Discuss Institutional Aggression (24 Marks)

Discuss Institutional Aggression (24 marks)

The deprivation model suggests that the subculture of prison originated within the walls of the constitution. Thus, it is the deprivations that the inmates faced and attempted to cope with that were so extreme that healthy relationships could not be formed with members of the community outside the walls. Gresham Sykes suggested five particular deprivations responsible for inmate aggression, one of which is the Deprivation of Liberty. Deprivation of liberty is when by being imprisoned behind walls, the felon feels as though society no longer consider him to be a person that can live in a respected and trusted manner in the free world. The nature of the institution conveys this loss through symbols such as uniform, and the loss of liberty is further implied by the prisoner having to obtain permission for simple tasks such as eating, sleeping or showering etc. Another deprivation Sykes suggested is the Deprivation of Goods and Services. Prisons confine offenders in poverty-like conditions perceived by the inmates from disadvantaged backgrounds as being worse than the conditions they came from (ie. Lack of home cooked food and cigarettes of preference.) Some inmates felt as though the prison system allows poverty conditions in order to economically regulate and control the inmates, and despite some majority of them accepting responsibility for their conditions, the deprivation of goods and services still brought a sense of failure to the inmates. The importation model was suggested by Irwin and Cressey, who state that inmate subculture was derived from offender characteristics and experience prior to incarceration, and therefore originating outside of prison walls. Irwin and Cressey suggest ‘The Convict Subculture’ and ‘The Thief Subculture’. According to the Convict Subculture, convicts are inmates who have been raised in the prison system and adhere to the inmate code. Their primary reference group is that of the convicts...