Violence Can Be Controlled

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Cruelty in prison will be reduced with some minor changes! However, violence has been an ongoing problem in the penitentiary in both men and women’s prison. Roughly around 990,000 men are incarcerated in this country (Stojkovic 549). In addition to, 65,000 women offenders are incarcerated today (Stojkovic 549). Fights that happen in prison have gotten to an extreme high in society. Correction officers reported at least 3,000 assaults on inmates and officers each year at Rikers Island in New York City (Welch 178). Both inmates and officers say violence in the penitentiary is like violence on the streets but more concentrated (Welch 178).

Violence is a serious social problem and can be traced to particular forms of aggression because prisons nationwide hold thousands of violent offenders (Welch 325). Motives and goals of prison violence are characterized as either instrumental or expressive (Welch 325). Instrumental violence comes from incentive-motivated aggression and includes incidents that inmates threaten, physically or sexually assault other prisoner or the purpose of garnering power, enhancing status, or promoting a particular self-image within the prison society (Welch 325 & 326). However, expressive violence is rooted in annoyance motivated aggression because of overcrowding, lack of privacy, idleness, and incessant noise (Welch 326). Violent actions do not only happen with one prisoner.

They can also happen with multiple inmates, which are known as a riot. Riots include the participation of fifteen or more prisoners resulting in property damage and personal injury (Stojkovic 312). Property damage that may occur are fires set on different parts of the penitentiary causing electrical systems to be destroy...

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...: Anderson Pub., 1997. Print.

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Topham, James. "PRISON RIOTS." Patrick Crusade. 6 Jan. 2003. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. .

Voyles, Karen. "Report Explores Violence in Prisons | Gainesville.com." Gainesville.com Gainesville FL News, Sports, Weather and More | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun. 8 June 2006. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. .

Welch, Michael. Corrections: a Critical Approach. New York: McGraw Hill, 1996. Print.

"WOMEN IN PRISON." (people/courses).umass.edu. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. .

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