, was said to have experienced physical abuse at one of fourteen state prisons in 1999.[6] Prison violence includes things like fistfights between inmates, inmates creating their own weapons, and inmates being sexually assaulted..

Self-harm is solely a psychological problem. Many people who are sentenced to prison suffer from mental diseases including depression and anxiety and require psychiatric care. It is believed that prison populations’ rates of self-harm and suicide are higher than those in non-incarcerated areas because of things like their surroundings, the harsh treatment they receive from officials and inmates, and their sentencing time.

Unplanned assaults known as “expressive violence” are frequently committed by women. With this technique, the attacker strikes out right away as a result of intense feelings of danger, fear, hatred, or resentment, which prompt the quick action. There is a case to be made that expressive violence is a more spontaneous assault that occurs when the offender feels threatened or provoked, whereas instrumental violence is carefully planned out and motivated by retaliation.

Violence on prisoners

Inmates, staff, and policymakers are concerned about the reality of prison violence. There are eight main types of violence in prisons, as demonstrated by this entry.

• Physical Violence by Inmates on Inmates

Inmate-on-inmate violence is the most prevalent type of violence in prisons, although it is impossible to quantitatively prove this due to a lack of reporting. According to research, homicide rates among inmates as a whole are much lower than those of many American communities with comparable populations. According to a different study, one-third of male and one-quarter of female convicts had at least one physical victimisation over the course of six months. While actual violence is ubiquitous, the fear of victimisation is perhaps more widespread.

• Physical Violence by Inmates on Staff

Any staff member, from maintenance workers to office staff, can be assaulted or has been assaulted; the problem is not just a problem for correctional officers. When convicts act violently, it usually takes the form of throwing things (food, faeces, etc.), beating someone, or, in very rare cases, killing. Younger (under 25) convicts, those with high aggressiveness levels, those without a network of outside support, and those who are least likely to participate in institutional programmes are the ones that commit the majority of acts of violence against staff. Most staff violence is found in overcrowded prisons and those with a high staff-to-inmate ratio.

• Physical Violence by Staff on Inmates

Violence against prisoners may occasionally be used by correctional staff as well. It is occasionally necessary to employ physical force to make someone follow instructions. And occasionally, employees may harm convicts abusively and illegally. When correctional staff are badly taught to cope with non-compliant convicts, they may become unduly frustrated and/or act violently. It’s interesting to note that prisoners who have a history of mental health problems, higher education, violent offences, and who are not white are the ones who are most likely to be physically assaulted by staff.

• Sexual Violence

Forcible rape, coerced sex, and coercive prostitution are the three main types of sexual violence that occur in prisons. Contrary to popular assumption, forced rape is not the most frequent of them. The most frequent kind of coerced sex is when inmates are forced or convinced to have sex in order to avoid being physically harmed or to settle a debt. Others turn to prostitution out of intimidation and fear. Sexual victimisation was more specifically defined as abusive sexual encounters and non-consensual activities including oral, vaginal, or anal penetration.

It makes no difference whether consent is freely granted or coerced. According to studies, prisoners who are new to jail, mentally ill prisoners, and members of the LGBTQ community are more vulnerable than other prisoners. In order to engage the target in sexual activity, perpetrators may employ intimidation, threats, or deception, but more frequently, it is found that force and power are utilised against the victim. The fact that they are sexually deprived, and we all know that masculinity is only perceived to exist when a man engages in sexual enslavement of the weaker, is what drives inmates to sexually assault another inmate.

• Self-Inflicted Physical Violence

The most frequent causes of self-harm among prisoners are mental illness or a lack of ability to cope with incarceration. Again, information on this population is hard to come by, although recent national research indicated that 2.4% of offenders engaged in this conduct. Cutting is the most popular means for prisoners to commit suicide and is also the most prevalent way that people injure themselves. Self-mutilation is largely overlooked in our society, but prisoner suicides are the ones that receive the most attention. While incarcerated, an individual has a higher risk of dying by their own actions than by the hands of another person.

• Psychological Violence

Inmates who are effective in frightening other prisoners get the capacity to commit many types of violence, including physical and sexual assault as well as extortion. Consequently, psychological violence could be the most challenging to recognise. Psychological violence is seen to have the most harmful effects of all the types of violence mentioned. Due to the possibility that they would still experience the psychological impacts long after they have been liberated.

Conclusion

Among the various issues facing the Indian jail system, both prison reform and criminal justice reform are essential components. They must be resolved in order of priority. One final stage might be imagined for the criminal justice process, which starts with the commission of an offense, is followed by its investigation, the arrest of suspects, their incarceration, trial, and sentence. How the criminal justice system manages offenders has a significant impact on the size of the prison population, which in turn considerably impacts how prisons are administered.

Prison life is intrinsically linked to the administration of the criminal justice system and to the demands that the public and political authorities make on it. In order to effectively address concerns with the criminal justice system as a whole, efforts must be taken to enhance the prison system as part of a comprehensive program. The examination of the challenges that inmates faced in the past shows that incarceration is more than just animal life. The same holds true for the captives’ souls, which you cannot dispute.

Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees it to everyone, and neither the State nor anyone else has the right to infringe on it. Whether incarcerated or awaiting trial, a person continues to be a human being. They also enjoy all the rights that a free person does, albeit with certain limitations. Their fundamental rights are not taken away from them just because they are in prison. He continues to exercise all of his fundamental rights while incarcerated.

Prisoners continue to have access to their remaining constitutional rights even after being found guilty of a crime and having their freedom taken away in accordance with the legal process. It is important to remember that prisoners are still citizens and that they should not be regarded as throwaway goods. If only because you don’t have the means or the will to genuinely integrate into society, the objective is to “humanize” rather than make prisons a nice place to return to after being freed. Prisons need to prevent inmates from relapsing into crime since the conditions within are so horrible, mostly due to the mindset of some officials. Things won’t change as long as these individuals are in positions of power.

References: 

[1] Wolff N, Blitz CL, Shi J. Rates of sexual victimization in prison for inmates with and without mental disorders. Psychiatric Services, 2007, 58(8):1087.

[2] Fagan AA. The relationship between adolescent physical abuse and criminal offending: support for an 25Violence, sexual abuse and torture in prisons enduring and generalized cycle of violence. Journal of Family Violence, 2005, 20(5):279–290.

[3] Basic principles for the treatment of prisoners. New York, United Nations, 1990 (http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/BasicPrinciplesTreat mentOfPrisoners.aspx, accessed 7 November 2013).

[4] Global Consultation on Violence and Health. Violence: a public health priority. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1996 (WHO/EHA/SPI.POA.2).

[5] Morgan Jr., William J. (December 2009). “The Major Causes of Institutional Violence”. American Jails. Vol. 23, no. 5. American Correctional Association. pp. 63, 65–68. ISSN 1056-0319

[6] Nancy G. La Vigne, Sara Debus-Sherrill, Diana Brazzell, and P. Mitchell Downey (December 2011). “A Situational Crime Prevention Approach to Preventing Violence and Sexual Assault in Prison” (PDF). City Institute From the original (PDF) archived on September 11, 2018. obtained on November 28, 2020

This article has been submitted by Anushka Pandey, a student at Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida.