Prison Misconduct Research Articles

Once a Killer, Always a Killer? Prison Misconduct of Former Death-Sentenced Inmates in Arizona

Whether death-sentenced inmates represent the “worst of the worst” in terms of prison violence is the focus of this investigation. Capital offenders in Arizona who obtained relief from their death sentences during the modern era (1975–2005) were identified (N = 80) and their demographic characteristics and disciplinary records retrospectively reviewed for their years on death row (M = 6.4) and their subsequent years in the general prison population spent (M = 13.1). Consistent with other studies, prevalence rates of post-relief disciplinary infractions were inversely related to severity. Only 3.8% committed a prison assault with great bodily injury and only one in 100 killed again in prison. Predictive factors were limited: race, years on death row (inversely), assaultive misconduct on death row, and age at death penalty relief (inversely). A risk scale based on the latter three factors was moderately successful in classifying these offenders into three risk categories.

Unintended consequences: experimental evidence for the criminogenic effect of prison security level placement on post-release recidivism

Most prison systems use quantitative instruments to classify and assign inmates to prison security levels commensurate to their level of risk. Bench and Allen (The Prison Journal 83(4):367-382, 2003) offer evidence that the assignment to higher security prisons produces elevated levels of misconduct independent of the individual’s propensity to commit misconduct. Chen and Shapiro (American Law and Economics Review, 2007) demonstrate that assignment to higher security level among inmates with the same classification scores increases post-release recidivism. Underlying both of these claims is the idea that the prison social environment is criminogenic. In this paper we examine the theoretical premises for this claim and present data from the only experiment that has been conducted that randomly assigns inmates to prison security levels and evaluates both prison misconduct and post-release recidivism. The experiment’s results show that inmates with a level III security classification who were randomly assigned to a security level III prison in the California prison system had a hazard rate of returning to prison that was 31% higher than that of their randomly selected counterparts who were assigned to a level I prison. Thus, the offenders’ classification assignments at admission determined their likelihood of returning to prison. There were no differences in the institutional serious misconduct rates of these same prisoners. These results are contradictory to a specific deterrence prediction and more consistent with peer influence and environmental strain theories. These results also raise important policy implications that challenge the way correctional administrators will have to think about the costs and benefits of separating inmates into homogeneous pools based on classification scores.

Gangkill: An Exploratory Empirical Assessment of Gang Membership, Homicide Offending, and Prison Misconduct

Extant research indicates that inmates with street gang history are prone for prison misconduct but that inmates convicted of homicide offenses are less likely to be noncompliant. No research has explored the interaction between street gang history and homicide offending. Based on official infraction data from 1,005 inmates selected from the Southwestern United States, the current study found that inmates with street gang history and convictions for homicide offenses were significantly involved in six types of institutional misconduct, net the effects of homicide offending, offense severity, street and prison gang risk, violence history, and demographics. Implications for theory and research are explored.

Juvenile Inmates in an Adult Prison System

Rates of disciplinary misconduct and violence among juvenile male inmates ( N = 703) admitted to a state prison system from 1998 to 2002 are retrospectively examined. The prevalence and frequency of prison misconduct and violence are higher among juveniles than comparison groups of nearest age youthful adults ( N = 3,640) and adult prisoners generally ( N = 33,114), and this disparity between juvenile and adult inmates increases along with the severity of violence. This relationship is found to hold true even when other known correlates of prison violence are considered. In a logistic regression model that included educational level, gang affiliation, offense of conviction, and sentence length, age is found to be the most consistent and strongest determinant of prison violence, with those younger than 18 at entrance to prison being far more likely than adults to be involved in various levels of prison misconduct and violence.

The effect of faith program participation on prison misconduct: The Life Connections Program

Faith-based programming is one of many potential tools for preparing inmates for successful reentry into society. The current study used official records of inmate misconduct and attitudinal survey data to investigate whether participation in a faith-based program reduced the likelihood of prison misconduct. The results indicated that program participation did lower the probability of engaging in serious forms of misconduct. No effect was discovered, though, for less serious forms of misconduct or for both types of misconduct considered simultaneously.

Prison misconduct: The role of risk assessment instruments in the prediction of intramural violence

Data on the prevalence of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) in China are limited. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of DLB in individuals aged 60 years and older and to analyze the associated risk factors and clinical features of DLB.We conducted a cross-sectional, two-phase, door-to-door, population-based study that included 5542 participants aged at least 60 years who resided in Ji County. In phase I of the study, we used the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Clinical Dementia Rating scale, and the Activities of Daily Living scale to screen for dementia. Any person who was suspected of having dementia underwent a clinical examination, blood tests, and a neuroimaging examination to confirm the diagnosis of dementia. In phase II of the study, we further screened eligible participants for DLB using consensus guidelines for the clinical and pathologic diagnosis of DLB.The overall prevalence of DLB in the total population of 5542 study participants was 1.05%; the prevalence of DLB was 10.10% in the population with dementia. Compared to individuals without cognitive impairment, patients with DLB were less engaged in social activities. Having fewer than 5 years of formal education might be a risk factor for DLB. The three core symptoms of DLB – fluctuating cognition, visual hallucinations, and Parkinsonism – were observed in 60.34%, 68.97%, and 63.79% of patients with DLB, respectively.Our study provides the first information of the prevalence of DLB in a rural area of China.

Conviction Offense and Prison Violence

The characteristics of, and 2003 disciplinary data on, 51,527 inmates in the Florida Department of Corrections, including 9,586 inmates who had been convicted of some degree of homicide, were examined for rates and correlates of prison misconduct and violence. Disciplinary misconduct and institutional acts of violence committed by an admissions cohort ( N = 14,088) and a subset of Close custody inmates ( N = 4,113) also were considered. Regardless of conviction offense, the prevalence and rate of violent prison misconduct fell markedly as the severity of assault increased. Comparative data showed that convicted murderers did not account for a disproportionate share of prison violence, however defined. Furthermore, negative binomial regression models revealed that convicted murderers were not significantly more likely to engage in disciplinary misconduct or commit acts of institutional violence than were inmates serving time for other offenses.

Predictors of self‐reported prison misconduct

Which incoming prisoner characteristics assist in identifying those likely to commit disciplinary infractions? The authors answer this question using data on six categories of self‐reported rule infractions from the 1997 Survey of Inmate in State and Federal Correctional Facilities. Logistic regression analyses run on these data showed that gender‐male, evidence of mental problems, prior drug use, previous adult and juvenile incarcerations, past physical abuse, and family members’ history of incarceration were associated with an increase in rule violations, while older age, marriage, and employment were associated with lower levels of prison misconduct in US prisons.

Assertions of "future dangerousness" at federal capital sentencing: Rates and correlates of subsequent prison misconduct and violence.

The federal prison disciplinary records of federal capital inmates (n=145) who were sentenced to life without possibility of release (LWOP) by plea bargain, pre-sentencing withdrawal of the death penalty, or jury determination were retrospectively reviewed (M=6.17 years post-admission). Disaggregated prevalence rates were inversely related to infraction severity: serious infraction =0.324, assaultive infraction =0.207, serious assault =0.09, assault with moderate injury =0.007, assault with major injuries or death =0.00. Frequency rates of misconduct were equivalent to other high-security federal inmates (n=18,561), regardless of infraction severity. Government assertions of "future dangerousness" as a nonstatutory aggravating factor were not predictive of prison misconduct. These findings inform federal capital risk assessments and have public policy implications for procedural reliability in death penalty prosecutions.

Nothing to Lose? A Comparative Examination of Prison Misconduct Rates Among Life-Without-Parole and Other Long-Term High-Security Inmates

The impact of life-without-parole (LWOP) sentencing for inmate misconduct has important implications for inmate classification, prison management, capital sentencing determinations, and public policy considerations. This study seeks to illuminate these issues by comparing the disciplinary behavior of 1,897 inmates sentenced to LWOP in the Florida Department of Corrections to that of 7,147 inmates serving sentences of 10 to 30 or more years. The sample is restricted to inmates admitted between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2002, sentenced to a prison term of 10 years or longer, who remained in prison on December 31, 2003, and classified to close custody. The data show that the likelihood and pattern of disciplinary infractions and potentially violent rule infractions among LWOP inmates during 1998 to 2003 is broadly similar to that of other long-term inmates, supporting a conclusion that LWOP inmates act as a stabilizing rather than disruptive force in the prison environment.

Examining the empirical relationship between prison crowding and inmate misconduct: A meta-analysis of conflicting research results

Incarceration rates in the United States dramatically increased over the past several decades. This trend has drawn significant academic attention to prison overcrowding and its potential effect on inmate misconduct. The empirical relationship between inmate misconduct and overcrowding, however, is less than clear. To be sure, studies indicating positive, negative, and null relationships can all be found in the literature. The current research subjects this body of literature to a meta-analysis in an effort to: (1) clarify the direction and strength of the relationship between overcrowding and rates of prison misconduct across all studies, and (2) to uncover the degree to which variation in research outcomes can be attributed to methodological differences across studies. Results indicate that prison crowding has little substantive impact on inmate misconduct. Implications of the findings are discussed in detail.

Criminogenic Effects of the Prison Environment on Inmate Behavior: Some Experimental Evidence

The current study analyzed a subset of the experimental data collected by Berk, Ladd, Graziano, and Baek (2003) to test whether different intensities of incarceration make inmates more criminal while incarcerated. There were 561 male inmates whose equivalent classification scores indicated they had the same level of risk to commit institutional misconduct at the time they were incarcerated. One half of these inmates were sent to the lowest security-level prisons in California, and the other one half were sent to prisons one step down from the highest security level in California. If prisons are criminogenic, then the probability of misconduct should vary with the security level to which the inmates were assigned. Instead, inmates were equally likely to commit misconduct in prison regardless of whether they were assigned to a Level I (lowest security level) or a Level III prison.

Gang members, career criminals and prison violence: further specification of the importation model of inmate behavior

The importation model posits that inmate behavior is primarily an extension of the assorted antisocial behaviors that criminal offenders develop in the community. Persons involved in gangs are viewed as especially at‐risk for prison misconduct. Using the official infraction records of 831 male inmates sampled from the southwestern USA, this study explored the prison violence records of inmates involved in street gangs, prison gangs and both types of gangs vis‐à‐vis chronic offenders. Negative binomial regression models indicated that gang variables were significantly predictive of prison violence only in the full model when various types of gang membership (e.g. street, prison or both) were considered. Overall, the effects of gang membership were smaller than some of the risk factors related to chronic offending, such as history of violence and prior confinement, and other controls such as race. Although investigations of prison violence and misconduct are rightfully and importantly moving toward explanations that integrate importation, deprivation, and situational effects, we conclude that further specification of the importation model is needed.

Inmate Misconduct: A Test of the Deprivation, Importation, and Situational Models

This article examines the effectiveness of three theoretical models (deprivation, importation, and situational) in explaining violent incidents, incidents against correctional staff, and incidents against other inmates in prison. Based on a sample of 431 disciplinary reports from a men's state prison in the deep South, the authors have found all three models help explain violent incidents. The deprivation and situational models help explain incidents against correctional staff. The situational and importation models contribute to explanations of incidents against other inmates. With regard to the relative power of each theoretical model in explaining inmate misconduct in prison, the situational model is the most powerful based on the total chi-square change of the model. According to the average of chi-square change per variable in each model, however, the deprivation model is the most powerful and the situational is the least in explaining violent incidents and incidents against correctional staff.

The Influence of Prison Gang Affiliation on Violence and Other Prison Misconduct

Most of the empirical research and practically all of the fieldwork conducted on gangs has been devoted to street gangs. In this article, Bureau of Prisons automated data were used to evaluate the contribution of prison gang affiliation to violence and other forms of misconduct within prisons. The authors also examined a measure of gang embeddedness to see if, similar to street gang research, it can be shown that core members of a prison gang were more likely to commit violent and other kinds of misconduct than were more peripheral members. Both specific and more generic gang indicators were related to violence and other forms of official prison misconduct. A composite measure of gang misconduct represents the threat that particular gangs pose to prison order. The “threat index” is model based and provides a graphical representation of the relative magnitude and heterogeneity of the threat posed by different gang affiliations.

Skills training for aggression control: Evaluation of an anger management programme for violent offenders

Purpose. In Western Australia approximately 450 violent offenders per year are referred to a cognitive‐behavioural anger management programme (Skills Training for Aggression Control; STAC). Efficacy of the STAC programme with male adult inmates was investigated in two studies.Methods. A pre‐test‐post‐test non‐equivalent group design was utilized for Study 1 (N = 39) and Study 2 (N = 50). Violent offenders participating in STAC programmes were compared to a waiting‐list control group on the dependent variables of anger knowledge, trait anger, anger expression, observed aggressive behaviour, and prison misconduct. Differential treatment effects according to trait anger level were examined in Study 2 anticipating greater gains for high trait anger violent offenders.Results. Data analyses provided little support for the hypothesized STAC participants' treatment gains relative to the control group participants. Hypothesized differential treatment effect by trait anger level was not supported.Conclusions. Based on the limited support for the STAC programmes' treatment efficacy, caution is recommended before implementing anger management programmes with violent offenders.

Predicting Prison Misconducts

A meta-analysis was conducted on 39 studies that generated 695 correlations with prison misconducts. Predictors of prison misconducts were grouped into 16 domains as follows: (a) personal characteristics ( n = 9), (b) situational factors ( n = 3), and (c) actuarial measures of antisocial personality and risk ( n = 4). Personal and situational variables were similar in their ability to predict prison misconduct. Within these two categories, antisocial attitudes and behavior (e.g., companions, prison adjustment), criminal history, and institutional factors were the strongest predictors. Among actuarial measures, an interview-based risk protocol produced the highest correlations with prison misconducts. The prediction of violent misconducts was associated with greater effect sizes than nonviolent misconducts. Despite the limitations of the database, several recommendations for assessing prison misconducts appear warranted.

A Comparative Study of Male and Female Prison Misconduct Careers

By examining patterns of misconduct as a career path that lasts throughout one's imprisonment, this article provides information on whether the career develops and, if so, on the timing of stages in the career. The research finds that patterns and types of misconduct were similar for men and women, although levels were lower for women. Results of event history analyses indicated that younger prisoners tended to begin their misconduct careers sooner, regardless of other factors, and that as time passes after the commission of the first infraction, the risk of having a second infraction increases faster than the risk of having only the first.

Prison misconduct among mentally retarded inmates

This article examines prison misconduct of inmates who tested as mentally retarded, borderline intellectual functioning, and intellectually normal. The sample is drawn from a cohort of inmates released from the New York State correctional system. Misconduct is measured by examining official documents and is divided into two types: non-violent and violent incidents. Analysis of variance suggests that the mentally retarded had significantly higher reported mean annual rates of involvement in both non-violent and violent incidents. However, results of multiple regression analysis indicate that, when controlling for the effects of several social and criminal history factors, IQ score has a significant effect on the violent, but not the non-violent, incident rate. Age and employment status at time of arrest have the strongest influence on an inmate’s disciplinary incident rate, while IQ score has the smallest influence of the variables examined in this study.

National Evaluation of Objective Prison Classification Systems: The Current State of the Art

This article summarizes the first national evaluation of objective prison classification systems. Conducted by Correctional Services Group, Inc., this study focused on the development and implementation activities of correctional agencies having objective systems and analyzed the effectiveness of three representative systems. Although a majority of agencies view objective systems as important management tools, the study found that inadequate planning and validation hindered many developmental efforts. An examination of three specific systems found that although individual classification scoring items evidenced only modest correlations with prison misconduct, the instruments as a whole demonstrated a capacity to classify according to risk. The article concludes with suggested guidelines for developing, implementing, and revising objective prison classification systems.