institutional aggression in prisons

AO1

importation model - irwin and cressey claimed that prisons are not completely insulated from everyday life in the outside world
- prisoners bring in a subculture typical of criminality (beliefs, norms, attitudes, learnt behaviours)
dispositional - based on individual nature contributing to the culture inside the prison
prisoners’ willingness to settle disputes with violence reflects their lives outside the prison before
- behaviour is imported which is then used to establish dominance, status, influence and gain access to resources

deprivation model - clemmers places the cause of aggression within the prison environment itself
- harsh conditions are stressful so prisoners resort to aggression to cope
- deprived of psychological factors ie lack of autonomy, lack of sexual intimacy
- deprived of physical factors ie lack of goods and services
  - deprivation of goods encourages acquisition of resources, increasing competition

importation

a strength of this explanation is that there is supporting research
camp and gaes - 561 male inmates with similar criminal histories, half randomly placed in low security and half randomly placed with high security
within 2 years, there was no significant difference in the levels of aggression (33% and 36%)
this suggests that the features of the prison environment are less important than the inherent characteristics of the prisoners themselves
because of the random allocation, this study has increased validity

a limitation of this model is that ignores key factors that could also contribute to the aggression of prisoners
dilulio - proposed administrative control model which suggested that violence is more likely in prisons that have weak leadership, thriving culture of unofficial rules, staff who remain distant from inmates, poor management and few opportunities for education
therefore, the importation model is an inadequate explanation for institutional aggression
- CA - deprivation model

deprivation

one strength is that there is research support
cunningham - 35 inmate homicides in texas between 2000 and 2008. they found that the motivation of some of the perpertrators were some of the deprivations identified in clemmer’s model. the rest of the homicides were also attributed to lack of boundaries and goods
therefore, the model has increased validity as it is reflected in real life situations

one limitation is that there is refuting evidence
hensley found that in mississipi, where conjugal visits are allowed, there was no link between these visits and reduced aggression
therefore, it suggests that the environment only plays a small part in aggression in prisons
therefore situational factors do not substantially affect aggression and another factor could be at play
- CA - importation model