During my research as a criminologist, I have traveled the world and gained insight into current criminal justice trends. I’ve spoken to people from a variety of backgrounds, including politicians, intelligence experts from over 10 different countries, leaders of entire countries’ criminal justice systems and even inmates in prison.
This year, I spoke with former gang member “Keen” who spent 27 years in a correctional facility. He is now a fully reformed member of society, committed to helping others avoid the entrapments and mistakes he made.
We discussed a range of topics, including Keen’s personal experience with human trafficking, the dangers of gang life and his time in the California prison system. The valuable insights Keen provided shed light on what society does not commonly understand about surviving in prison.
Related: Organized Crime: From Street Gangs to International Groups
Navigating Prison Politics
Prison politics often involve inmate alignment with powerful gangs within the prison; these gangs provide protection to their members. Tensions can mount when inmates feel disrespected.
When I asked Keen to explain how an inmate can safely navigate the culture and climate that contributes to prison politics, he said, “Within prison, gangs are not permitted to do any business with any other gangs or races. Within the prisons, you’ll have senior officers who bring in phones and drugs.
“Each gang within prison has their own prison officers that favor a particular faction or gang. Problems occur when a prison officer favors a particular faction within the prison and raids the other factions/gangs.”
According to Keen, it is not uncommon for officers to obtain contraband from a rival gang within the prison and then give it to the gang that they favor. That treatment creates internal tension and can lead to riots.
Related: The National Police Shortage and Technology as a Solution
How Big of a Problem Are Gangs in Prison?
According to the National Gang Center, there are approximately 30,000 gangs and 850,000 gang members across the United States. Gang members have a substantial presence in prisons. In Texas, for instance, there are around 80 different gangs with 12,000 gang affiliates within the state’s prison system, according to Cambridge Blog.
Keen explained, “Everything is being run from prison, which means that when there is conflict between gangs within prison, it transfers to the street.” For example, some street gangs may target other gangs within the community, all because an order came from within a correctional facility.
“When that occurs, warfare occurs on the street that is more violent than the prison because there is access to weapons. Homes get raided and women and children may get hurt, which further exacerbates the tension and violence.”
How Gangs Function
Keen noted that there is a strict chain of command within gangs, and phones are commonly smuggled into prison. According to Keen, “Gang members use these phones to inflict harm on people and for drug trafficking. There is no need to have a phone in prison unless you are committing a crime with it.”
According to Keen, prisons began to crack down on cell phone use by adding five or 10 years on a sentence for any inmates caught with a phone. This punishment proved effective. However, the problem was that the people getting caught with phones were not actually the gang members committing crimes.
“Cell phones are not typically shared in prison, especially outside of a particular gang,” said Keen. Often, the phones contain sensitive information related to crime and communications with girlfriends.
Keen stated that it costs $1,000 to obtain a phone within prison when he was incarcerated. Inmates preferred smaller phones because they were easier to conceal.
How to Survive in Prison
When I asked how inmates survive in prison, Keen said, “People could either join a faction or pick up a Bible and turn your life over to God.” Keen explained that inmates will often join groups of people with similar mindsets.
He noted, “For example, there may be 50 Christians that remain together on the yard, and they dissociate with all criminal activity and live a lifestyle that is totally disconnected from crime. They still associate with known gang members as far as playing sports and can still walk and talk with them, but they are talking to gang members and encouraging them to turn their lives around.”
Keen observed that men respect the Christian inmates because they lead by example; they are accepted within a correctional facility because they don’t try to force Christianity on others. Instead, these Christian inmates show who they are through their actions.
“Men within prison listen to them to learn how they embraced transformation,” said Keen. While gang members are not permitted to associate with other races, that rule does not apply within the prison Christian community because everyone is welcomed into that group.
Keen also explained that “avoiding gossip and avoiding drugs is essential to surviving within prison. Avoiding the entrapments of gangs is important. But if you come into prison and resist recruitment while minding your own business, you’ll be left alone.”
Officer Ethics Are Essential
When I asked Keen about his thoughts on officers and their interaction with inmates, he said, “The problem is that prison officers don’t understand the conflicts between different gang factions within prison. Officers who show favor toward specific gang members or inmates cause problems. Officers who do not engage in corruption are respected by gang members and other inmates.”
According to Keen, technology within a correctional facility is essential to help keep officers out of conflicts between inmates, increasing their own safety. “The use of cameras, door controls, and relying less on informants and more on cameras is effective,” noted Keen. “Inmates are monitored everywhere within the prison by cameras.” To prevent riots or unrest within a correctional facility, Keen said that administrators should monitor rising tension and respond to it before it results in violence.
Keen spoke with a friend who was recently released from a correctional facility in California. His friend witnessed the stabbing of a rapper who was disclosing sensitive inmate information within his songs. This incident reflects the continued danger within prisons and the need for officers to listen closely to what is going on within the prison’s walls to prevent violence.
Prisons are a microcosm of society. For prisons to be effective, they must provide meaningful rehabilitation that helps support inmates.
Throughout my research and conversations with current and former inmates, I have found that faith-based rehabilitation programs and helping inmates address the underlying problems (such as addiction) that led to their incarceration, are the most effective. Providing life skills to inmates while they are incarcerated is essential to helping them integrate back into society. For former inmates like Keen, these experiences helped them to become fully reformed individuals.
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