Correlates and consequences of pre-incarceration gang involvement among incarcerated youthful felons

Consequences of Incarceration for Gang Membership: A Longitudinal Study of Serious Offenders in Philadelphia and Phoenix*

“…Prison administrators in Winterdyk and Ruddell's () survey reported that 48 percent of gang members were already gang members when admitted into prison. Varano, Huebner, and Bynum () surveyed offenders between 17 and 25 years of age who were incarcerated in a midwestern state and found that 36 percent of their sample reported involvement in gangs before incarceration. Wood and colleagues () found that street gang membership was among the least important predictors of involvement in prison gang activity among young offenders in the United Kingdom.…”

Interpersonal relationships among inmates and prison violence

“…In addition to studies of prison violence in general, recent research regarding male prisoners' interpersonal interactions has often emphasized gangs and gang violence (see for example, Gaes et al 2002, Griffin and Hepburn 2006, Winterdyk and Ruddell 2010, Varano et al 2011). Varano et al (2011, for example, examined how gang involvement affected young inmates' serious and violent misconduct in prison.…”

“…If a man belonged to a gang made up of loosely affiliated individuals who did not strictly control the criminal behavior of their peers, the gang was considered unorganized. Varano et al (2011) determined that the organization of gang members influenced serious prison misconduct. Participants who had ties to organized or criminal gangs were much more likely to engage in serious and violent forms of misconduct than inmates with no gang connections or connections to lessorganized gangs (Varano et al 2011).…”

“…I guess he mentored me. (Mark) This is critically important as past researchers have demonstrated that prison gangs contribute to institutional violence and pose a serious threat to the safety and security of prisons (see for example, Gaes et al 2002, Cunningham and Sorensen 2007, Drury and DeLisi 2011, Varano et al 2011. Friendships and positive social relationships that help inmates to desist from future gang activity have the potential to improve the prison environment and should be actively encouraged.…”

“…For example, scholars have examined male inmates' interactions with reference to a deviant inmate code (see for example, Sykes and Messinger 1960, Irwin and Cressey 1962, Garabedian 1964, Tittle and Tittle 1964, Wellford 1967, Thomas and Foster 1972 or their gang associations (see for example, Gaes et al 2002, Griffin and Hepburn 2006, Winterdyk and Ruddell 2010, Varano et al 2011. However, little research exists that examines male inmates' friendships or positive relationships during incarceration.…”