U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Prison Gangs

NCJ Number
141163
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 71 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall-Winter 1991) Pages: complete issue
Editor(s)
J A Leban, A T Harland
Date Published
1992
Length
68 pages
Annotation
These seven papers present the findings of empirical research regarding inmate gangs, focusing on their developmental origins, the distinguishing characteristics of gang members, their impacts on the prison climate, and the techniques used by corrections administrators to control them.
Abstract
Individual papers present a theoretical model based on an examination of Texas prison gangs indicating that prison gangs develop through a 5-stage process; discuss the strategies used by correctional personnel to try to suppress inmate gangs; and describe the development of a right-wing extremist group, the Aryan Brotherhood, in Texas prisons. Additional papers examine gang violence in Texas prisons, compare the characteristics of gang members and inmates who are not gang members in a Nevada prison, and describe the added health risk factors of juvenile inmates who are or have been members of gangs. Tables, figures, and reference lists