Inmate Subculture
Survival of the fittest. “What does it take to survive another day?”, is the question many prisoners ask themselves on a regular basis, secured behind the walls of a correctional institution. For many prisoners, the answer comes at a snail’s pace, while others find the answer to the question much faster. It all depends how quickly an inmate adapts. Webster, (2017) defines adapt as to adjust to environmental conditions. Once an inmate adapts to the cell, food, showers, the yard, visitation, even loneliness, the inmate becomes part of the subculture.
The inmate subculture is comprised of beliefs, values, habits, customs and they even dabble in forms of witchcraft. Many believing that inmates that die behind bars, spirits walk the corridors. …show more content…
The process includes taking on the ways, habits and mannerism of prison life. An example of that would be the sagging of the pants, the tennis shoes always clean and white, the belt buckled in the back. The way an inmate greets another inmate signaling with a nod or a hand gesture. Inmates are slowly seduced in, and before you know it, the process of prisonization is complete and prisoners becomes known as cons (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Essential to this way of life is a code of behavior for all inmates, to follow, called the norms and values of prison society. Simply put it’s the inmate’s do’s and don’ts of subculture life. These codes cover five areas within the society, and violations of these codes range from an inmate being ostracized to death. The codes are: never rat on a con, don’t quarrel with other inmates, don’t steal, pay your debts, be a man, and don’t trust the guards or staff (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015).
Being part of a subculture give some inmates a sense of normalcy, even if the codes are somewhat barbaric. Many times, according to Schmalleger & Smykla, (2015) this so called normal society attracts former gang members, who infiltrate and fragment the inmate subculture. These inmates accomplish this by forming several gangs to compete with each other and divide the society among racial, geographic, and ethnic
The inmate subculture is comprised of beliefs, values, habits, customs and they even dabble in forms of witchcraft. Many believing that inmates that die behind bars, spirits walk the corridors. …show more content…
The process includes taking on the ways, habits and mannerism of prison life. An example of that would be the sagging of the pants, the tennis shoes always clean and white, the belt buckled in the back. The way an inmate greets another inmate signaling with a nod or a hand gesture. Inmates are slowly seduced in, and before you know it, the process of prisonization is complete and prisoners becomes known as cons (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Essential to this way of life is a code of behavior for all inmates, to follow, called the norms and values of prison society. Simply put it’s the inmate’s do’s and don’ts of subculture life. These codes cover five areas within the society, and violations of these codes range from an inmate being ostracized to death. The codes are: never rat on a con, don’t quarrel with other inmates, don’t steal, pay your debts, be a man, and don’t trust the guards or staff (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015).
Being part of a subculture give some inmates a sense of normalcy, even if the codes are somewhat barbaric. Many times, according to Schmalleger & Smykla, (2015) this so called normal society attracts former gang members, who infiltrate and fragment the inmate subculture. These inmates accomplish this by forming several gangs to compete with each other and divide the society among racial, geographic, and ethnic