Prison Violence 253decreases in typical accepted prison tension indicators including assaults and fights.
Second, the findings of the scanning process are organized in an information pack-
age and distributed to administrators. Third, upon reviewing the information,
the administrators must decide whether the behaviors represent a threat to the
prison (threats can emerge from factors such as increases in assaults, drug finds,
and inmate misbehavior or decreases in such factors as inmate program partic-
ipation, counseling contracts, or health care services)? Fourth, they must deter-
mine if there is a need for intervention policies and/or procedures to address these
behaviors.
Scanning systems have a critical role in prison violence prevention. First, poten-
tial prison problem areas can be detected before serious concerns emerge. Second,
scanning systems force prison administrators to consider which factors best mea-
sure the well-being of their institution, the employees, and the inmate population.
Third, scanning systems create a database for prison information and help cor-
rectional administrators better detect normal versus abnormal data entries. Finally,
scanning systems force administrators to ask questions such as: Why did the trends
emerge? Why are the shifting? Did any policy and/or personnel actions influence
the trends? Should action be taken? These questions help corrections administrators
make informed management decisions (Labecki, 1994). The comprehensive scan-
ning systems enable administrators to better understand, predict, and design for the
needs of offenders and programs, staffing, and security demands. Most importantly,
a scanning system can help administrators distinguish between a psychologically
acceptable and a psychologically oppressive and tension-filled environment.
Program involvement helps inmates stay out of trouble and reduces the violence
in prisons. Conflict-resolution training teaches inmates the skills and resources to
handle their own and other inmates' anger. It also teaches correctional officers
the communication skills needed for positive interaction with inmates. Conflict-
resolution training usually requires 1 5 hours of instruction. The course curriculum
is designed to provide special skills in handling conflict with an emphasis on de-
veloping and improving skills in listening, problem solving, encouraging positive
values, and mediation plus an emphasis on anger control, forgiveness, and nonvi-
olence. The conflict-resolution training objective is to improve communication,
promote self-esteem, build relationships, arid encourage respect for cultural differ-
ences and people's emotions. It also teaches techniques to resolve disputes without
emphasizing winning or losing.
Love (1994) found that conflict-resolution training was effective in prisons with
highly aggressive and violent-prone inmates. For example, conflict-resolution train-
ing was developed at the State Correctional Institution at Huntington, Pennsylvania,
which houses some of the state's most aggressive inmates and where staff must deal
with violence daily. Of the 2200 inmates, nearly a third are serving life sentences
and many have extensive histories of assaultive behavior.
In 1988, Community First Step, an inmate organization at SCI-Huntington,
decided to bring the conflict-resolution program to that facility The course was