Causes and Prevention of Violence in Prisons

Prisons are not normal environments. They are, as Bottoms (1999) observed, not only ‘total institutions’ in the sense that they encompass inmates’ lives to an extent qualitatively greater than other social institutions (Goffman, 1961), they are physical places (mostly surrounded by high walls) with a specific history and ethos that are designed to be places of punishment. Prisons bring troubled human beings, often with a long history of violence as victim or offender, into confined spaces against their wills. These scarred individuals are brought into close contact with staff whom they greatly outnumber but who must on a daily basis maintain a peaceful and orderly routine. The wonder is there is not more violence in prisons.