254 9 Corrections and Prison Practices—Adult Forensics
well received, and after 3 years, Community First Step invited prision officers to
participate in a training session with inmates. They believed, correctly, that including
officers would improve relationships between inmates and officers. One Huntington
inmate who was serving 10 to 20 years for a violent assaultive crime participated
in the training with corrections officers. He noted that one of the officers who
took part was a strict disciplinarian from a military background who believed that
inmates were "nobodies." According to the inmate, after completing the conflict-
resolution course, the officer was more humane and professional in his relationships
with inmates (Love, 1994). The most powerful example of the effectiveness of
conflict-resolution training occurred during the 1989 riots at the State Correction;!!
Institution at Camp Hill. Inmates in the New Values drug-and-alcohol program,
who had recently completed a course in conflict resolution, were the only inmates
who did not participate in the disturbance. Also, these inmates were credited with
helping officers so they would not be violently attacked. More research on the
effectiveness of comprehensive scanning systems and conflict-resolution training in
corrections is needed.
Underground Economy of Prison
Introduction
The underground economy of prison refers to any illicit activities associated with
prison life. Illicit activity can be defined as any action that constitutes a violation of
prison rules and a threat to the orderly operation of a correctional facility. Common
underground economies of prison include drug trafficking, weapon sales, prostitu-
tion, protection racquets, and gambling. The underground economy of institutions
is strongly correlated with prison gangs because many of these illicit activities are
controlled by prison gang members. A prison gang is a group, large or small, that
lias a name, common symbols, arid an organization toward criminality. Age ranges
in prison gangs vary and members may be male or female. As part of a prison gang,
members see themselves as part of an established organized crime syndicate. In ad-
dition, members are required to abide by all rules of conduct. To prevent internal
anarchy, prison gangs adopt a formal and paramilitary organizational structure. Each
rank in the structure has defined authority and responsibility. To ensure longevity,
most prison gangs require their members to make a lifetime commitment to the
gang. Some common prison gangs are White supremacist gangs known as Aryan
Brotherhood or Aryan Nation; African-American prison gangs known as Crips,
Bloods, and Black Guerilla Family; and Latino prison gangs known as Mexican
mafia and La Nuestra Familia.
Prison-gang-and-guard relations are an important area associated with the under-
ground economy of prisons. Some studies show that the control of drug trafficking