Inmates join gangs to promote cooperation and trust. Source: Supplied
FORGET the old-fashioned notions of racist, violent thugs grouping together to pick on the weak. Prison gangs are actually a vital tool for social cohesion.
That's the conclusion of a new study by economics professors M. Garrett Roth and David Skarbek, reported on by the The Wilson Quarterly. Roth and Skarbek argue that prison gangs actually keep violence down by creating a stable environment where an internal economy based on contraband can operate.
Fundamentally, the problem is this: most people in prison want to trade in contraband of some sort — the most popular being drugs, alcohol, tobacco and mobile phones — but can't do so within the formal authority structure.
Prison gangs provide an "extralegal" framework of what the authors term "community social responsibility", helping to enforce agreements in contraband trades and resolve social disputes.
"In short, inmates join gangs to promote cooperation and trust, which facilitates illegal contraband markets," they write. "Prison gangs form to provide extralegal governance in social and economic interactions."
For example, if a member of Gang A purchases drugs on credit from a member of Gang B, then Gang A is responsible for the payment of the debt. "If the individual does not pay, then the drug dealer can appeal to the leaders of Gang A for relief," write the authors.
"The leader, or 'shot caller' in prison parlance, will either pay the debt, force his member to pay the debt or work for them (perhaps assaulting an enemy of Gang B), assault the inmate to appease the drug dealer, or hand him over to Gang B to assault him in a controlled manner."
This kind of system is especially effective when it is easier to determine the trustworthiness of a group rather than the trustworthiness of an individual.
"When groups have reputations for taking responsibility for its members' actions, then two members of different groups who do not know each other can still benefit from trade," they write. "The CRS provides a way for people to trade widely in the absence of an effective legal system."
Prison gangs actually keep overall violence down. Source: Supplied
They provide extralegal governance in social and economic interactions. Source: Supplied
The most popular contraband includes drugs, alcohol, tobacco and mobile phones. Source: Supplied
The rate of inmate homicides and prison riots in the US has actually been declining since the 1970s, at the same time as gangs have proliferated, the authors argue. They cite figures which show the instance of inmate homicides declined 94 per cent between 1973 and 2003.
Their study is based on analysis of California prison populations, which have given rise to some of the world's most notorious gangs including the Mexican Mafia, Nuestra Familia, and the Aryan Brotherhood.
Contrary to popular belief, these racial divisions are less about actual race than ease of identification, the authors argue: "An inmate's race is the most easily observed characteristic in an all-male environment with standard-issue clothing."
Prison gangs resolve both social and commercial conflicts among inmates. In the study, a white inmate who served eight years in prison explains how in-group policing is practised by gangs.
"I knew this guy that ran his mouth a lot, made lots of problems, called people names and stuff," the inmate said.
"He called these Mexican guys a bunch of greasy wetbacks. He's a loose cannon, he's going to cause trouble you know what I mean, we work hard to keep that race s**t calm and here is this prick causing trouble, no one wants that so we had to check him. We took him down a peg or two, it came right from the top, the a**hole needs a lesson."
Crucially, prison wardens actually benefit from some level of gang activity — or as the authors put it, "the optimal number of prison gangs from the perspective of the warden is not zero".
"They provide relatively peaceable dispute resolution amongst inmates. Gangs wish to avoid riots and conceal fistfights. Gangs also help allocate scarce prison resources, such as benches and basketball courts, in the face of a shortage of such amenities."
frank.chung@news.com.au
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