Citation

Maghan J. Aggress. Violent Behav. 1999; 4(1): 1-12.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In a real sense, the American prison system is built and operated on the assumption that it is engaged in warehousing violent men. The management of dangerousness has come to represent an important custodial problem for the American penal system. This article examines the modality of dangerousness in the evolving custodial operational control of modern prisons. The trend is toward more and higher security with much more sophisticated technology and operating procedures. Inmates define themselves and are defined by prison officials in terms of age, race, dangerousness, gang affiliation, and incidents of institutional violence. Architecture, technology, staffing, training, and security and operating procedures are all geared to preventing violence and, if that fails, to identifying, punishing, and incapacitating dangerous inmates.