Peer group influences in correctional programs

Description

This report looks at the nature of peer groups, their influence on the individual in his transition to deviant behavior, and their continuing effect upon him within the prison. The author likens a subculture of delinquency to a game with an elaborate set of rules. A fundamental problem in understanding and dealing with crime is inadequate knowledge of the games being played. In prison, the inmate code is rigid and authoritarian. The members are at the bottom of the caste system and cannot tolerate the slightest breach of social solidarity. The author suggests that treatment should recognize the intrinsic nature of an offender's membership in the inmate system and direct its efforts to him as a member of that system and not as a social atom. This would involve group problem sharing and solving as a means of building a legitimately oriented subgroup within the prison. The author recommends guided group interaction to concentrate, not on the past, but on the here-and-now. This approach uses present conflict and the doubts and fears the inmate may have about his criminal behavior to disturb the status quo and discover alternate behavior and alternate group structures.

Subjects

Links

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Other Editions

• Peer group influences in correctional programsPresident's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice1967-01-01
• Peer group influences in correctional programs.1967-01-01
• Peer group influences in correctional programsThe Commission1967-01-01