Anger, Frustration, and Snitching: Inmates Describe Structured Isolation in a High-Tech Prison

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we use qualitative interviews with inmates in four prisons to focus on how they describe inmate violence as it is connected to respect. We find that inmates in the one high-security and high-tech prison describe being socially isolated, frustrated, and angry. They live in fear that others will snitch on them, which leads to the punishment of solitary confinement. We argue that, in a high-tech prison, social isolation increases tension and frustration which can lead to violence. Furthermore, we link this issue to the norms of reciprocity. If respect is not bilateral, this creates a problematic environment where inmates believe they have nothing to lose. In doing so, we theoretically focus on how disrespect is directly tied to inmate violence and offer ways to reduce the tension described by these interviewees

Notes

¹ Prisons are given pseudonyms that align with the lowest to highest security level – Alpha, Beta, Gama, Delta.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rebecca Trammell

Rebecca Trammell, PhD, is an associate dean at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She studies inmate violence and culture, and she is currently working with data that focus on the connection between inmate violence and disrespectful behavior.

Mackenzie Rundle

Mackenzie Rundle earned her master’s degree at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Her work examines how inmates define and understand mutually respectful behaviors. She is an analyst for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Andrea R. Borrego

Andrea R. Borrego, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Criminal Justice and Criminology at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She studies fatal police-citizen encounters, policing, tasers, community perceptions, incarceration, prisons/jails, and LGBTQ victimization.