The Prison Community Donald Clemmer

1
The Prison CommunityDonald Clemmer

• CJ 365, Summer 2001
• May 30, 2001

2
Introduction

• Prisonization
• The process through which an individual will take
  on the values and mores of the penitentiary
• The prison is a world in and of itself
• Inmates develop ways in which to modify their
  behavior to fit and adapt

3
Assimilation or Prisonization

• Assimilation
• When a person or group penetrates and fuses with
  another group, assimilation may be said to have
  taken place.
• The more we come into contact with that group
  the more assimilated one becomes
• All inmates undergo some level of prisonization

4
Prisonization

• It begins when one enters the prison
• The inmate learns the language of the institution
  keepers are screws
• swallowing up process
• Inmates then assign a new meaning to conditions
  they had once taken for granted
• Inmates wise up to the rules of the institution
• By association they become prisonized
• All changes do not occur in every man, but every
  many experiences some level of prisonization

5
Universal Factors of Prisonization

• Acceptance of an inferior role
• Accumulation of facts concerning the organization
  of the prison
• New habits of daily life (e.g. eating sleeping)
• Adoption of the local language
• Desire for a good job

6
Phases of Prisonization

• Complete prisonization depends on
• The type of relationships he had before he was
  imprisoned the type of man himself
• Kind and extent of relationships that the inmate
  has with persons outside
• Inmate becomes affiliated in prison with other
  groups
• Chance placement in the prison (e.g. cellmate)
• Acceptance of the dogmas or codes of the prison

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Assimilation v. Prisonization

• Assimilation is very slow
• Usually because people come from such disparate
  places
• Prisonization can also be slow but it depends on
  the individual
• Age, crime, home neighborhood, prison situation
• It is a very irregular process