Accounting for Violations of the Convict Code

Abstract

Research over the past several decades shows that those who act in ways inconsistent with desired identities often account for (i.e., excuse or justify) their actions to save face and maintain social identities. While the bulk of research on the use of accounts examines how people make sense of behaviors that go against conventional values, recent research suggests that those who do not adhere to subcultural norms engage in similar talk. The current study builds on the sociology of accounts by exploring whether inmates articulate a convict code; whether they provide accounts for code violations that are comparable to those given by active offenders; and whether incarceration shapes inmates’ use of these accounts. Interviews with 40 inmates residing in a maximum security prison suggest that they rely on linguistic devices to align their actions with subcultural beliefs and that the prison environment structures the pattern of these accounts.

Notes

¹While some prefer to use the term “inmate code,” we have opted to use convict code. We use this term because it was the phrase used by those we interviewed.

²“Grassing” is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer to passing information to the police or prison authorities about others’ criminal or illicit activities. It is synonymous with the terms “snitching” or “ratting,” which are more often used in the United States.

³The findings of Rosenfeld and colleagues (2003) and Topalli (2005) are based on interviews with active offenders in St. Louis. Topalli included interviews from Rosenfeld and colleagues’ study in his analysis.

⁴The “box” is a term used by inmates to refer to lockers where they could store personal property.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Heith Copes

HEITH COPES is an Associate Professor in the Department of Justice Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His primary interest is in understanding the decision-making process and identity construction of offenders. Much of his recent work focuses on offenders’ use of accounts and neutralizations. He has written his most recent book, with Lynne M. Vieraitis, is Identity Thieves: Motives and Methods.

Fiona Brookman

FIONA BROOKMAN is Reader in Criminology at University of New South Wales, in South Wales. Her research is principally concerned with the characteristics and causes of homicide and violence as well as how offenders account for violence. She has recently had articles published in the British Journal of Criminology, European Journal of Criminology, and Journal of Interpersonal Violence. She is author of Understanding Homicide (Sage: 2005) and lead editor of the Handbook on Crime (Willan: 2010). She is currently undertaking research on homicide investigation in the UK and Washington DC. Her research on homicide forms part of the British Murder Investigation Manual.

Anastasia Brown

ANASTASIA BROWN earned her Master's degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her primary research interest focuses on identity construction among offenders and qualitative methods.