An Exploratory Study of Prison Gangs in Contemporary Society

Abstract

This chapter investigates the composition of prison gangs, their effects on the prison environment, and their relationships with street gangs. Through conducting an ethnographic study of an adult men's prison in England, the chapter attempts to articulate the experiences of prison gang members, as well as prisoners exposed to high levels of gang activity. The results illustrate the established role gangs play within English prisons, but also the relevance of other groups, collectives and “sets” within the penal environment. Through analysing the gathered data, I aim to show the important - but not defining - role gangs play within an English prison. Moreover, when compared to the American prison system, gangs are far less entrenched in English prisons; this can partly be attributed to the deeper historical roots of American prison gangs, as well as their highly racialized dimensions. The chapter begins with two case-studies, the subjects of which are prisoners from the research site.

“If You Want to Get Paid, You’ve Got to Do It”: A Qualitative Study on the Morality of Crime

“…The prevalence of this crime has led to the term 'stick up man' being applied to those who regularly rob dealers (Contreras 2013). Such individuals often work in gangs, and upon arrest, many criminal gangs 'import' their modus operandi into prisons (Jacobs 1977;Maitra 2016b;Mitchell et al 2016), leading to behavioural gang codes being replicated within the penal environment. Accordingly, the established body of prison gangs in the US (Skarbeck 2014) and the growing number of gangs in British prisons (Maitra 2016b) leads to such behaviours being solidified within the prison systems of both.…”

Voices of Quiet Desistance in UK Prisons: Exploring Emergence of New Identities Under Desistance Constraint

“…EP5 attributed much of this to two factors: (i) the presence of strict security; and (ii) the difficulties associated with defining what constituted a prison gang. Where gangs existed, they tended to be street gangs imported from outwith the prison system (see Maitra ).…”

“…Although there are not comparable levels of violence in English prisons, it is a conjecture to suggest that prison gangs, in the US sense, do not exist in England. Indeed, a growing body of literature indicates that prison gangs are becoming increasingly powerful within the English penal system (see, for example, Maitra ; Phillips ; Setty, Sturrock and Simes ). Such gangs may often begin as collectives of prisoners from similar areas or sharing a similar racial background (Wood ), and, consequently, do not always present themselves as tightly‐structured entities (Maitra ; Phillips ).…”

“…Indeed, a growing body of literature indicates that prison gangs are becoming increasingly powerful within the English penal system (see, for example, Maitra ; Phillips ; Setty, Sturrock and Simes ). Such gangs may often begin as collectives of prisoners from similar areas or sharing a similar racial background (Wood ), and, consequently, do not always present themselves as tightly‐structured entities (Maitra ; Phillips ). There are examples of English street gangs being ‘imported’ into prisons (Maitra , ), as well as gang membership sometimes being predicated upon religious identity (Liebling, Arnold and Strauss ).…”

“…A distinction between the penal philosophy of prisons in the US compared with those in Europe, however, encourages more hope for those held in European carceral settings. There is a nascent body of work on prison gang members in England (Earle and Phillips ; Maitra ; Phillips ), and it is not yet understood whether gang members have been successful in engaging with desistance‐relevant processes including their dispositional change, when behind bars. This article, accordingly, attempts to address gaps in knowledge in terms of insider experience by addressing our research questions.…”