Deck 7: Prison Subculture and Prison Gang Influence

Question 1

It has been concluded by some scholars that though correctional institutions may seem closed off from society, their boundaries are psychologically ______.

A) impenetrable
B) impermeable
C) permeable
D) closed

Answer 1

permeable

Question 2

Which of the following is not considered a pain of imprisonment?

A) loss of liberty
B) loss of personal security
C) loss of autonomy
D) loss of wages

Answer 2

loss of wages

Question 3

What is the idea that in order for inmates to be accepted within a prison gang, they must draw blood (usually through killing) in an altercation with an identified enemy of the gang?

A) blood in-blood out
B) sagging in-sagging out
C) prisonization
D) none of these

Answer 3

blood in-blood out

Question 4

The prison ______ is one of the key measures of influence that an inmate (and perhaps even some officers) may have within the institution.

A) library
B) economy
C) laundry
D) kitchen

Question 5

What title is one of respect given to inmates who have proven themselves worthy of that title?

A) convict
B) fish
C) snitch
D) greyhound

Question 6

The most serious infraction against the inmate code of conduct is for an inmate to cooperate with the officials as a ______.

A) punk
B) snitch
C) convict
D) greyhound

Question 7

What is the term for an inmate who reveals the activity of another inmate to authorities?

A) punk
B) convict
C) greyhound
D) snitch

Question 8

Perhaps the most notorious cases in which snitches were singled out and subjected to severely gruesome torture in prison occurred during the 1980 riot in which facility?

A) Attica Prison
B) New Mexico Penitentiary
C) USP Marion
D) Folsom Prison

Question 9

What term is common prison vernacular for an inmate who engages in homosexual activity?

A) chomo
B) convict
C) punk
D) snitch

Question 10

What is a derogatory term that implies that an inmate is feminine, weak, and subservient to masculine inmates?

A) punk
B) snitch
C) chomo
D) convict

Question 11

What requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to carry out a comprehensive statistical review and analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape for each calendar year?

A) Prison Sexual Assault Act of 2003
B) Rape and Violence Act of 2003
C) End Prison Rape Now Act of 2003
D) Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003

Question 12

An estimated ______ of transgender inmates held in prisons and 34% held in local jails reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission, if less than 12 months.

A) 35%
B) 15%
C) 22%
D) 2%

Question 13

What percentage of transgender inmates in prison report high levels of staff sexual misconduct?

A) 45%
B) 23%
C) 17%
D) 9%

Question 14

What title refers to an inmate who is respected for being self-reliant and independent of other inmates or the system?

A) loner
B) convict
C) right guy
D) fish

Question 15

What occurs when correctional staff and inmates develop negotiation behavior that is acceptable for institutional security and also meets inmates' basic human needs?

A) prisonization
B) a con and hustle
C) symbiotic prison relationship
D) convict shuffle

Question 16

Which term denotes respect gained from inmates and generally comes with time, experience, sound judgment, and a cunning personality that is not easily deceived or manipulated?

A) convict killer
B) convict boss
C) inmate officer
D) inmate apprehender

Question 17

What is a term given to a correctional officer with a keen understanding of convict logic and socialization?

A) inmate officer
B) inmate apprehender
C) convict boss
D) convict killer

Question 18

Which tenet of the prison guard subculture is perhaps one of the most difficult to follow because, in some cases, it puts the officers in a position where they must lie to cover for their coworkers, even when they were not directly involved?

A) do not be friends with an inmate
B) maintain cohesion against all outside groups
C) do not be a snitch
D) always go to the aid of an officer in distress

Question 19

Which tenet of the prison guard subculture reflects the importance of respect and the need to maintain "face" within the prison culture?

A) never disrespect another officer in front of inmates
B) do not be a snitch
C) always support an officer who is in a dispute with an inmate
D) always go to the aid of an officer in distress

Question 20

Which tenet of the prison guard subculture is based on the belief that the general public does not understand the pressures placed upon officers and applies to members of the supervisory ranks, the outside public, the media, and even one's own family?

A) maintain cohesion against all outside groups
B) do not be a snitch
C) do not be friends with an inmate
D) do not traffic drugs

Question 21

During the 1990s, the term prison guard became outdated and was replaced with the official job classification of ______ in many state prison systems.

A) inmate guard
B) jail guard
C) correctional
D) inmate

Question 22

The correctional field has traditionally been stereotyped as a(n) ______ dominated area of work.

A) African American
B) male
C) female
D) Hispanic

Question 23

What term refers to those inmates and/or gang members who dictate what members will do within the gang hierarchy?

A) convict
B) boss
C) greyhound
D) shot caller

Question 24

Historically speaking, what has been the main distinction between prison gangs and street gangs?

A) member composition and leadership style
B) member composition and internal structure
C) group values and leadership style
D) internal structure and leadership style

Question 25

What means that a gang has developed such power and influence as to be equally effective regardless of whether its leadership is inside or outside of the prison walls?

A) blood in-blood out
B) gang cross-pollination
C) high functioning
D) shot calling

Question 26

A(n) ______ group is a high-functioning, organized gang that uses an illegal industry to fund their objectives.

A) gang threat
B) security threat
C) security administration
D) administration threat

Question 27

The Mandingo Warriors were formed in 1984 in which state?

A) Texas
B) California
C) New Mexico
D) Arizona

Question 28

Which gang was formed in the late 1950s within the California Department of Corrections?

A) Tango Blast
B) Black Guerrilla Family
C) Mexican Mafia
D) Mexikanemi

Question 29

Which prison gang was founded in San Quentin State Prison, California, in 1966 and is highly organized along paramilitary lines, with a supreme leader and central committee?

A) Black Guerrilla Family
B) Ñeta
C) Bloods
D) Mexican Mafia

Question 30

Which prison gang has mostly Caucasian members and is highly structured with two factions--one in the California Department of Corrections and the other in the Federal Bureau of Prisons?

A) Bloods
B) Aryan Brotherhood
C) Crips
D) Texas Syndicate

Question 31

Which of the following was originally formed in the early 1970s to provide protection from the Crips street gang in Los Angeles, California, and have since morphed into an association of structured and unstructured gangs that have adopted a single-gang culture?

A) Ñeta
B) La Nuestra Familia
C) Bloods
D) Aryan Brotherhood

Question 32

Which of the following is a prison gang that was established in Puerto Rico in the early 1970s and spread to the United States?

A) United Blood Nation
B) Mara Salvatrucha
C) La Nuestra Familia
D) Ñeta

Question 33

Which gang originated in Folsom Prison during the early 1970s and was formed in response to other prison gangs in the California Department of Corrections?

A) Ñeta
B) Aryan Brotherhood
C) Tango Blast
D) Texas Syndicate

Question 34

Which gang evolved in the California Youth Authority, the state agency responsible for the incarceration and parole supervision of juvenile and young adult offenders, in the late 1970s or early 1980s as a gang for Caucasian inmates?

A) Nazi Low Riders
B) Bloods
C) Crips
D) Barrio Azteca

Question 35

Which gang was organized in 1986 in the Coffield Unit of TDCJ by five street gang members from El Paso, Texas?

A) Texas Syndicate
B) Barrio Azteca
C) Tango Blast
D) Ñeta

Question 36

Which gang is one of the largest prison/street criminal gangs operating in Texas? The gang is known for criminal activities including drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder?

A) Crips
B) Bloods
C) Mexican Mafia
D) Tango Blast

Question 37

Which of the following gangs is laterally organized with leaders elected sporadically to represent the gang in prisons and to lead street gang cells?

A) Mexican Mafia
B) Bloods
C) Tango Blast
D) Crips

Question 38

Which gang started in 1993 in Rikers Island George Mochen Detention Center (GMDC) to form protection from the threat posed by Latin Kings and Ñetas, who dominated the prison?

A) United Blood Nation
B) Nazi Low Riders
C) Aryan Brotherhood
D) Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)

Question 39

Facilities in Virginia and Maryland have seen increases in their ______ population, of nearly 30% in just the past 2 years alone.

A) Bloods
B) United Blood Nation
C) Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)
D) Aryan Brotherhood

Question 40

Which gang originated on the streets of Los Angeles during the 1980s when numerous Salvadoran immigrants came to the United States to escape civil war and conflict that was widespread in El Salvador at that time?

A) Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)
B) The Mexican Mafia
C) Tango Blast
D) Bloods

Question 41

Facilities in Virginia and ______ have seen increases in their MS-13 population, of nearly 30% in just the past 2 years.

A) Texas
B) New York
C) Maryland
D) North Carolina

Question 42

It is the ______ element that makes the fight against security threat groups (STGs) much more difficult.

A) facility
B) security
C) classification
D) human

Question 43

Utilizing electronic equipment for identification, storage, and retrieval is essential to maintaining an effective anti-______ strategy.

A) corruption
B) dishonesty
C) force
D) gang

Question 44

Social learning theory states the subculture within prisons is brought in from outside the walls by offenders who have developed their beliefs and norms while on the streets.

Question 45

Inmates' adaptation to prison subculture is largely due to their level of participation in the inmate economy.

Question 46

A bird is the label given to an inmate who reveals the activity of another inmate to authorities, usually in exchange for some type of benefit within the prison or legal system.

Question 47

Sex offenders, particularly child molesters, are also afforded no respect in prison.

Question 48

An estimated 35% of transgender inmates held in prisons and 34% held in local jails reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission, if less than 12 months.

Question 49

A convict is an inmate who is respected for being self-reliant and independent of other inmates or the system.

Question 50

The term hogging refers to any action that is designed to deceive, manipulate, or take advantage of another person.

Question 51

Because prison is a very intense environment that has a strong psychological impact on both inmates and staff, it is only natural that a romantic relationship often emerges.

Question 52

The term convict boss is applied to a correctional officer who has developed a keen understanding of convict logic and socialization and uses that knowledge to maximize control over his or her assigned post.

Question 53

The mannerisms that are displayed, by both inmates and officers, often reflect the type of upbringing that one has had and also tend to indicate the value system from which that person operates.

Question 54

Symbiosis is the process of being socialized into the prison culture.

Question 55

According to Gillespie (2002), prison is a context that exerts its influence upon the social relations of those who enter its domain.

Question 56

Prisonization only impacts inmates within a facility.

Question 57

Women correctional staff are only allowed to supervise female inmates.

Question 58

Many young inner-city African American and Latino males who have been incarcerated are able to find homeboys or hombres in nearly every correctional facility within their state.

Question 59

Security threat groups occur when a gang has developed such power and influence as to be equally effective regardless of whether its leadership is inside or outside of prison walls.

Question 60

The Texas Syndicate has a formal organizational structure and a set of written rules for its members.

Question 61

The Barrio Azteca maintains strong ties to the Aryan Brotherhood and, like the older gang, has become a source of violence and criminal activity in prison.

Question 62

In addition to the physical security of a facility, there are many psychological tactics that can be used to control gang activity.

Question 63

Explain the pains of imprisonment.

Question 64

Describe the term punk in prison culture?

Question 65

Discuss the concept of "hogging" in prison.

Question 66

What has the introduction of women into the security ranks of a prison done?

Question 67

Who are the Black Guerrilla Family and where does the group operate?

Question 68

Why do prisons tend to use administrative segregation to house inmates of the same gang in the same area and what problems can this cause?

Question 69

Discuss several issues that surveys of transgendered inmates found within prisons.

Question 70

What is prisonization? Discuss Gillespie's (2002) with respect to inmates and prisonization.

Question 71

What are some characteristics of security threat group (STG) found within the nation's prisons?